I finally got done constructing a homemade 60->80mm fan adapter just to test the effectiveness before taking the plunge and buying this plastic one:
Plastic Fan Adapter
-GOAL-
The goal of constructing one is to test a quiet 80mm fan over a quiet 60mm fan. Which usually isn't the case, as most people want to get an adapter to replace their REALLY loud Delta 38CFM fan with a somewhat loud high output 80mm fan.
Well, I've currently got a Sanyo Denki 60mm fan(19.1CFM, 28dB, 3800RPM) on an Alpha PAL35T, which is almost identical to the PAL6035 that is sold today(except for a stepped bottom and plastic feet). The Sanyo Denki I've got routinely hovers around 4000-4100RPM, which is 200-300RPM over its spec'd RPM. So I'd say its safe to say that it puts out around 20CFM currently. All in all a very stout little fan that's very quiet as far as 60mm fans go.
My test 80mm fan is the "best" 80mm fan I have at my disposal. I use the term "best" very loosely in this case. The fan is some cheap fan that came in the front of my Enlight 7237. It is made by Magic, and has an amp rating of 0.15A, which is the same as my 92mm Panaflo L1A's. So it isn't that weak of a fan. Subjective analysis of this fans specs are that it is slightly quieter than the Sanyo Denki, and puts out a bit less air than my low output Sunon fan(28dB, 30CFM--loud bearings, poor blade design). Let's chalk the Magic as putting out 26-28CFM at about 25-26dB.
So we'll The Magic fan has 7 blades that look VERY similar to the ones on my Panaflo fans, and it seems to spin fairly slow. I was thinking this would be good for operation in a 60->80mm adapter environment, since the blades should perform better than the POS Sunon's.
-CONSTRUCTION-
I constructed the adapter out of Aluminium flash which you can find at any hardware store. I got a 10"x10' roll for ~$4, so its very cheap. I constructed it after getting some ideas from this article at VoidYourWarranty, this page has a rough design for fitting an adapter on a Tiasol CGK746/760 HS:
Fan Adapter Schematics
I would take some pictures of my final result, but I don't have access to a digital camera at the moment. It's definitely not a looker, being comprised of mostly duct tape. 😀 I ran into some design problems towards the end and had to just duct tape the 80mm fan on.
-RESULTS-
Specs:
Asus CUSL2 Motherboard
P3-933 @ 1050Mhz with 1.95V - 38.0 watts of heat
I will be using the latest version of Asus Probe 2 which measures temps with the P3's internal diode. These are performed in a close case environment. The case is an Enlight 7237 with 92mm Panaflo L1A's front and rear. The rear one runs on 7V while the front is still on 12V, with the PSU fan going, the intake and exhaust airflow is very similar. My motherboard temperature is 27C/80F throughout the whole test(ambient of 75F). I only took full load tests since that is what my CPU is at 24/7, and idle temps don't mean a thing anyway. To put the CPU to a full load I am running Seti@Home as usual(Go Team Anandtech!), and playing some smooth beats with WinAmp. I let the temps stabilize for 15 minutes each time.
Alpha PAL35T w/ 60mm Sanyo Denki -> 43C/109F
Alpha PAL35T w/ 80mm Magic --------> 42C/107F
-CONCLUSION-
Now I know this isn't a ground breaking result. But it does illustrate that you can go from a quiet 60mm fan, to an even quieter 80mm fan, and GAIN performance. The computer now has no "whine" to it that it used to have. The Sanyo Denki, worth every penny BTW, gave the computer a noticeable "hum" since the other fans are very quiet 92mm Panaflos. With the 80mm Magic fan, the sound is just a silent "whoosh" of air going through the case. Much more pleasant.
Also, my thermal load is much lighter than that of an Athlon or Duron owner, so their results would probably be an even further reduction in temps.
I plan to get the above plastic adapter and an 80mm Sanyo Denki fan(29dB, 36.5CFM). Should drop my temps down further and get me ready for the upcoming Palomino/Athlon4/Athlon Pro upgrade!
