Solved Can I change PSU fan?

[Bungee18]

Hi guys.
My PSU fan is by far the loudest fan in my case. I would like to replace for a quieter one.
I'm thinking it needs to be one with similar airflow and static pressure, right?
The problem is that the thing moves 110 CFM and there aren't many 120mm fans that can move that amount of air and remain quiet.
Would it be very detrimental to performance if I changed it for one that moves, let's say, 80 CFM?

How difficult and dangerous would it be?
I know caps retain charge over time. How do I discharge them before opening the PSU?

Your advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,

J

 

[fireberd]

Be extremely careful inside a power supply, even with the voltages and capacitors supposedly discharged. There is one report of a person being electrocuted (killed) because of the left over voltages in the power supply.

 

[Pauly]

To discharge a capacitor you simply short out the two terminals with a metallic conductive object (one that your not touching at the time obviously) with something like insulated pliers or similar but as posted above going inside a psu is not recommended especially if you dont know what your doing or are unsure, not all caps look the same and its hard to tell sometimes what is what and where they are especially in a confined space

 

[Parman]

I believe a teen got killed a few months back from playing in the power supply.

I would recommend you just buy a replacement that fits your needs.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

I would try two things first.
1) Clean the unit with compressed air
2) Invert the PSU so it draws air from inside the case and exhausts
Both of these should help with cooling and quieting. That PSU is a good unit if a little noisey.

 

[fireberd]

I have an OCZ ZT 750 watt power supply in one recent build PC. The power supply fan was noisy and as it was new I contacted OCZ. As it turned out the noisy fan (it ran a full speed all the time) was a known problem in one batch of this model power supplies. They replaced it with a newer version and it now is quiet.

 

[Solarstarshines]

Hi guys.
My PSU fan is by far the loudest fan in my case. I would like to replace for a quieter one.
I'm thinking it needs to be one with similar airflow and static pressure, right?
The problem is that the thing moves 110 CFM and there aren't many 120mm fans that can move that amount of air and remain quiet.
Would it be very detrimental to performance if I changed it for one that moves, let's say, 80 CFM?

How difficult and dangerous would it be?
I know caps retain charge over time. How do I discharge them before opening the PSU?

Your advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,

J

Honestly I wouldn't bother If you want a Queiter PSU fan I would go out and get one with those specifics because you are taking your life into your hands trying to open a PSU to work on that fan as a previous poster said there was a thread on here about a Teen who tryed to work on a PSU got horribly killed

Not worth your Life or just live with it

 

[Bungee18]

Thank you for your answers guys.

Will not get a new PSU just for resolving the noise issue.
Besides, all manufacturers say their fans are quiet and so on an so forth, and post noise specs which are just bollocks for fans that spin at 2500+ rpm and push more than 100 CFM.

@Linnemeyer,
I do not need to blow any dust bunnies out of the PSU. It has two months and it has always been filtered.
I tried having the fan pulling air from within the case. It was a little quieter (maybe because the case muffled the noise), but it messed with my temps (GPU in particular) and cable management.

I'll just get a good, high flow, quiet fan (or the quietest I can lay my hands on), and have a tech replace it so I don't fry myself.

Thanks again.

 

[Solarstarshines]

Thank you for your answers guys.

Will not get a new PSU just for resolving the noise issue.
Besides, all manufacturers say their fans are quiet and so on an so forth, and post noise specs which are just bollocks for fans that spin at 2500+ rpm and push more than 100 CFM.

@Linnemeyer,
I do not need to blow any dust bunnies out of the PSU. It has two months and it has always been filtered.
I tried having the fan pulling air from within the case. It was a little quieter (maybe because the case muffled the noise), but it messed with my temps (GPU in particular) and cable management.

I'll just get a good, high flow, quiet fan (or the quietest I can lay my hands on), and have a tech replace it so I don't fry myself.

Thanks again.

Now that is using your Noodle

 

[Britton30]

Never discharge a capacitor by shorting the terminals, it can over heat rapidly and even explode hot materials in your face.

 

[Pauly]

Never discharge a capacitor by shorting the terminals, it can over heat rapidly and even explode hot materials in your face.

I never realised that but im a sparky by trade so i am more used to dealing with mains electrics than low voltage stuff and thats how we discharge stuff in work, mainly HV caps in microwave and similar machinery they charge at 3000 to 6000 volts and make a pretty flash and a bang when you discharge them if there full but i accept they are totally different bits of kit to psu caps

So i apologise if i gave a bummer there
You know what thet say about assumptions

 

[mmkarimi]

Pauly are you kidding, discharging with a wire, as an electronic engineer, there is no such discharging method ever heard, discharging a HV capacitor need an electronic circuit with a resistor so the energy inside the capacitor would change into heat in a period of time. in physics we have a theory that energy wont disappear in the space, and it would just change from one form to another. like from electricity into heat or mechanical energy.

