Changing the fan in a power supply?

[Yalla Bye]

I want to change the fan in my power supply to one made by noctua so that it will be quieter.

 

Aside from the well known dangers of fiddling around inside the guts of power supplies, is there anything else I should be aware of? Is it possible for a new fan to not provide adequate cooling and endanger my pc?

[Himommies]

You know unplug the PSU before you start

[emosun]

Should work fine I've done it plenty of times.

If the power supply doesn't care about how the fan is connected you can connect it to the 12v rail directly to ensure it's running at full speed and keeping the unit cool , or the 5v rail it you want it to run at half speed.

[IBM_THINKPAD_R51]

Dont use any fan adapters 

if the PSU uses a 3-pin, use a three pin fan

if it uses a 4-pin, use a four pin fan.

 

other than that, you should be good

[TheRandomness]

7 minutes ago, IBM_THINKPAD_R51 said:

Dont use any fan adapters 

if the PSU uses a 3-pin, use a three pin fan

if it uses a 4-pin, use a four pin fan.

 

other than that, you should be good

Problem with this is that PSUs use those smaller fan headers, like the ones found on graphics cards. So nothing made for desktop use will actually plug in. 

[IBM_THINKPAD_R51]

Just now, TheRandomness said:

Problem with this is that PSUs use those smaller fan headers, like the ones found on graphics cards. So nothing made for desktop use will actually plug in. 

as long as it has the same number of pins, no matter how big the connector is, your fine. 

[TheRandomness]

Just now, IBM_THINKPAD_R51 said:

as long as it has the same number of pins, no matter how big the connector is, your fine. 

Not really, especially when the PSU might have a 2 pin connector. I mean, you could remove the connector housing on the PSU PCB, but that'd be slightly dangerous. 

[IBM_THINKPAD_R51]

1 minute ago, TheRandomness said:

Not really, especially when the PSU might have a 2 pin connector. I mean, you could remove the connector housing on the PSU PCB, but that'd be slightly dangerous. 

Unless if the PSU is REALLY old, then you wont find a 2-pin connector, but even if you do, it means its just positive and negative, so modifying the fan to just a positive and negative wire is fine.

[Damascus]

1 hour ago, IBM_THINKPAD_R51 said:

Dont use any fan adapters 

if the PSU uses a 3-pin, use a three pin fan

if it uses a 4-pin, use a four pin fan.

 

other than that, you should be good

 

1 hour ago, TheRandomness said:

Problem with this is that PSUs use those smaller fan headers, like the ones found on graphics cards. So nothing made for desktop use will actually plug in. 

Actually, mine appears to be directly soldered on

 

[Tsuki]

should be fine, but be careful. those capacitors can store a charge, and while its mostly safe if you know what you're doing, messing with a psu and not being careful, can kill you.

 

good luck, and dont get dead

[WoodenMarker]

23 hours ago, IBM_THINKPAD_R51 said:

Unless if the PSU is REALLY old, then you wont find a 2-pin connector, but even if you do, it means its just positive and negative, so modifying the fan to just a positive and negative wire is fine.

Really? From memory, most psus I've opened up use 2 pins.

[IBM_THINKPAD_R51]

1 minute ago, WoodenMarker said:

Really? From memory, most psus I've opened up use 2 pins.

From what year, and brand?

[WoodenMarker]

1 minute ago, IBM_THINKPAD_R51 said:

From what year, and brand?

From the top of my head, psus using 2 pins for fans included the Cooler Master V850 in my current system which was released in 2013, green label Corsair CX and HX V2's were released around the same time, and the older Antec NeoEco series from around 2010.

I'm not entirely sure what constitutes as old.

[IBM_THINKPAD_R51]

11 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

From the top of my head, psus using 2 pins for fans included the Cooler Master V850 in my current system which was released in 2013, green label Corsair CX and HX V2's were released around the same time, and the older Antec NeoEco series from around 2010.

I'm not entirely sure what constitutes as old.

oh, most PSU's have at least 3-4 pins because of the numerous features that the manufacturers include on them. For example, to adjust speed, to completely turn off the fan at times, and also so the user can override the fan curve.  

 

( im pretty sure im missing some features here but these are the most common0

[IKnight]

Just follow a tutorial like this (AND LET THE PSU DISCHARGE FIRST). 

[AshleyAshes]

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/3-pin-to-2-pin-Cable-Adapter-Converter-Fan-Cable-for-Mobile-Racks-YA-C2P-/400589017251?hash=item5d44f750a3:g:078AAOxyHntSXZAr

 

So if say I wanted to add a Blacknoise or Noctua fan to a PSU that uses 2 pin, this should get the job done, right?