Power Mac G4 noisy fan replacement

[Jalmio]

I've got this G4 tower as a retro-ish gaming/other shit rig. It's PSU has been upgraded from the unreliable 350W model to 400W, which is probably the loudest Mac part ever. The Macs that shipped with this were even nicknamed "windtunnel".

 

I would just slap a better aftermarket fan there as I did with it's CPU, but since the PSU is shaped more like a 1U server thing and has 2 60mm (I'll measure to make sure) fans there it's a bit more complicated.

 

No local retailer (I'm Finnish) has those and I'm not sure if that small lf fans would even be the best option for a quiet end result.

 

So, what do you people think? Should I go for good 60mm fans or do something different like somehow dremel a hole in it and mount a bigger one or attach a radial blower to it's end for reference GPU cooler like thing?

[ProjectBox153]

8 minutes ago, Jalmio said:

I've got this G4 tower as a retro-ish gaming/other shit rig. It's PSU has been upgraded from the unreliable 350W model to 400W, which is probably the loudest Mac part ever. The Macs that shipped with this were even nicknamed "windtunnel".

 

I would just slap a better aftermarket fan there as I did with it's CPU, but since the PSU is shaped more like a 1U server thing and has 2 60mm (I'll measure to make sure) fans there it's a bit more complicated.

 

No local retailer (I'm Finnish) has those and I'm not sure if that small lf fans would even be the best option for a quiet end result.

 

So, what do you people think? Should I go for good 60mm fans or do something different like somehow dremel a hole in it and mount a bigger one or attach a radial blower to it's end for reference GPU cooler like thing?

 

 

You can replace the fans, and that's about it as far as I've heard. I have a windtunnel as well, and it can be heard over my Dell XPS 630i, which is REALLY loud itself. 

[Jalmio]

I see. Could someone recommend me a good fan to go with? Also, what if I bought something like in the picture or an used stock blower type GPU cooler and cut the fan part there? I have never had one of those and have no idea how powerful they are.

[LogicalDrm]

There's bit of danger when changing PSU fans. And big problem since PSUs tend to use smaller fan headers than normal case fans. You can solder header from PSU fan to new fan, if you are handy like that.

 

And which local stores did you check for fans? Jimm's has several 60mm fans https://www.jimms.fi/fi/Product/List/000-140/jaahdytys-ja-erikoistuotteet--tuulettimet--alle-120mm?ob=6 and here is Tietokonekauppa's selection https://tietokonekauppa.fi/products/t/1324/6_cm_tuulettimet

[Jalmio]

1 hour ago, LoGiCalDrm said:

-snip-

Local as something I can go to the store. Jimm's I've actually ordered from but it'd be more than two hours to drive one way.

 

I might order via internet but then it doesn't really matter if it's from Amazon or something.

 

Soldering fan headers or so isn't a problem. I'm only really afraid of the cooling performance in the end..

[LogicalDrm]

1 hour ago, Jalmio said:

Local as something I can go to the store. Jimm's I've actually ordered from but it'd be more than two hours to drive one way.

 

I might order via internet but then it doesn't really matter if it's from Amazon or something.

 

Soldering fan headers or so isn't a problem. I'm only really afraid of the cooling performance in the end..

Jimm's has free delivery on all other methods except delivery on home. 60mm fans aren't that common for modern PCs so I'm not surprised if there aren't any shops which would have them. You might try from repair shops or recycle centers. But those fans will be at same range with current ones.

 

If there's any labels on current fans which would tell their model, we could see which aftermarket fan has closest matching CFM. The fans Jimm's has are 10-20 CFM.

[tatte]

If there's enough room, I'd go with cutting a hole and mounting a bigger fan to its side. Easily more efficient and quiet than messing around with tiny fans.

 

Suomi mainittu, torilla tavataan?

[Jalmio]

Suomi prkle!!!!111

 

I'm gonna order a pair of Noctuas and see what happens. The originals are some crappy Delta fans similar to what I've encountered in a G5 tower PSU. 

[Jalmio]

I got the new fans and this thing is really silent. I can't really hear the new fans from the hard drive noise.

 

Props for Noctua for including a lot of accessories so I didn't have to splice the fan cord itself and Jimm's for packing a surprise in the box:D