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Modded my ThermalTake Toughpower 700W Modular PSU

P

Phew

Senior member
So i have a ThermalTake Toughpower 700W modular PSU in a fairly old Lian-Li PC-68 mid tower case LINK TO CASE PIC. The case has only 2x80mm intake fans and one 80mm exhaust fan, so the PSU fan has to move a lot of air to keep the case cool. However, the fan in this PSU operates on a schedule versus load, and it normally stays <800 RPM, which means it practically doesn't move any air. So despite it being a 1900 RPM 140mm fan, it never moves fast enough to do anything useful.

In an effort to improve the airflow in my case, I took the PSU apart (voiding the warranty in the process...oh well), detached the fan tail, routed it out with the rest of the wires, and hooked it up to a fan controller in a 3.5" bay. Now I can run it up to 1900 RPM (and it is still inaudible). There was also a plastic sheet inside the PSU that blocked about half of the fan, so I removed that as well.

I also bought a 120mm fan enclosure w/filter that occupies 3x5.25" drive bays, put in a 104 CFM Panaflo, and now my beautiful old case breathes MUCH better!

So if anyone else has this PSU and wants the fan to spin faster, just take it apart and hook the fan up to a controller of your choice.
 
FYI the fan is connected to a temp controler in the unit. So that the fan only ramps up as needed allowing the PSu to operate quietly. You really don't have to have a fster running fan. Its offers the PSu all the airflow it needs as is.
 
I didn't want more airflow for the PSU's sake, I needed it for the case overall. At least in my situation, the PSU fan provides the majority of the case's exhaust airflow.

My case temps (and thus the CPU core under load) have dropped about 5C as a result of this mod plus adding another intake fan.
 
If the PSU was the main exhaust fan befroe the mod then you need to make some cahnges to the case. I'm assuming you where thinking that since your case proabably has an 80mm fan rather then the more typical 120mm rear fan. Well lets put it this way. Often PSU fans are designed to be slower even at full power. So that 80mm fan is probably pulling more air out of the case then the PSU can. There is always better ways to improve airflow in the case. In my old case i cut a 120mm hole in the top between the front of the PSU and the back of the drive bays. As you can see here in this old pic.
http://forum.xcpus.com/gallery...ly/misc/Desk3.jpg.html

You can also cut the rear fan hole larger to acept a 120mm fan. Both options will drasticly improve the airflow in your case.
 
All I know is that a mod that cost $0 and took 10 minutes lowered my case and CPU core temps by 5C. Sure, I could have cut a blowhole on top of my case and bought another 120mm fan to achieve the same results, but that would have been more expensive and time-consuming, not to mention the resulting ugly hole.

I looked around, and the best argument against using the PSU fan as a primary exhaust is that it may speed up dust buildup inside the PSU. However, all my intake fans have filters, and I run my case with a positive gauge pressure, so I have very little dust buildup.

This PSU has a 140mm fan. It would be a shame if the largest fan in the entire case was always moving the least air. All I did is take advantage of its size to achieve better case cooling without exceeding the background noise.
 
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