How bad is it when your power supply fan starts goin' slow?

[HarryK]

I've recently done some upgrading from a Celeron 300A to a Celeron 900 in an Abit BH6 with an MSI slotket. I've got 2 HD's and a lite-on CDR.

My PSupply is only 235Watts (powerman), and after I upgraded, I had a power issue with my Lite-On until I switched it to difft power cable. So part of me feels like I should get a bigger PS anyway. But, my original question has to do with the fan.

Since I've done the upgrade, I've had the cover off. My PS fan has been a little noisy, and there was (still is?) some dust in there. Anyway, I'm sitting here and I glance into my case and notice that the PS fan is turning very slowly. I reach in and stop it and then let it go and it runs at full speed (or much faster at least) but after a while it starts making a little noise and slows down again.

Is this possibly a symptom of:
a) needing a new PS?
b) dust in the fan mechanism?
c) needing a new fan?
d) too much power being sucked out of my 230W PS
e) all of the above
f) none of the above

Thanks

 

[DaiShan]

sounds like the dust might be getting to it, if you can blow it out and get the fane running rull speed all the time, great if not, then you will need a new psu. If I recall it is not possible/not a very good idea at least to try to change out the psu fan (high voltages etc.)

 

[Paulson]

It's not hard to change a powersupply fan at all...

Basically, if the fan is dying, go pick up an 80mm fan (standard fan size) and simply open up your ps unit.. if the fan is connected to the circuit board, unconnect it, if it's directly hooked into it, then cut the wires... then take and wire the new fan's power cables through the ps holes, and hook it up to one of the existing ps connectors...

it's rather simple... I'll have to take a picture of how I setup mine, it's a lot easier to show than to explain

 

[HarryK]

Yeah, I'm gonna pull the PS and the fan and see if it's just all the dirt that's giving it troubles.

But yeah, I'm just curious to know if a heavy power load or dying PS could be causing these symptoms.
Thanks

 

[DaiShan]

learn something new everyday! I just remember hearing in A+ class not to even bother with it, just grab a new psu, but for the hardcore modder (read AT'er) anything is possible I guess

 

[HarryK]

<< learn something new everyday! I just remember hearing in A+ class not to even bother with it, just grab a new psu, but for the hardcore modder (read AT'er) anything is possible I guess >>


Yeah, there is definitely the possibility of hurtin' yourself in there, but hey No Pain No Gain!

Well, I found enough dust in there to stuff a new throw pillow for my couch. Blew it all out and rehooked everything up. Immediately started having power troubles with my CDR again [sigh] The 40 minutes or so that my computer was shut down was the longest it's been off in a while.... I think I would have been better off leaving it running. Oh well.

In any case, the PS seemed to have a tough time getting the fan up and running and I think I just need to get a new PS. Any advice where to find a good inexpensive PS are welcome. Last time I replaced a PS (for a different machine) it was cheaper to buy a whole new case (on sale) that included a PS than it was to buy a standalone PS.

Any more advice is welcome.

 

[Calin]

First of all:
The power on power source connectors (to the mainboard) is conditioned (5V, 12V and so on).
The fans of newer power sources (starting from 1998 on some models) are controlled by a
temperature sensor (transducter, to be very precise) - high temperature - high rpm,
low temperature - low rpm.
Maybe the power source goes at limit - in this case, starting a defrag on both HDD and copying a
CD to HDD would make system to reset
A Celeron 900 does not consume alot more power than a Celeron 300. This is why the system is
still working.

I worked as PC technician about 1 and a half year and I cleaned power sources and fans. Usually it's
a very short result - maybe a month before all went slow again. Depends of fan quality.

I have no recommandation for a new power source. But a new power source is more expensive
usually because the quality of it is superior to standard power sources mounted in unexpensive cases.

Calin

 

[cholley]

i replace those fans all the time due to dust build up, they only cost about 4bucks