Replace PSU fan?

Showbiz

Showbiz

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Messages
1,670
So I have a nice modular Mushkin 800w PSU that I've been using for the last 6 years. Still works great, but it seems as though the 120 mm fan is on it's last legs. Making all kinds of odd noises and such.

Its out of warranty, so i'm not particularly concerned about voiding anything if I open it up.. my question is, are these fans usually DC just like any computer case fan, or since they could be powered by the mains, is it possible that it's AC?

Thanks!
 
the only question is if you can simply plug in the new fan or if you will have to solder it in, some PSUs actually use a standard fan plug, but some dont.

Just make sure you use a 3 pin fan not a PWM
 
A 4 pin PWM fan will work fine on a 3 pin connector, assuming there is a 3 pin connector on the PSU board.

Most PSU's, if the fan isn't soldered onto the board, will use a 2 pin connector. You can carefully pop the pins out and slide them into the connector for the old PSU fan if the pins are the same size and the connector doesn't fit.
 
Last edited:
Just make sure you don't touch anything or else you could electrocute yourself. I personally don't know how long it takes for the PSU to deenergize.
 
Dayaks said:
Just make sure you don't touch anything or else you could electrocute yourself. I personally don't know how long it takes for the PSU to deenergize.
Click to expand...

You can discharge one by shorting the green PWR_ON wire with any black wire. It'll kick on for a split second until the caps have drained.

And the only way to know if a PSU solders the fan in or plugs it, is to open it up and look (most I've seen were soldered, but I don't tend to tear into good quality PSUs).
 
ryan_975 said:
You can discharge one by shorting the green PWR_ON wire with any black wire. It'll kick on for a split second until the caps have drained.

And the only way to know if a PSU solders the fan in or plugs it, is to open it up and look (most I've seen were soldered, but I don't tend to tear into good quality PSUs).
Click to expand...

I believe you can also discharge a PSU by simply unplugging it and then pressing the power button on the PC. Anyone know if this is safe, I've done it a couple times without frying myself opening a PSU :p
 
Ocellaris said:
I believe you can also discharge a PSU by simply unplugging it and then pressing the power button on the PC. Anyone know if this is safe, I've done it a couple times without frying myself opening a PSU :p
Click to expand...

same thing, the PC power on momentary switch pulls pin 14 to ground
 
It's pretty hard to fry yourself from the top of the PCB. It's not impossible, but you'd have to work to do it. If you unscrewed the PCB and removed it from the housing then it's very possible to hurt yourself. Feel free to unplug the cord and hit the power button to discharge the main caps. But I wouldn't worry about shocking yourself.

If it is soldered then I usually tell people to just cut and splice the wires. Most of us don't have the skill to do multi layer PCB soldering. So just splice the wires as needed to make the new fan work. You might find that to be much easier.
 
^ not a bad idea if there is no, or a 2 pin, board connector, some small diameter shrink tube makes a pretty neat job of it too
 
Splice wires is what I did to a PSU fan that was making loud noises.
 
I'm in a similar situation as OP, but with an 80mm fan from an Antec TPQ-850. Is there such thing as a quiet 80mm?

Reviews tell me the fan is thermally controlled (via a 2-pin plug). I was thinking of removing the stock fan altogether, and perforating a panel to accommodate airflow from a 120mm (externally mounted if it must, I don't mind).

Thoughts? I'm wondering if there's a small chance a larger fan will affect the thermal control (different resistance?)..
 
Lol, I went full ghetto and got rid of the stupidly noisy fan in the AX1200 with a Noiseblocker 140mm fan and cut a slot into one side and plugged it into the motherboard. It's not like you're going to have a warranty after opening it, lol.
 
I have never found the yate loon in the AX1200 particularly noisy...I mean, if you have enough hardware to warrant a 1200W PSU you most probably have other noise to worry about.
 
Showbiz said:
Its out of warranty, so i'm not particularly concerned about voiding anything if I open it up.. my question is, are these fans usually DC just like any computer case fan, or since they could be powered by the mains, is it possible that it's AC?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

It works off 12 volts or 5 in very rare occasions. Not mains.
But be sure to check two things:
- height of the whole fan - you need some space because the rotor droops down a bit when the PSU is installed (normally upside down)
- secure the fan's wire. Bending it around won't cut the cheese, you really have to make sure it's not running close to the blades or close to a heat source.
Even many new units are sometimes badly assembled and the fan wire keeps hitting the rotor from time to time.
 
Dayaks said:
Just make sure you don't touch anything or else you could electrocute yourself. I personally don't know how long it takes for the PSU to deenergize.
Click to expand...

Assuming a properly built power supply, 10-15 seconds. If it's an IED, all bets are off. You can check for bleeder resistors which are usually installed next to the big input caps.

The only large surface that has live voltage on it is the heatsink on the primary switching transistors, which is usually energized to between 60-375V. The primary heatsink is the one closest to the large input capacitors most of the time. You can measure from the heatsink to the casing with a voltmeter, just make sure you don't short the two together unless you want a big explosion.
 
bbs lm-r said:
I'm in a similar situation as OP, but with an 80mm fan from an Antec TPQ-850. Is there such thing as a quiet 80mm?
Click to expand...

I'm running two of these Zalmans in my HAF XB case, and they're remarkably quiet despite the fact that I have them facing me, running at full speed and only about 4 feet away at chest height.
 
Honestly, if your PSU is 6+ years old chances are it's not able to output anywhere near rated wattage anyway, so rather than bother with opening it and replacing the fan, replacing the unit compltely is probably in order.
 
jojo69 said:
I have never found the yate loon in the AX1200 particularly noisy...I mean, if you have enough hardware to warrant a 1200W PSU you most probably have other noise to worry about.
Click to expand...

I hate to be all off topic, but it was the noisiest thing in the system. If you were watercooling, then you'd definitely want to rip it apart to fix it. Even with my air cooled everything, it was loud. That fan, at idle, made so much noise. And it was not a whooshing of air, it was a very buzzy, whiny fan from day one. I wouldn't lose a warranty over a little whooshing noise, that's for sure. My hearing might be better than most since I was annoyed by the ACX cooler on the 780s and most are like, "Eh, it's quiet."
 
doubletake said:
I'm running two of these Zalmans in my HAF XB case, and they're remarkably quiet despite the fact that I have them facing me, running at full speed and only about 4 feet away at chest height.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, that just might be what I was looking for.
 
Showbiz said:
So I have a nice modular Mushkin 800w PSU that I've been using for the last 6 years. Still works great, but it seems as though the 120 mm fan is on it's last legs. Making all kinds of odd noises and such.

Its out of warranty, so i'm not particularly concerned about voiding anything if I open it up.. my question is, are these fans usually DC just like any computer case fan, or since they could be powered by the mains, is it possible that it's AC?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I bought that same PSU AP-800 (Topower Build) about 6 years ago for $35.00 brand new my a local computer store in my area (now out of business) Great deal for the time. It's still sitting in my closet (never opened it)

Topower was never know for their awesome builds, but I found this article @ the time & I decided to buy it for a back-up.

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Mushkin/XP-800AP/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top