powersupply Is it ok to solder a different connector from a fan to another 4 pin fan?

[H3LLMAU5]

I recently got a cheap PC which I'm using as a budget gaming PC, everything is going great so far, except for the fan that is located in the power supply, the one it has is making a loud bearing noise and I disassembled it to add some lubricant to it but it is still making noise.

 

I ordered a new fan from Noctua which has the same specs as the one on the power supply but the only problem is the connector, both fans have a 4 pin connector but the one on the PSU is like a CRJ Micro 4 pin connector, totally smaller than the one on the new fan and the new one doesn't fit... I was wondering if it'd be ok to just cut the old fan connector and solder it to the new fan? have you guys done this before? will it be ok?

 

Thank you

[jaslion]

What psu is it?

 

If a fan is failing in a psu id be a bit skeptical of the quality of the unit

 

Other than that as long as you dont mess up the ground and positive AND its not a 24v fan you can do it

 

And the usual watch out when working on a psu its deadly even when disconnected

[mariushm]

Pinout should be the same.... but if you have a multimeter around, check the original pinout (determine the voltage and ground wires ... the other two are less important (rpm sensor and pwm signal)

Should be fine.

[191x7]

There's one more thing to consider - PSU fans have variable fan speeds regulated by the 12V line - that means the fan you'd put ih nas to have a similar starting voltage as the one you're replacing. If the one inside starts at 5V and you put a fan that needs 8V to start, there's a chance the PSU will overheat.

[H3LLMAU5]

14 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

There's one more thing to consider - PSU fans have variable fan speeds regulated by the 12V line - that means the fan you'd put ih nas to have a similar starting voltage as the one you're replacing. If the one inside starts at 5V and you put a fan that needs 8V to start, there's a chance the PSU will overheat.

oooh I see, didn't know that, how do I check that? in the Noctua website it says it is a 12v fan

[H3LLMAU5]

23 minutes ago, jaslion said:

What psu is it?

 

If a fan is failing in a psu id be a bit skeptical of the quality of the unit

 

Other than that as long as you dont mess up the ground and positive AND its not a 24v fan you can do it

 

And the usual watch out when working on a psu its deadly even when disconnected

Is just a regular and original HP SFF power supply, it works good, it just makes loud noises

[H3LLMAU5]

53 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

There's one more thing to consider - PSU fans have variable fan speeds regulated by the 12V line - that means the fan you'd put ih nas to have a similar starting voltage as the one you're replacing. If the one inside starts at 5V and you put a fan that needs 8V to start, there's a chance the PSU will overheat.

Ok so on the Noctua website it says the blue wire which is the PWM signal is a +5v wire, the fan is a 12v FAN

[191x7]

4 hours ago, H3LLMAU5 said:

Ok so on the Noctua website it says the blue wire which is the PWM signal is a +5v wire, the fan is a 12v FAN

Most fans are 12V fans. 24V are rare.

12V is the voltage the fans are rated to have the desired/named RPM at.

[H3LLMAU5]

Just to let everyone here know, I ended up soldering the connector from the old fan to the new one and it did worked amazing!!! PC is quiet af even after setting the fan idle at 50%

 

PSU fan working aswell and the whole PC is extra cool!!! thank you guys

[MG2R]

Welcome to the Noctua PSU club!

[H3LLMAU5]

On 2/4/2023 at 2:01 AM, MG2R said:

Welcome to the Noctua PSU club!

Thanks!!! if it wasn't for Linus I wouldn't even know Noctua exist, the CPU and PSU fans I installed are amazing!!! I have an asus gaming laptop with an RTX3070 that sounds like an OG Playstation 4 trying to run the newest call of duty game, unlike the PC that is quiet at all times :') I'm happy with my budget PC build!