Sorry for the novel guys, but I hope this gave some useful information to some people.
Plastic Fan Adapter
-GOAL-
The goal of constructing one is to test a quiet 80mm fan over a quiet 60mm fan. Which usually isn't the case, as most people want to get an adapter to replace their REALLY loud Delta 38CFM fan with a somewhat loud high output 80mm fan.
Well, I've currently got a Sanyo Denki 60mm fan(19.1CFM, 28dB, 3800RPM) on an Alpha PAL35T, which is almost identical to the PAL6035 that is sold today(except for a stepped bottom and plastic feet). The Sanyo Denki I've got routinely hovers around 4000-4100RPM, which is 200-300RPM over its spec'd RPM. So I'd say its safe to say that it puts out around 20CFM currently. All in all a very stout little fan that's very quiet as far as 60mm fans go.
My test 80mm fan is the "best" 80mm fan I have at my disposal. I use the term "best" very loosely in this case. The fan is some cheap fan that came in the front of my Enlight 7237. It is made by Magic, and has an amp rating of 0.15A, which is the same as my 92mm Panaflo L1A's. So it isn't that weak of a fan. Subjective analysis of this fans specs are that it is slightly quieter than the Sanyo Denki, and puts out a bit less air than my low output Sunon fan(28dB, 30CFM--loud bearings, poor blade design). Let's chalk the Magic as putting out 26-28CFM at about 25-26dB.
So we'll The Magic fan has 7 blades that look VERY similar to the ones on my Panaflo fans, and it seems to spin fairly slow. I was thinking this would be good for operation in a 60->80mm adapter environment, since the blades should perform better than the POS Sunon's.
-CONSTRUCTION-
I constructed the adapter out of Aluminium flash which you can find at any hardware store. I got a 10"x10' roll for ~$4, so its very cheap. I constructed it after getting some ideas from this article at VoidYourWarranty, this page has a rough design for fitting an adapter on a Tiasol CGK746/760 HS:
Fan Adapter Schematics
I would take some pictures of my final result, but I don't have access to a digital camera at the moment. It's definitely not a looker, being comprised of mostly duct tape. 😀 I ran into some design problems towards the end and had to just duct tape the 80mm fan on.
-RESULTS-
Specs:
Asus CUSL2 Motherboard
P3-933 @ 1050Mhz with 1.95V - 38.0 watts of heat
I will be using the latest version of Asus Probe 2 which measures temps with the P3's internal diode. These are performed in a close case environment. The case is an Enlight 7237 with 92mm Panaflo L1A's front and rear. The rear one runs on 7V while the front is still on 12V, with the PSU fan going, the intake and exhaust airflow is very similar. My motherboard temperature is 27C/80F throughout the whole test(ambient of 75F). I only took full load tests since that is what my CPU is at 24/7, and idle temps don't mean a thing anyway. To put the CPU to a full load I am running Seti@Home as usual(Go Team Anandtech!), and playing some smooth beats with WinAmp. I let the temps stabilize for 15 minutes each time.
Alpha PAL35T w/ 60mm Sanyo Denki -> 43C/109F
Alpha PAL35T w/ 80mm Magic --------> 42C/107F
-CONCLUSION-
Now I know this isn't a ground breaking result. But it does illustrate that you can go from a quiet 60mm fan, to an even quieter 80mm fan, and GAIN performance. The computer now has no "whine" to it that it used to have. The Sanyo Denki, worth every penny BTW, gave the computer a noticeable "hum" since the other fans are very quiet 92mm Panaflos. With the 80mm Magic fan, the sound is just a silent "whoosh" of air going through the case. Much more pleasant.
Also, my thermal load is much lighter than that of an Athlon or Duron owner, so their results would probably be an even further reduction in temps.
I plan to get the above plastic adapter and an 80mm Sanyo Denki fan(29dB, 36.5CFM). Should drop my temps down further and get me ready for the upcoming Palomino/Athlon4/Athlon Pro upgrade!
Sorry for the novel guys, but I hope this gave some useful information to some people.
