[ale] Replacing Fan in Power Supply?

Geoffrey esoteric at 3times25.net
Mon May 6 10:41:17 EDT 2002


Jeff Layton wrote:
> Geoffrey wrote:
> 
> 
>>Jim Philips wrote:
>>
>>>You should take out the old fan and carry it with you to the computer store.
>>>Any CompUSA will have fans, but the fans they have may not fit onto your CPU.
>>>This has been my biggest problem. And even while you have the fan with you,
>>>bear in mind how much space you have around the CPU. It's easy to come home
>>>with a fan that won't fit into the space you have.
>>>
>>I think we're discussing two different things here.  He says the ps fan,
>>which is inside the ps.  I'm not sure I understand why you want to
>>replace the fan to start with, as it sounds like it's working, just that
>>it blowing warm air, which, generally would be the case.  What you
>>should consider is adding a fan or two to the case, rather then
>>replacing a working fan.  That is unless, the fan is making some racket
>>or is obviously not functioning properly.
>>
> 
> I've got a good fan on the front and I've drilled out the hole on the
> front panel to get more airflow.

That's probably not a good idea, as depending on how your fans are 
matched up, you might be short cycling the air from your front fan. 
That is, rather than pulling air in, across the components and then out 
the back, you might be pulling air out and pushing it out this new hole 
you've drilled.

> The side of the case also has a
> grill work down low for more airflow

Is this a tower (|) or desktop (-)?

The CPU has a big Delta fan
> on it (loud, but lots of  airflow)

Understand, this just pulls heat off of the CPU, if the heat is not then 
removed from the box, it's useless.

> I'm going to put a fan for rear exhaust

Sounds like a good idea.

> but I'm still concerned about the PS. It works just great, but I want to
> keep it a while so I wanted to put a bigger capacity fan in there.

It's unlikely you'll find a fan with larger capacity.  Sure, you can get 
one that's running higher rpms, hence moving more air through it.  I'd 
be willing to bet that adding another fan or two to the case would 
suffice in reducing the temperature of the air coming from the ps.  Note 
as well, you don't want a lot of places for the air to escape.  You want 
  there to be a flow of air across components in order to remove the 
heat.  If you fan in front sucks air in and blows it out the  vents at 
the bottom of the box, then a lot of heat is going to just rise to the 
PS, which I assume is at the top of the box.  I neglected to note 
whether this was a desktop or tower configuration.  None the less, I 
still think yanking out the PS to put a different fan in it is entirely 
too much work for what you want to do.  Adding a rear fan that sucks air 
out of the box may well suffice as it would draw much of the heat out of 
the box before it rises to the PS.

>>Just the same, replacing the fan inside the power supply depends a lot
>>on the ps itself.  Many are accessible via a screwdriver and wire
>>cutters.  Me, I'd get a new PS before I'd try and replace the fan...
>>
> 
> That thought has crossed my mind. I'll have to run it by the management
> (aka, my wife).

I certainly wouldn't do that just because the fan of the current PS is 
blowing warm.  Look at other solutions that are much easier, and cheaper 
then replacing the PS first.  An additional fan on the back of the case 
is a lot cheaper then a new PS...

> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Jeff


-- 
Until later: Geoffrey		esoteric at 3times25.net

I didn't have to buy my radio from a specific company to listen
to FM, why doesn't that apply to the Internet (anymore...)?


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