Need to replace PSU fan

[Gunslinger08]

Bought an Antec HCG-620 a few months ago and the fan is rattling very loudly and driving me crazy. I've checked out everything I can and it doesn't seem to be just vibration in the PSU case - the fan is actually bad. Antec wants me to mail it in, which would leave me without a PSU for who knows how long. I'd prefer to just replace the fan myself. It looks like the standard fan is the ADDA ADN512MB-A90. Does anybody know where I can buy that fan or one very similar? The stuff I found online indicates that it's a 135x135x25 2-pin fan: http://cdn5.tweaktown.com/content/4...nt_gamer_hcg_620_power_supply_review_full.jpg

 

[Meghan54]

Replace the fan yourself and you void your warranty. Seems rather silly and needless, not to mention not too smart.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Don't care about warranty. Just want a fan.

 

[SonicIce]

you could try oiling it as a last resort, cant hurt. ive saved many a fan this way
http://www.dansdata.com/fanmaint.htm

 

[BoomerD]

Josh, if you're dead set on replacing the fan, try JonnyGuru. He can probably help you source one. Hell, he might even have some in his workshop from power supplies he's destroyed...

 

[C1]

Attempt this only for a spare PSU that if it doesnt work out you just throw the whole PSU out. There's an outstanding chance that once you extract the fan from the PSU you will then find that it is customized in some way that makes it unique (ie, it is not really commercial off-the-shelf). (Typically it is the mounting that is different.)

 

[jonnyGURU]

Fortunately, it's not a PWM fan. The speed is varied by increasing and decreasing the voltage to the fan. That power supply is fairly efficient and not very hot. Just find a decent 135mm fan, install it and call it a day.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...USA-_-35185163

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Ltd-_-35118092

 

[truckerCLOCK]

Fortunately, it's not a PWM fan. The speed is varied by increasing and decreasing the voltage to the fan. That power supply is fairly efficient and not very hot. Just find a decent 135mm fan, install it and call it a day.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...USA-_-35185163

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Ltd-_-35118092

Its not that simple.....if he plans on buying a lower RPM fan it might not work until the PS gets hot. I know my PS voltage starts out at 5 Vdc and doesnt have enough amperage to start the 140mm fan until it gets hot and bumps up the voltage.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Bought an Antec HCG-620 a few months ago and the fan is rattling very loudly and driving me crazy. I've checked out everything I can and it doesn't seem to be just vibration in the PSU case - the fan is actually bad. Antec wants me to mail it in, which would leave me without a PSU for who knows how long. I'd prefer to just replace the fan myself. It looks like the standard fan is the ADDA ADN512MB-A90. Does anybody know where I can buy that fan or one very similar? The stuff I found online indicates that it's a 135x135x25 2-pin fan: http://cdn5.tweaktown.com/content/4...nt_gamer_hcg_620_power_supply_review_full.jpg

Is out loud under any load?

 

[Gunslinger08]

I oiled the fan and it's somewhat better, but it's still rattling sometimes. It doesn't seem to really be tied to load - sometimes I'll walk away for a few hours while Steam downloads something and it will be rattling loudly randomly when I check on it.

I think I will probably eventually buy the closest 135mm 3pin fan I can find and get a 3pin to 2pin adapter. I'll just need to bundle up the wires and wrap them in electrical tape - the current fan has a plastic sleeve to prevent rubbing and arcing.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Its not that simple.....if he plans on buying a lower RPM fan it might not work until the PS gets hot. I know my PS voltage starts out at 5 Vdc and doesnt have enough amperage to start the 140mm fan until it gets hot and bumps up the voltage.

True that most fans start at 7V. It's also true that most PSU's don't use "special" fans that start up any lower than that. If the PSU is running so cool that it's only putting 5V out to the fan and the fan is rotating that slow, the PSU isn't running hot enough to even need active cooling, so I still wouldn't worry about it.

 

[paul878]

You can find replacement fan at digikey.com or mouser.com.
Just make sure you get one that match the physical and electrical specs.

 

[BTA]

Just buy a fan that is similar, replace it, and call it a day.

I used to do it all the time.

 

[truckerCLOCK]

True that most fans start at 7V. It's also true that most PSU's don't use "special" fans that start up any lower than that. If the PSU is running so cool that it's only putting 5V out to the fan and the fan is rotating that slow, the PSU isn't running hot enough to even need active cooling, so I still wouldn't worry about it.

Im not saying he needs any "special fans" just one that operates in the spec/range of the manufactures design. If the original fan was say a 1500 rpm fan and it gets replaced with say a 900 rpm fan the starting voltage/amperage will need to increase to start that lower rpm fan. Most people will freak out when they fire up their PC and the PS fan doesnt spin on start up.

 

[Gunslinger08]

An update: I finally got around to trying to fix this yesterday. I ordered a 135mm fan online and a 3pin to 2pin adapter. Got it all hooked up and the fan fails to start. I guess the voltage isn't high enough to get it going. I'm just going to order a new PSU. Looking at the Seasonic X650 - hopeful that Newegg will get more in stock before their promotion ends on Monday.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Not trying to necro but I'm in the same boat with the same fan and Enermax doesn't want to replace the fan even though its still under warranty so I'm also looking for an alternative.

