Easy to disable blue LEDs on preinstalled case fans?

DreadBelch

Member
Mar 31, 2010
101
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Dumb question: I'm looking at a couple Rosewill mid tower cases and they all seem to have blue LED fans, which I don't want. Will I be able to easily disable those blue LEDs or will I need to yank the entire fan out and put in a replacement fan?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147107

Fans at 35 seconds in
[youtube]L2a6WbGLqyU[/youtube]

edit: youtube tags don't work on AT? :(
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,445
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Got nippers?

As far as I've discovered, even the low-end 200mm LED fan for a HAF case has another circuit loop -- sharing ground and power with the circuit that powers the fan-motor. There may be a pair of pins and pin-connector that enables or disables the LED lights. Further, as I was looking at an Apevia (200mm) I thought to replace my Coolermaster or NZXT, I discover that the manufacturer (in China) had installed just such a set of leads with pins and a female connector.

But those are 200mm fans -- one of which has its own on-off switch for the LED lights, and it is this switch that the Apevia fan meant to address, most likely.

Some of the 120 and 92mm Thermaltake LED's of yesteryear also had a set of pinouts for thermal sensors, but I don't believe you could turn off the lights, so to speak. So there, you'd find what you hope is the correct pair of leads to the LED itself, and clip the power lead.
 

krnmastersgt

Platinum Member
Jan 10, 2008
2,873
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Depends on the design of the fan. Some fans will actually have a separate wiring path for just the LEDs and most will not, my BitFenix Spectre Pros have a separate little circuit because they designed it to be integrated with their fan controllers which have an LED power button. Now assuming the case is the standard affair, you'll have the 3 wires to the fan itself (positive, negative, rpm wire) but from the center of the fan it'll creep in 2 extra wires out to the LED and back. If you cut the wire on this line you should just kill the LEDs themselves and not affect the fan, but be careful about what you're cutting so you don't kill the fan in the process.
 

Kenmitch

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
8,505
2,250
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Dumb question: I'm looking at a couple Rosewill mid tower cases and they all seem to have blue LED fans, which I don't want. Will I be able to easily disable those blue LEDs or will I need to yank the entire fan out and put in a replacement fan?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147107

Fans at 35 seconds in
[youtube]L2a6WbGLqyU[/youtube]

edit: youtube tags don't work on AT? :(

Whenever I'm shopping for cases I kind of factor in the price of replacing the stock fans as for the most part they tend to be lower end fans.

Never bought a Rosewill case so I'm not sure if the fans are good or bad.