I've saved a few interesting posts on this subject. Here they are:
======================================
>From Jay Pricer, July 13, 2002:
I recently replaced the noisy/vibrating fans in my PCP240 and wanted to
share for anyone annoyed by their PowerComputing Box.
There are two fans in this box, one 60mm fan over the processor daughter
card and one 80mm fan on the back of the box. By unplugging each fan and
running the machine I found that the processor fan contributed the most
noise. I attribute that to the plastic bracket that holds the processor fan
which is in turn mounted to a cross bar thingy (tech term). The fan just
vibrates the whole works. I had tried foam pads, tightening screws and
ofcourse duct tape all with minor success. The back fan is securely mounted
directly to the box which removes all that vibration noise.
So after five years with this box I finally decided to do something serious
about it. After pulling the fans (Nidec brand) and getting what specs I
could off the tags and doing a bit of net research I went with new Panaflo
L1A fans which were said to be some of the quietest fans with low power
usage and good CFM flow. Panaflo has a higher CFM fan series (H1A) if needed
more cooling power, but a higher noise rating as well. (BTW I found that
outside the Mac World we/I live in, fans and cases and such are a big part
of the PeeCee world while I have hardly heard any Mac discussion of fans
outside of side comments on the noise. Never about replacing, adding or
upgrading)
The 60mm Panaflo fans compared to the Nidec was
L1A Nidec
Airflow 14.1 CFM 0.5 m3/min (roughly equivalent)
Noise 25 dB-A 35 dB-A (log 10 scale, so 10x as loud!?)
Power 1.32 watts 2.14 watts (38% less power used)
Putting them in was pretty easy with the just the normal precautions and
pray not to drop a screw on the motherboard. The only hack was the
connectors to the the motherboard. One fan came with just bare wires, so I
snipped off the connector from the old fan and twisted and taped it on to
the new fan. The other fan came with a slightly different connector that I
was able to scrape off a small part that didn't fit to get it to go on to
the MB connector.
Result is a much quieter system which really makes a difference. I didn't
realize how nagging and nerve racking it was until it was gone and don't
have to hit the box to try to get it to be quiet. Anyway, hope this helps
someone out and would like to hear if anyone else has been messing with fan
noise. -Jay
===================================================
In a later posting, Jay said he bought his Panaflo fans from this merchant:
http://www.caseetc.com/cgi-bin/caseetc
===================================================
Robert Baucom saved this posting from Marty Skinner:
FAN ORDER TO Quieten my two PTP systems by replacing the three original
"case" fans (in each system).
Jack had gotten his "Silencer 80mm" fans from http://www.power-on.com. But
the ones they sell come with the wrong connectors for this particular system
so all the leads had to be cut and then joined to the new fan leads. While I
*can* use a soldering iron, I didn't really remember where I last had seen
mine. I saw on Power-On's site that the fans are manufactured by PC Power
and Cooling so I went looking for their web-presence and found the matching
fan at
http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/products/alarmandaccesories/silencerfan/ind
ex.htm They are cheaper than Power-On and have price breaks based on
quantity. But the most endearing thing is that they sell the fan with one of
two connectors: 4-pin or 3-pin. The 3-pin is *exactly* the same as those on
the original PTP fans (*). This means no soldering or cutting! I ordered
them and found during order checkout that ground shipping was free. This was
getting better by the minute.
They arrived from the west coast to the east coast on Friday (ordered on the
previous Saturday and shipped on Monday). It took about 1.5 hours to replace
the first three because of the care I took and the case cleaning I did while
it was open. By far the hardest one was in the power supply. That's where
the "*" from above comes into play too: the connector for the fan in the
power supply is only 2 pins *and* in both my systems was stuck in place with
"goop" pretty hard. I figured out how to break the old connector free and
then slid the new 3-pin connector over the 2 leads, with the unused position
of the connector, well, unused. It sounds weird but if you get in there
you'll see what I mean (see below). This same fan ends up with a longer lead
than necessary so I just turned the fan a partial rotation to sorta "spool"
the lead on the outside of the fan to take up the slack. The original lead
has an additional plastic sleeve around it but I believe that is most likely
for heat since the original lead rests right on a towering heatsink. I just
routed my new leads far away from that.
+===+
|*|*| connector to old fan
+---+
The "===" is actually plastic fixed to the circuit board, I had
to pry the "===" portion away from the connector with a small screwdriver to
break the "goop" and release the old connector
+--===+
| |*|*| connector to new fan
+-----+
* * pins for connector
The sound difference is amazing! Each system is so quiet now that I can
actually hear the disk drive seeking sometimes. And since there are two of
these now quieter systems in the same room the reduction is quite dramatic.
The fan's output is noticeably less volume and warmer (particularly from the
power supply) but doesn't seem too high. My systems don't have all the PCI
slots or drive bays filled so that could be a factor for others.
All in all, I spent $51.30 and a little over two hours of my time on my two
systems. I wish I'd done this a long time ago. Thanks Jack for your
encouragement and my wife thanks you too!
Marty
===========================================================
Marty himself wrote at another time:
One word of caution that might apply to some: if you feel uncomfortable
working inside your computer, or its power supply then you should seek help
with some or all of this project. But it's very duable without a lot of
time, money or experience. Just be smart and don't work inside the power
supply with it plugged in.
The case and CPU fans can be replaced by anyone that feels confortable
opening up the case. A screwdriver is all that is needed for a PTP.
on 10/27/02 6:26 PM, Jack Russell at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
I heard from one fellow who said he found the replacement fans with the
correct connectors, so they may be available?
I'm probably the "one fellow" Jack was referring to. ;-)
After his original posting, Jack and I carried on some off-list
conversations about this and with his encouragement I went thru upgrading
all the fans in two different PTP systems and it made a huge improvement. I
had to upgrade from the original SCSI drives to new IDE ones because after
the fans were quieter, the drives were then the loudest thing in the box.
Now it's quiet enough that I could sleep in the same room with both
computers running.
I was able to find the fans at the pcpowerandcooling site that was listed,
and on that website I was given the choice to buy the 3-pin connectors -- go
that route and you don't have to cut a single wire! The 4-pin connectors
would be great for an additional fan that you might someday mount -- it
mates with one of your drive power connectors (4 pins) coming from the power
supply.
As I said in that archived message to the list, even the power supply fan
can use a 3-pin connector, and its lead doesn't need to be shortened. I just
rotated the extra lead length around the fan housing itself to keep it
neatly away from the power supply components and I routed it "the long way
around" (you'll see what I mean when you open the power supply) to keep the
lead away from the heatsink (the original lead traveled right beside it but
had a clear tubing around it). I even show how to mate the 3-pin connector
to the 2-pin connection point inside the power supply.
Getting the original fan's connector off the power supply board was a case
of patience and some careful work to get the thing un-mated. I didn't have
forceps like Jack but a long, thin screwdriver allowed me to break away the
original "gunk" keeping the connection together. The screwdriver was very
helpful for directing the new lead onto the pins too since you can't reach
the pins with your fingers. Something I may not have mentioned before: I
gently moved the wires running off the power supply board to one side or the
other to clear a path to that connector. That helped, and prevented me from
scraping any insulation off them if the screwdriver slipped.
--
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