[Guide] Super Inexpensive High CFM Fans

m33pm33p

[H]ard|DCer of the Month - August 2013
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This is just a short and simple guide for some of the newer guys looking to find cooling on the cheap or even some of the older guys who have never done it.

First off, thanks to sc0tty8 for leading me to these fans and BlackOmega over at OCN for writing the guide I used to repin the fans. I felt they left a few of the simpler things out for those that have never done this type of thing so I tried to make it as fool proof (read: m33p proof) as possible.

Tools: I used a tiny flat head jeweler’s screwdriver however any tiny pointed object would do.

Fan Specs:
. Mfr. Nidec
. P/N: TA 450DC B35502-35
. Size: 120mm x 120mm x 38mm
. Type: PWM (Pulse Width Modulation)
. Rated Voltage: 12V
. Operating Voltage: 4.0~13.40 VDC
. Input Current: 1.40A
. Speed: 3600 RPM
. Air Flow: 130 CFM
. Noise Level: 50 dBA
. Bearing System: Dual Ball Bearing
. Wire length: 14"
. Connector: 5-pin/4-wire connector

Why these fans? It’s pretty simple, they’re high CFM and pretty inexpensive comparatively speaking. I found the cheapest way to get them in bulk is to hit up EBay and search for Nidec Beta V, look for the listings with a best offer option and start with an offer around $5 each. I personally found some refurbished ones that arrived in what appears to be brand new condition for $6 each. The guy I bought from used the handle bread8global and shipped EXTREMELY fast. The more you buy the cheaper they’ll usually let them go.



So, great inexpensive fans, what’s the catch? These fans are fans used for dell servers and as such have a proprietary pinning scheme. Fear not though, it’s extremely simple to fix that.


What you should start with is something that looks like this…





What we want to accomplish is making them look like this….





(A standard PWM fan wire. Also notice the way the nubs are facing and on the right side of the connector, and the GIANT arrow on the upper right side)




To do that we simply take our small pointed object and depress the metal nubs in the center of the connector for each wire…



Once all 4 are depressed remove the wires by simply sliding them out of the connector.



Once you have all 4 wires removed from the connector you will most likely need to take that same screwdriver and bend that nub ever so slightly back up. I found this was easiest if I gently slid my jewelers flat head underneath the nub and pressed upwards. It doesnt take much pressure though so don't over do it. This will allow them to lock into place when you are re-inserting.

Lastly, with the connector facing the same way as before (nubs on right, as well as GIANT arrow on upper right) slide the wires back in from top to bottom. Order should be…

Blue (PWM)
White (Sense)
Red (12V)
Black (Ground)

(Refer to completed picture at beginning of guide if you're confused)


Once these are all snug, you’re set. Simply use them as you would any other fan.




I myself am using these fans on both of my rigs with my cm212 setup and have had 0 problems. They can be noisy, but due to being PWM you should be able to set your fan setting in your BIOS to “Energy Saving” mode or whatever the equivalent for your motherboard is and this will make them a lot less noisy.
 
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I am using these on a few rigs. Got 10 total you can wire for full speed I would suggest grills unless you want to grandpa it.:)
 
Well done :cool:...excellent guide and liked the visuals that you provided too. Slap on some sleeving, a little heat shrink and that's the way I like 'em...:D
 
Excellent guide, alas its too late for me

(I bought some scythe ultra kaze to cool my gpu's back in the day)
 
Thanks guys.

As far as sleeving..I keep all my folding rigs simple because well...they just fold away out in the garage. My goal is to make them go as fast as possible as cool as possible and that's about it.
 
Thank you m33pm33p. I hope to get a few of these for a GPU rig which needs high CFM and where I don't care about noise. Glad you showed how to reuse the Dell 5-pin connectors instead of replacing them with standard 4-pin PWM connectors.
 
I wonder how well these would work as radiator fans..Considering they are 38mm deep, they should have decent amount of static pressure...I was thinking of ordering up 3 of them to try them on my radiator vs the AP-15s (@5V) on there now..

If they can be made just as quiet but with better performance, that would be awesome! Thanks for the great write-up!!:cool:
 
I wonder how well these would work as radiator fans..Considering they are 38mm deep, they should have decent amount of static pressure...I was thinking of ordering up 3 of them to try them on my radiator vs the AP-15s (@5V) on there now..

If they can be made just as quiet but with better performance, that would be awesome! Thanks for the great write-up!!:cool:

AP-15 is rated 1W@12V this fan is 17W@12V - good luck and be careful, you can burn out motherboard header (I think standard header is rated up to 1A??).
 
I installed one of these PWM-modified fans in the front of my GPU box and then I replaced a top-mounted 140mm fan with one of these:
Yate Loon 140mm D14SH-12

This setup is pumping some serious air and it's working well.
 
I installed one of these PWM-modified fans in the front of my GPU box and then I replaced a top-mounted 140mm fan with one of these:
Yate Loon 140mm D14SH-12

This setup is pumping some serious air and it's working well.

Nice! I've currently got them pushing and some 70ish cfm cooler master fans pulling for a pretty nice breeze as well...
 
Got 3 of them. Worked like a champ! They move a surprising amount of air btw.

Awesome! When standing in front of my rigs it literally feels like Im standing in front of a box fan now. These things move A LOT of air...
 
I need more of these :/ We should scrap together a group buy?
 
I need more of these :/ We should scrap together a group buy?

Looked for you on irc but you didn't answer. I have 22 of these fans I don't need anymore. Let me know if your interested in buying them. Have some special MC chips for sale as well. :)
 
Looked for you on irc but you didn't answer. I have 22 of these fans I don't need anymore. Let me know if your interested in buying them. Have some special MC chips for sale as well. :)

Jesus.... at least we know where they all went lol...
 
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