Proper Replacement of a Power Supply Fan

Zardon · Jan 4, 2004, 09:25 PM

Gold member and modder [color=gold]Mike "Neon Cowboy" lady[/color] has made a guide for the DH members detailing how to replace a Power supply fan. The editor for this project was fellow gold member [color=gold]Joe "Roadee" Dawson[/color].

They did a great job and you can read this article over here.

Id really like to stress the dangers involved with this mod, so if you are going to even attempt it, follow the guide accurately. We wont be responsible for any accidents to yourself or your hardware, please BE CAREFUL !

kinetic · Jan 4, 2004, 10:59 PM

Another great guide! Good work guys!

toddsmack2k · Jan 4, 2004, 11:04 PM

I agree kinetic another nice guide! Keep em coming guys and thank to all of you who are doing them.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Jan 4, 2004, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by toddsmack2k
I agree kinetic another nice guide! Keep em coming guys and thank to all of you who are doing them.

thers is more in the works

**Roadee** · Jan 5, 2004, 04:03 AM

I hope everyone likes Neon's article, it was very fun helping out on it. He is already working on some new articles, as are other member's. This is going to be a pretty active forum, as ideas for guides are endless.

Markius · Jan 5, 2004, 10:26 AM

well done guys.
a very good and easy to follow guide.

**MIG-31** · Jan 5, 2004, 10:32 AM

much impressive guide.very straight forward to follow.

certainly hope to see more in the future.and no doubt we will.

Logla · Jan 5, 2004, 11:43 AM

Thanks for that guys, I may well pop down to the local store and purchase a couple of silent fans today.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Jan 5, 2004, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Logla
Thanks for that guys, I may well pop down to the local store and purchase a couple of silent fans today.

care full what u use you don't want to under cool your psu....
that could be very very bad....

Really I'd reccomend anything ball bearing (for life span) and over 30cfm.... and you should* be ok
the fan i used thin the artical is a 41 cfm ball bearing fan by top motor thier only like $3.00

you actally want real good cooling n your powers supply a it can get very hot. it can have heat up you case temps alot witch will couse the cpu/video card/chipset temps to get higher as well.

if you gonna are/useing two fans u should only make one a led fan if you can help it. uless you can fund quality lad fans. alot of them go for $8 and up and stil are busless and push about 20 cfm.... not the best choice for really good cooling (youd have to use twice as many).

Logla · Jan 5, 2004, 12:23 PM

Thanks for the advice. Been looking at the fans in the psu and I think I'll leave them alone.
PSU is an Antec TruBlue and the fans seem pretty quiet anyway.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Jan 5, 2004, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Logla
Thanks for the advice. Been looking at the fans in the psu and I think I'll leave them alone.
PSU is an Antec TruBlue and the fans seem pretty quiet anyway.

a good qaulity psu should have decent cooling... a nice warrenty
the el cheapo's i instantly crack them open and change the fans.

i'd try and get a look at what they chose to use in that ps

you can make it super quite by useing bushless but you looking at 20,000 hours of operation apposed to 50,000 that a ball bearing has....

i hope i din't discure you that not what i ment to do. just wanted to warn agenst useing too low of CFM fans. I wouln't want you to hurt/damage anything.

Logla · Jan 5, 2004, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by The_Neon_Cowboy

i hope i din't discure you that not what i ment to do. just wanted to warn agenst useing too low of CFM fans. I wouln't want you to hurt/damage anything.

Don't worry about it mate. All advice is gratefully recieved. Glad I found out about it now though rather than one dead power supply later. I hadn't even considered the lower CFM of silent fans.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Jan 6, 2004, 04:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Logla
Don't worry about it mate. All advice is gratefully recieved. Glad I found out about it now though rather than one dead power supply later. I hadn't even considered the lower CFM of silent fans.

thier is a way to do it but i have really coverd that yet. you have to add to or replace the stock mosft fans with much better ones... then they'll keep just as cool with alot lesser fans...

a big depending factor is you case size a placement of the psu... you could use a 80 to 92 or 120 m fan... and use the laarger 92 or 120 @ a low cfm like 50 and have super cooling yet make little noise...
free space and room pretty well determane what u can and cannot do

you could even go so far as fossable haveing a fanless but it would take alot of heatsinking .... good case aitflow ... and proper modifications to the case... it would take alot of work. (that one would be to much work in my book)

you can wire to psu's togeather all kinda of really cool stuff...