It intermittently sounds like glass clackers in the case and if you don't know what those are then you really missed out on dangerous childhood toys.

 

[UsandThem]

Not trying to necro but I'm in the same boat with the same fan and Enermax doesn't want to replace the fan even though its still under warranty so I'm also looking for an alternative.

It intermittently sounds like glass clackers in the case and if you don't know what those are then you really missed out on dangerous childhood toys.

Enermax is having a rough year apparently. First they have received a lot of bad press on their defective AIO coolers, and now they won't honor their warranty for PSUs? They used to be such a good company 15+ years ago, but it seems they are fading into obscurity much like Antec has.

There are plenty of YouTube videos and articles on how to replace the fan, just be careful and pay attention to the warnings since PSUs can hold a deadly charge. You didn't say how old the PSU was, but since PSU pricing has fallen since the mining boom ended, it might just be worth it to buy a new quality PSU in the $30 - $60 range from Seasonic, Evga, Corsair, etc.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Poor Enermax. Poor Antec. I'll miss them both, when they go under.

Anyways, I had an Antec Basiq 500W, which you would think, should have been as decent and reliable as current offerings from EVGA and Corsair in that budget and wattage range, but they weren't. The newer stuff is way better.

Sure, the PSU worked acceptably, no crashes or anything, but that stupid sleeve-bearing fan, oh how it made noise, eventually started grinding, didn't want to replace fan under warranty, just replaced the whole unit. Ah, well.

 

[UsandThem]

Poor Enermax. Poor Antec. I'll miss them both, when they go under.

Anyways, I had an Antec Basiq 500W, which you would think, should have been as decent and reliable as current offerings from EVGA and Corsair in that budget and wattage range, but they weren't. The newer stuff is way better.

Sure, the PSU worked acceptably, no crashes or anything, but that stupid sleeve-bearing fan, oh how it made noise, eventually started grinding, didn't want to replace fan under warranty, just replaced the whole unit. Ah, well.

Speaking of Antec, I actually came across this post at JonnyGuru when I was reading about their "High Current Gamer" PSUs Newegg had on sale yesterday:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15777

I honestly think there's nobody left at Antec to police this sort of thing.

Andrew retired to open a restaurant in Taiwan. He put his son Frank in place as president, but he's more interested in drones (he runs "Propsman" https://franknesss.myshopify.com). And knowing that Joerg was fired (he died two weeks after being let go) as PSU PM tells me they had no intention to fill the position.

There is literally NOBODY at the wheel at Antec.

[ ] shame... a company with such a long history with enthusiasts.

I wondered how they went from being so dominant in the PSU and case market, to basically going to a has-been. And on another note, apparently their High Current Gamer PSUs are really bad. They are based on an older Seasonic Focus design, but Antec increased the OCP rating over what Seasonic had it configured to, and Tom's Hardware killed two of their units testing the OCP testing:

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/antec-high-current-gamer-850w-psu,5578-6.html

 

[Puffnstuff]

Enermax is having a rough year apparently. First they have received a lot of bad press on their defective AIO coolers, and now they won't honor their warranty for PSUs? They used to be such a good company 15+ years ago, but it seems they are fading into obscurity much like Antec has.

There are plenty of YouTube videos and articles on how to replace the fan, just be careful and pay attention to the warnings since PSUs can hold a deadly charge. You didn't say how old the PSU was, but since PSU pricing has fallen since the mining boom ended, it might just be worth it to buy a new quality PSU in the $30 - $60 range from Seasonic, Evga, Corsair, etc.

I've got the Platimax 1350w PS so I won't be replacing it anytime soon. I can butcher a new fan in and am currently leaning towards a titan 140mm unit that has close to the same specs but will require a 3 pin to 2 pin adapter as I just want plug and play.

 

[Red Squirrel]

It would be silly to send it in for just a fan. Should be fairly simple to swap out. Sometimes they are soldered or use a proprietary connector, so be ready to do some soldering, but overall not a big deal. At least you won't be without the PSU for weeks or months. Sometimes warranties arn't really worth it, in terms of your time, and yous till have to pay for shipping. Probably looking at 40-60 bucks to ship something the size and weight of a PSU.

 

[UsandThem]

It would be silly to send it in for just a fan. Should be fairly simple to swap out. Sometimes they are soldered or use a proprietary connector, so be ready to do some soldering, but overall not a big deal. At least you won't be without the PSU for weeks or months. Sometimes warranties arn't really worth it, in terms of your time, and yous till have to pay for shipping. Probably looking at 40-60 bucks to ship something the size and weight of a PSU.

While agree that most people can figure out what they need to do, the biggest downside is breaking the warranty sticker when it is opened up. That will void any warranty, and if the unit goes belly up, a person would be out of luck. His particular unit only comes with a 5 year warranty, so he's likely not going to lose much warranty at this point. However, a PSU like my Seasonic PSU has a 12 year warranty that I wouldn't want to void.

I always like keeping a cheap backup unit on hand for this sort of thing, but I also understand I would be responsible for mailing back the defective component, but sometimes there's no way of getting around that unfortunately.