Is it difficult/dangerous to change PSU fans?

[Stoneface]

My system is too loud. I am thinking of replacing the case, PSU and HS fans. I have never taken apart a PSU and was wondering if anybody else has and has any suggestions. What type of connectors do PSU take? Do you need a special type of fan? I am running a XP1800 with the stock HSF, large SuperMicro case, no overclocking.

Case fans I am assuming should be easy, looking at the Adda 60mm 13.2CFM for the HS and either the PCP silencers or Enermax w/speed control for the PSU.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, especially about the PSU fan replacement.

Thanks
Stoneface

 

[Jeff7]

I've done it probably....5 times now. No problems yet. I just splice the wires together using some heat shrink tubing. Use a wire nut and then encase it in electrical tape. One of the last things you need is several amps of 12VDC shorting out in your computer.

 

[mina2k]

Some PSU have a 2 pin connector and others have the wires soldered on the power supply board. Most power supplies have 80mm 12v fans, pretty standard and pretty easy.

 

[Harvey]

Open up your supply, and look at the fan before you try it. You want a fan that uses about the same amount of current, not a great deal more. Double ball bearings are best.

Check the connector type mina2k mentions. It will save you time if you can find a fan with the same connector.

If you can't, just splice the wires, as Jeff7 suggests. It is best to solder them, instead of just twisting them together. Make sure to use some insulation, such as heat-shrinkable tubing.

 

[Danlz]

PS tutorial

 

[NewCompGeek]

it was easy for me. i used the fan that came with it 92mm 2 pin nitec for my case.

all i did is just snip it and my old hsf 3-pin and heatshrinked them thoghter then just buy a 3-pin to 4-pin adapter and save some money

 

[Becks2k]

how easy it is depends on the powersupply...

Some can be easy as unscrewing the fan and unpluging it, and pluging in the new one and screwing it in. Some powersupplys have wierd connecters, or none. In the that case you can either cut the wire, and splice it with your new fan to get power... or you can just run the fan wire out the back of the ps with all the other cords thats easy.

Other hard part is sometimes getting the fan out isn't easy. On my antec ps it was just 4 screws and it came out easy.

My last powersupply was anal about it. The powersupply was screwed down, and then there was stuff screwed to it. I couldn't get to the screws either because all the cords were too short and I just gave up being afraid i was going to shock myself.

BTW there is that danger I guess, frying yourself or whatever. When I unplug my powersupply from the wall and hit the power button you can see all the fans twitch trying to spin up before all the power is gone. Dunno how much that leaves in the powersupply tho but it makes me feel better.

 

[acdub]

I have a question about this. I have an antec ps with a smart fan that senses temperature, can I use any fan to replace it or are there certain fans that can be used?

 

[striker21]

I have the same question as acdub. My Antec PP303X has recently started making a lot of noise. I haven't opened it, but I suspect that it has a sleeve-bearing fan in it. My only concern with replacing it is Antec's claim that it uses a variable speed "Smart-Fan". I guess the question is, is the "Smart-Fan" logic built into the fan itself, or is it in some other part of the PSU?

PC Power and Cooling makes a Silencer Auxilary Fan 80mm (20dB and 28CFM) that seems nice. Also, they have a variable speed fan called "Therma-Sense", which varies from 20dB/25CFM @ 25C to 29dB/39CFM @35C. Sounds like lots of people are annoyed by these variable-speed fans, but it seems like they speed up only when things are getting too warm. So, the Therma-Sense seems to have integrated logic for the variable-speed, but I don't know if Antec uses the same scheme in their power supply fans...

 

[Pothead]

I dunno about the smartfan but I just popped in a panaflo in the antec psu and it runs great. A silent computer!