Dyre Straits · Jan 6, 2004, 04:12 AM

Very nice guide!

And, YES, it's an operation that can be very dangerous. I've successfully changed PSU fans a couple of times. My advice, if you have to second guess doing it, DON'T!

The_Neon_Cowboy · Jan 6, 2004, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dyre Straits
Very nice guide!

And, YES, it's an operation that can be very dangerous. I've successfully changed PSU fans a couple of times. My advice, if you have to second guess doing it, DON'T!

bach long as you don't touch anything thing but the wires, mabe the heasinks on the mosfets you'll be ok...

if you go touching aound the capistors you could net a nasty shock or killed
a pair some shock resistant or non conductive thick rubber gloves
would take out the risk of elecrtcution...

i was skeard the very fist time i opend one up.. hoad on a pair of cotton gloves and a a pair of dish gloves overthat. but on that one i had to take the main board of it out to get to the second fan's screws.

**Roadee** · Jan 6, 2004, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by The_Neon_Cowboy
bach long as you don't touch anything thing but the wires, mabe the heasinks on the mosfets you'll be ok...

if you go touching aound the capistors you could net a nasty shock or killed
a pair some shock resistant or non conductive thick rubber gloves
would take out the risk of elecrtcution...

i was skeard the very fist time i opend one up.. hoad on a pair of cotton gloves and a a pair of dish gloves overthat. but on that one i had to take the main board of it out to get to the second fan's screws.

And this is why you make sure that it is unplugged and has had enough time to discharge the storage capacitors!!

matte87 · Jan 6, 2004, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by The_Neon_Cowboy
thier is a way to do it but i have really coverd that yet. you have to add to or replace the stock mosft fans with much better ones... then they'll keep just as cool with alot lesser fans...

a big depending factor is you case size a placement of the psu... you could use a 80 to 92 or 120 m fan... and use the laarger 92 or 120 @ a low cfm like 50 and have super cooling yet make little noise...
free space and room pretty well determane what u can and cannot do

you could even go so far as fossable haveing a fanless but it would take alot of heatsinking .... good case aitflow ... and proper modifications to the case... it would take alot of work. (that one would be to much work in my book)

you can wire to psu's togeather all kinda of really cool stuff...

Must I connect the fan direct to the power supply or can I connect the fan to a 3pin or a 4pin connector?

**Roadee** · Jan 6, 2004, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by matte87
Must I connect the fan direct to the power supply or can I connect the fan to a 3pin or a 4pin connector?

The fan or fans are directly connected to the PSU. So if you are replacing a stock fan you will end up with stray wiring. It is best to connect back up to the existing wiring. IF you are adding a fan where there wasn't one before....then you could pretty much do it how ever you feel comfortable. Just always make sure that you have a strong connection and that it is sealed very well. You dont want a bare wire to make contact once power is applied the the PSU, or for an accident to happen from vibration.

matte87 · Jan 6, 2004, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Roadee
The fan or fans are directly connected to the PSU. So if you are replacing a stock fan you will end up with stray wiring. It is best to connect back up to the existing wiring. IF you are adding a fan where there wasn't one before....then you could pretty much do it how ever you feel comfortable. Just always make sure that you have a strong connection and that it is sealed very well. You dont want a bare wire to make contact once power is applied the the PSU, or for an accident to happen from vibration.

My PSU is a Chieftec HPC-300-202. The original fan is a "Magic MGT8012MS" that is a 80mm fan with 12V and 0.15A. What must be the same as the original fan on the replacement fan?

**Roadee** · Jan 6, 2004, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by matte87
My PSU is a Chieftec HPC-300-202. The original fan is a "Magic MGT8012MS" that is a 80mm fan with 12V and 0.15A. What must be the same as the original fan on the replacement fan?

Talked to you on MSN........hope everything goes smooth for you.

mainman · Jan 7, 2004, 07:09 AM

Yet anouther great guide, keep'em comin. Very nice work!!!

