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kupan787 · Jun 18, 2003, 05:04 AM

Ok, I have found the worst noise maker in my comptuer was the Geforce3 fan. They must use the crappiest fans, as that thing just puts out a ton of noise.

So I bought a kit that came with thermal paste, heatsinks, and a fan. Instead of using the fan, I decided to just attach the heatsinks. The heatsink (when all placed together) completly covered the chip, and some. No "gaps" or anything. Now before you say I am crazy, I have no other PCI cards, so the big case fan ends up blowing right over the heat sink on the geforce card. I fired up quake 3, and it played just fine. So I think all is ok there. However, I still have the fan (and it is pretty dang quite), so if people think I could kill my video card (anyway to find out?) I could put the fan on.

I would have to say the case is way quieter now. I can't hear it at all when music is on low (whereas before I could), and if I am lying in bed (5 feet away) it is a low murmur.

On another note, to acheive optimum quietness, I already replaced the two other fans (the big one, and the little one blowing on the CPU). The little one is still kinda "noisey" (I bought the 60mm thermaltake cpu coolers) It is rated as 32CFM/30dBA for a 60x60x25 fan. Is that pretty much the best I can do for that fan?

Also, is there anything else that can be done? I can't tell if the power supply fan could use any work, or if it is "ok". Do they make quiet power supplies? Are they pop in replaceable for the Mac power supply? Or is the fan replaceable, while not replacing the whole power supply unit?

Leonis · Jun 18, 2003, 10:10 AM

Originally posted by kupan787:

It is rated as 32CFM/30dBA for a 60x60x25 fan. Is that pretty much the best I can do for that fan?

What brand is it? Where I can find it?

kupan787 · Jun 18, 2003, 02:01 PM

Originally posted by Leonis:
What brand is it? Where I can find it?

http://store.yahoo.com/directron/a1139.html

I was told, my anotehr poster, to simply remove the fan from the heatsink.

PISCorp · Jun 18, 2003, 03:40 PM

Or is the fan replaceable, while not replacing the whole power supply unit?

I took out my original 8cm power-supply fan, and replaced it with a low-noise Papst fan. The connecter did't fit, so I just cut the wires, and used the old ones.

I also changed the big 12cm case and the smaller 6 cm processor fan with Papst units, but I think that on my QS733 the Power-supply fan made the most difference in noise level.

The original 12 & 6cm fans has a small heat sensor, but I have never heard them change pitch, so I think they properly run at full speed.

The most irritating noise now is the sound of my 4 IBM IDE disks spinning.

Nice informative site about fans in QS:
www.nmt.edu/~holstien/g4info.html

kupan787 · Jun 19, 2003, 07:02 PM

Quick note. In all the fan shuffeling, I think I may have installed the large (120mm) case fan incorrectly. Right now, I have it label side out (which makes it look installed correctly) and it is blowing air into the case. I just read at http://www.nmt.edu/~holstien/g4info.html that the fan "blows out of the back and through a duct to the bottom of the case". So did I have my fan in wrong? I just went through and changed it around so it blows out (I feel air comign out the back).

Originally posted by PISCorp:
I took out my original 8cm power-supply fan, and replaced it with a low-noise Papst fan. The connecter did't fit, so I just cut the wires, and used the old ones.

I am thinking of changing the fan now. How hard is it to get at? I have removed the PSU from my mac, is it jsut a matter of removing all teh screws on the PSU?

I am looking at getting http://www.directron.com/a1640.html No, not because of the LED, but it had a decent airflow, and nice noise lvl. However, reading on the above mentioned site (G4 parts...) I see that the fan in the PSU is rated as 38.27 CFM. So will this 27.8 CFM unit cut it?

The CFM issue comes up, because the 120mm fan I got was the Papst unit and it pushes 55.3CFM. The listing on the site above lists the stock 120mm fan as pushing 86.52 CFM. So there is a big difference here, but I have seen this fan recommend many places. So the drop in "air pushed" seems ok. But what I need to know is the "magic" number (I ask because I also found a 80mm 12 dBa fan, but it only pushes 20 CFM).

I also changed the big 12cm case and the smaller 6 cm processor fan with Papst units, but I think that on my QS733 the Power-supply fan made the most difference in noise level.

I did the same. The 120mm fan is really quiet! The little CPU fan (60mm) is still kind of noisey, but I cna't seem to find anythign better. But that PSU fan is the worst offender left by far.

The original 12 & 6cm fans has a small heat sensor, but I have never heard them change pitch, so I think they properly run at full speed.

If anythign the heat sensor woudl have slwoed the down, yes? I don't mind how they run and sound now (well, the little one is a bit loud, but its ok), so missing that is no biggie.

robby818 · Jun 26, 2003, 06:31 PM

i just replaced the power supply fan with the Papst fan recommended by a previous poster. this made an incredible difference in the noise level of my 2002 Quicksilver. Previously, I replaced the big 12 cm fan w a panaflo fan and i noticed only a slight reduction in noise. Now w/ the new power supply fan it is much much better. It was a bit of a pain opening up the power supply but I am so glad that I did it.

The new power supply fan came with a power connector that is just like the connector used for hard drives and cd drives so I just plugged it into one of the available plugs and did not mess with trying to connect it to Apple's 2 pin fan connections. I will not replace the 60 mm CPU fan because it is not very noisy and I may upgrade my CPU w/i the next year which means I will no longer need the factory heatsink and fan.

al-h · Jun 30, 2003, 11:11 PM

how hard was it to take apart the psu? I have heard you can get a nasty shock from the capacitors in the psu and that is why I am hesitant to change the fan. I changed the case fan after the reccomendation in this and other threads. I bought the Papst 4412 that puts out 55 CFM. So far so good, it's much quieter but the sh*tty fans Apple put in the PSU is still making a racket. On my way to a quiet computer after two years! I couldn't deal with the howl anymore and I don't have the cash for a G5.

Mac Zealot · Jul 1, 2003, 04:26 PM

PSUs can give you a nice shock, yes.. but only if you go around touching stuff you shouldn't.

As long as you're really careful, and only touch what you 'came to touch' you shouldn't have any problems

Same goes with fixing TVs and monitors, but it's usually much harder and more dangerous.

Anyyyyway. Yeah, sounds like a mod I'm tempted to do

kupan787 · Jul 1, 2003, 04:50 PM

Originally posted by robby818:
i just replaced the power supply fan with the Papst fan recommended by a previous poster.....

The new power supply fan came with a power connector that is just like the connector used for hard drives and cd drives so I just plugged it into one of the available plugs and did not mess with trying to connect it to Apple's 2 pin fan connections.

What model fan exactly? I am really thinking of doing this now, as my next step, but would just like to know what model you chose exactly.

hotani · Sep 22, 2003, 11:14 AM

The noise of mine seems to be coming from the large cpu fan that blows across the heatsink.

I have replaced my power supply, and that one with the ones apple sent, but am not impressed with the results.

It is still louder than anything else in my house.

Sometimes the fan knocks and rattles, speeds up, slows down, just basically does everything it can to be irritating.

So is there a solution to this? Is there a fan out there that would be much quieter?