Bungee, if you want to clean your psu, as previous discussion i had with this forum guys, there is nothing to worry of, the capacitor are shielded with plastic, and be aware of touching its tips. the fan has a socket and you can remove it then clean it with a tissue and using oil in the middle part of it, called its router, you should remove its label, under that, there is a plastic cap. you should remove it and pour just one drop of oil in it. that simple...
but be careful.​

   Warning

Opening a PSU can be life threatening if you touch or bump a capacitor.

It is not recommended to do if you dont care so since it could easily kill you.

 

[fireberd]

I'm an old time electroncis and RF guy. I used have a General Class Ham License (W5DVO and ZD8JES) and a 2nd Class FCC Radiotelephone license. And, worked at Ascension Island on UHF command systems (10 KW transmitter) for the Apollo project.

In the Air Force, with high powered comm transmitters such as the old BC610, we used a grounding "stick" - a metal probe with a wooden handle and a ground clip from the metal probe that was clipped to ground on the transmitter. We would ground the plate cap (HV) on the transmitter tube or other areas before we would do anything inside the transmitter. In my own Ham equipment, I only used a jumper to ground things when working on it.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...I'll just get a good, high flow, quiet fan (or the quietest I can lay my hands on), and have a tech replace it so I don't fry myself.

Thanks again.

I'm thinking if you can find a tech willing to make the mod (I suspect most reputable ones will try to talk you out of it), it will wind up costing you more than the PSU itself. PITA and seemingly expensive though it may be, you would be better off replacing it with a higher quality PSU that is already quieter. Also, a somewhat larger one will run cooler, allowing the fan to run slower.

Btw, here is a link to the story about the teen that got killed.

 

[bobafetthotmail]

If you are very very determined to do it yourself and don't care about risking your own life to change a noisy fan, use heavy-duty rubberized gloves AND rubber boots. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you have to avoid at all costs to use your body to make a circuit that allows the current from a capacitor to move through your chest (heart) to go either to the ground or to return into the PSU (on another component/contact).
In case of a discharge it will hurt a lot, but won't kill as it won't get through the heart. Current goes by the lower-resistance route, it isn't an evil monster with a life of its own. Say you touch the device with a bare arm but with boots on, only that arm gets electrocuted (a small patch of skin actually).

But screwing up royally and ending up sitting on the floor with the open PSU falling on you with all capacitors crackling with evil sparks remains a risk.

 

[Britton30]

Pauly are you kidding, discharging with a wire, as an electronic engineer, there is no such discharging method ever heard, discharging a HV capacitor need an electronic circuit with a resistor so the energy inside the capacitor would change into heat in a period of time. in physics we have a theory that energy wont disappear in the space, and it would just change from one form to another. like from electricity into heat or mechanical energy.

Bungee, if you want to clean your psu, as previous discussion i had with this forum guys, there is nothing to worry of, the capacitor are shielded with plastic, and be aware of touching its tips. the fan has a socket and you can remove it then clean it with a tissue and using oil in the middle part of it, called its router, you should remove its label, under that, there is a plastic cap. you should remove it and pour just one drop of oil in it. that simple...
but be careful.​

WARNING Dangerous info here!!

 

[mmkarimi]

IS it just dangerous because its dangerous or you have any reason behind?
have you ever open any (just one) psu?
they shield the capacitors so if you don't intentionally touch those tips you wouldn't touch them.

   Warning

i leave this post to you guys
its much better to go and get a new one
MMKARIMI

 

[Britton30]

mmkarimi I'm not going to be pulled into your fantasy world. Try googling the subject.

 

[kbrady1979]

I've seen the warning "Do Not Open" on quite a few power supplies.......ever wondered why they have to put those warnings on there? Like the coffee cups from McDonald's that have "Caution: Hot" on them.

Ever wondered what would happen if all warning labels were removed? There would be quite a few people in trouble.

 

[Bungee18]

Thank you for your help guys.

I will definitely not open it my self, neither I am going to get a new one. 750W is more than enough for my system and NZXT's PSUs are good enough (at least that's what they say at jonnyguru.com, best PSU reviews around).

I did some research on the fan the PSU comes equipped with, and these ADDA fans are pretty standard for PSUs, even for higher end ones, another reason for not going for a new, more expensive one.

A certified tech will do the modd for around 50 bucks, the new fan will be 20 bucks at the most. A new good quality 1000W PSU would be around 230 (Argentina pricing).
That settles it for me.

Thanks again for all your help and advice.

J