P.S. I personaly enjoyed the disclamer...

**Roadee** · Jan 7, 2004, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mainman
P.S. I personaly enjoyed the disclamer...

Thank you!!

mainman · Jan 7, 2004, 09:20 AM

Your welcome bud, i gotta admit pretty nice touch...

The_Neon_Cowboy · Jan 7, 2004, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Roadee
And this is why you make sure that it is unplugged and has had enough time to discharge the storage capacitors!!

i'd get really board before that happend ...

Quote:

Originally posted by matte87
My PSU is a Chieftec HPC-300-202. The original fan is a "Magic MGT8012MS" that is a 80mm fan with 12V and 0.15A. What must be the same as the original fan on the replacement fan?

thats its a 12v 80mm fan the amps dont matter. you'll relise that when you strip the wires thier not copper their steel!

also u can rig up two fan one set of leads that was meant for one fan long as you dont go crazy and try to hook two monster fans up lol....

good luck

Matth · Jan 7, 2004, 04:34 PM

I wonder if it would compromise structural integrity too much to cut the punched grille away and use a wire finger guard instead - that usually results in more airflow and less noise from ANY fan.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Jan 7, 2004, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Matth
I wonder if it would compromise structural integrity too much to cut the punched grille away and use a wire finger guard instead - that usually results in more airflow and less noise from ANY fan.

should be ok doing that.... should be fine on psu's

aboyandhisblob · Oct 3, 2004, 06:56 AM

i pulled this off great guide guys.

Vortex88 · Dec 2, 2009, 06:51 AM

I'm not sure if anyone will see this since it's an older thread, but I came across this site through google, and I'm having some power supply issues. I just realized that the fan in my psu has stopped working. I'm not sure when it happened though. Would replacing the fan in the psu be an option at this point, or would the new fan just not work like the one that is already in there? Is this more likely to be an issue with the psu itself or the fan?

Zardon · Dec 2, 2009, 09:37 AM

Its a hard question to answer - is the PSU firing up at all? obviously im aware you wouldn't want to risk long term use if it is firing up but the fan isnt working.

If it is only the fan and not the controller or the actual PSU itself, then this should work fine for you. Just make sure you use the same size.

Incidentally a while ago my friends power supply fan died but it didn't want to open the PSU chassis so he got a high quality 120mm fan and ran a molex out the back of the case and used blutack to stick the fan on the exhaust area of the PSU outside the case in a 'pull air out' position.

Obviously not as good as replacing the fan internally (and it looks ugly) but it worked for him. I actually did this myself on a Corsair PSU that was getting too hot (powering a system near its rated limit) in the past to help drop the temps a bit.

What PSU has failed for you ?

Vortex88 · Dec 3, 2009, 06:38 AM

Yeah, the psu definitely still powers up and works. Right now I'm at college and all I can tell you is that it's a Rosewill 800 watt psu. I'm not sure about the model; I'll have to look at all the documentation when I get home for break. I'm thinking it'll probably still have a warranty, so I can send it in and get it fixed. I might just buy a new one too anyway, because I really don't need 800 watts for my setup, and quite frankly there are way too many stray cables inside my case right now.

Jan 4, 2004, 09:25 PM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 177	Proper Replacement of a Power Supply Fan Gold member and modder [color=gold]Mike "Neon Cowboy" lady[/color] has made a guide for the DH members detailing how to replace a Power supply fan. The editor for this project was fellow gold member [color=gold]Joe "Roadee" Dawson[/color]. They did a great job and you can read this article over here. Id really like to stress the dangers involved with this mod, so if you are going to even attempt it, follow the guide accurately. We wont be responsible for any accidents to yourself or your hardware, please BE CAREFUL !

Jan 4, 2004, 11:04 PM	#3
toddsmack2k It Never..... Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Kentucky Posts: 3,173 Rep Power: 0	I agree kinetic another nice guide! Keep em coming guys and thank to all of you who are doing them. __________________ [color=blue]*Bleeding From the Inside Pouring Out, The* *DriverHeaven* Spiral, We Shall Never Let Go Of.[/color]

Jan 5, 2004, 04:03 AM	#5
Roadee Never forgotten Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Rest In peace, Joe. Posts: 2,198 Rep Power: 67	I hope everyone likes Neon's article, it was very fun helping out on it. He is already working on some new articles, as are other member's. This is going to be a pretty active forum, as ideas for guides are endless. __________________ We are born naked, wet, and hungry. Then things get worse.

