Can I take my PSU's fan off?

[MrGrim]

What will happen if I take the PSU fan off? Will the PSU be affected? How much will the temperature increase?

TIA

 

[MrBond]

I'm fairly sure it'll void the warranty if you open the PSU. Not to mention the electrical shock risks. Its best to just leave it there methinks

 

[MrGrim]

Thanx for your reply. I don't care about the warranty and I don't think there are any risks in taking a fan out. You siply disconnect it when it's OFF.

My question is if the heat would kill the PSU.

 

[tigerwannabe]

i haven't done it personally, but i heard from a fellow tech that the heat build up does kill the power supply if the pc is up more than an hour.

 

[dieselstation]

the heat will get extremely hot. don't take it off. the fan is there to vent psu heat as well as heat from inside your computer such as heat coming off your cpu fan. if you look at Enermax power supplies, they put 2 PSU fans in there! it's there for a reason.

 

[shawnman]

Also remember PSU's have capacitors that will hold a charge even when it has been unplugged, they can still jolt you so be careful

 

[MrGrim]

K guys, thanx for the help.

 

[Jex]

I had a PSU fan die a while back. The computer would lock up randomly and sometimes just shut down. You definately need the fan in there.

 

[Belegost]

The fan is crucial, I can send you the charred remains of a PSU that died when the fan stopped spinning. As for opening the PSU, I've only been zapped once doing it, and it was only enough to scare me, and put a little burn on my hand, but definitely be careful.

 

[LongTimePCUser]

Turning the power off before opening the power supply will not protect you.
There are high capacity capicitors inside that will retain a charge at a high voltage for many hours. They will discharge through you if you don't know know what you are doing.

 

[frizzlefry]

<< Turning the power off before opening the power supply will not protect you.
There are high capacity capicitors inside that will retain a charge at a high voltage for many hours. They will discharge through you if you don't know know what you are doing. >>



Yup. IF you want to attempt it, unplug the PS and leave it alone for about 10-15 minutes. This will give the caps ample time to discharge. Made a mistake when I was a rookie electronics tech and decided to try and repair an old power supply. Forgot to let it discharge and voila! Fried PS.

 

[gychang]

I am running 2/3 computers at home without PS fan. You generally need to flip the PS housing for venting and proper orientation of heat sink, I also took out all the ISA/PCI slot blades so it gets better ventilation. I don't overclock and it does not lock up.

There is a great web site explaining all this but I don't know the url. Now I am shopping for the quiest CPU fan.

gychang

 

[Phunktion]

There's a lot of silent PSU's you can buy that you'll never hear the fans at all.. I've got a Leadman Powmax 300W that I decided to take over my Topower 250 which I could hear.. the Powmax is absolutely silent even with the two fans so there is no need to take them off and they don't change speed or anything.. and I'm serious you have to stick your ear right next to the fans to actually hear anything at all.. either way if it's bad enough that you need to take off the fan just buy a 300w Powmax for like $30 and the fans will be silent..

 

[GunNut]

I would not try it i feel the heat coming from my PS and it definatley warm air, i added 2 fans and it did help cool it a little, but ther is a definate temp change from my case exhaust fan and my PS exhaust, it is really not worth it IMHO
but hey i am a rookie

 

[MrGrim]

I suppose I will have to pay £15 for a quiet fan then.

 

[Zach]

<<

<< Turning the power off before opening the power supply will not protect you.
There are high capacity capicitors inside that will retain a charge at a high voltage for many hours. They will discharge through you if you don't know know what you are doing. >>



Yup. IF you want to attempt it, unplug the PS and leave it alone for about 10-15 minutes. This will give the caps ample time to discharge. Made a mistake when I was a rookie electronics tech and decided to try and repair an old power supply. Forgot to let it discharge and voila! Fried PS. >>



Don't bother with all that, unplug or flip the back switch on the PSU and then try to power up the computer. Most will flash the LED's in front, even if not you've just given it a rapid discharge.