Jan 5, 2004, 10:26 AM	#6
Markius DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 2,350 Rep Power: 0	well done guys. a very good and easy to follow guide. __________________ DriverHeavens Aussie... "Lifes tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late"

Jan 5, 2004, 10:32 AM	#7
MIG-31 HardwareHeaven News Mod Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham,UK Posts: 55,779 Rep Power: 444 System Specs	much impressive guide.very straight forward to follow. certainly hope to see more in the future.and no doubt we will. __________________ Please Post Your News Submissions Here

Jan 4, 2004, 10:59 PM	#2
kinetic DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Manchester England Posts: 2,559 Rep Power: 0	Another great guide! Good work guys!

Jan 5, 2004, 11:43 AM	#8
Logla HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 3,311 Rep Power: 62	Thanks for that guys, I may well pop down to the local store and purchase a couple of silent fans today.

Jan 5, 2004, 12:23 PM	#10
Logla HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 3,311 Rep Power: 62	Thanks for the advice. Been looking at the fans in the psu and I think I'll leave them alone. PSU is an Antec TruBlue and the fans seem pretty quiet anyway.

Jan 7, 2004, 07:09 AM	#21
mainman Mr. Nobody Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: OmniPresent Nightwatcher Posts: 5,961 Rep Power: 69	Yet anouther great guide, keep'em comin. Very nice work!!! P.S. I personaly enjoyed the disclamer... __________________

Jan 7, 2004, 09:20 AM	#23
mainman Mr. Nobody Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: OmniPresent Nightwatcher Posts: 5,961 Rep Power: 69	Your welcome bud, i gotta admit pretty nice touch... __________________

Jan 7, 2004, 04:34 PM	#25
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,411 Rep Power: 91 System Specs	I wonder if it would compromise structural integrity too much to cut the punched grille away and use a wire finger guard instead - that usually results in more airflow and less noise from ANY fan.

Oct 3, 2004, 06:56 AM	#27
aboyandhisblob DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 15 Rep Power: 0	i pulled this off great guide guys.

Dec 2, 2009, 06:51 AM	#28
Vortex88 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	Re: Proper Replacement of a Power Supply Fan I'm not sure if anyone will see this since it's an older thread, but I came across this site through google, and I'm having some power supply issues. I just realized that the fan in my psu has stopped working. I'm not sure when it happened though. Would replacing the fan in the psu be an option at this point, or would the new fan just not work like the one that is already in there? Is this more likely to be an issue with the psu itself or the fan?

Dec 2, 2009, 09:37 AM	Thread Starter #29
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 177	Re: Proper Replacement of a Power Supply Fan Its a hard question to answer - is the PSU firing up at all? obviously im aware you wouldn't want to risk long term use if it is firing up but the fan isnt working. If it is only the fan and not the controller or the actual PSU itself, then this should work fine for you. Just make sure you use the same size. Incidentally a while ago my friends power supply fan died but it didn't want to open the PSU chassis so he got a high quality 120mm fan and ran a molex out the back of the case and used blutack to stick the fan on the exhaust area of the PSU outside the case in a 'pull air out' position. Obviously not as good as replacing the fan internally (and it looks ugly) but it worked for him. I actually did this myself on a Corsair PSU that was getting too hot (powering a system near its rated limit) in the past to help drop the temps a bit. What PSU has failed for you ?

Dec 3, 2009, 06:38 AM	#30
Vortex88 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	Re: Proper Replacement of a Power Supply Fan Yeah, the psu definitely still powers up and works. Right now I'm at college and all I can tell you is that it's a Rosewill 800 watt psu. I'm not sure about the model; I'll have to look at all the documentation when I get home for break. I'm thinking it'll probably still have a warranty, so I can send it in and get it fixed. I might just buy a new one too anyway, because I really don't need 800 watts for my setup, and quite frankly there are way too many stray cables inside my case right now.