Here's another thing I'm looking for. I have recently had a 40mm chipset fan fail and I hear another whining pretty badly. Being in the mode of going "quiet" whenever possible (peace of mind and hearing thing) I started looking for a replacement fan.
Note that these have got to be one of the most common fans in use - you all have seen them - standard 12 VDC 40mm X 10mm fans used on millions of Northbridges and Video cards. The vast majority have a 3 inch cable with a 2-pin power supply connector. The cheap ones have sleeve bearings, the better have balls - pun intended.
So I started to look for one that meets the following specs:
40mm X 40mm X 10mm
12VDC
Ball Bearing(s)
2-pin connector
3" (approx) wires
Quiet - under 25dBa is fine - 19 to 21 is better.
Try to find one. You might find a couple, but do they have a short 2-pin connector? If not, try to find some connectors - I can solder and I can insert pins - I can't find any. Or you might find a whole replace HSF assembly - but it seems I sould not have to do that. Several sites claim to carry them but are really out of stock.
Okay, so if I must get a fan with the wrong connector then I am stuck with splicing the wires - Ok, Micky Mouse, but it will work. But, seems no one makes "quiet" 40mm chipset size fans. Vantec, Thermaltake, and Papst and others seem to go down to 60mm and stop there. If you google for chipset coolers, you'll find a good offering of 40mm coolers, but they are not quiet or come in HSF kits. Vantec makes a good passive (therefore "silent") cooler, but I want active for these systems (quiet room with elevated ambient temps).
If they don't actually specify the sound pressure levels, you can usually tell by the specs if they will be loud. Sunon, for example, has a 40mm that runs a 8400 RPM and is rated at .12amps. That is fast and it draws a lot of current - and the SPL of 34.4dBa confirms that it is loud. In contrast, Everclear makes one that draws .07amps and turns at 5000 RPM with a SPL of 23dBa, which is fairly quiet - unfortunately, it has a 3 pin connector on a 12 inch cable.
I don't need something that that will start a whirlwind in my case - a low RPM "quiet breeze" is plenty enough to carry the heat away - nothing is OCed.
Thanks.
Note that these have got to be one of the most common fans in use - you all have seen them - standard 12 VDC 40mm X 10mm fans used on millions of Northbridges and Video cards. The vast majority have a 3 inch cable with a 2-pin power supply connector. The cheap ones have sleeve bearings, the better have balls - pun intended.
So I started to look for one that meets the following specs:
40mm X 40mm X 10mm
12VDC
Ball Bearing(s)
2-pin connector
3" (approx) wires
Quiet - under 25dBa is fine - 19 to 21 is better.
Try to find one. You might find a couple, but do they have a short 2-pin connector? If not, try to find some connectors - I can solder and I can insert pins - I can't find any. Or you might find a whole replace HSF assembly - but it seems I sould not have to do that. Several sites claim to carry them but are really out of stock.
Okay, so if I must get a fan with the wrong connector then I am stuck with splicing the wires - Ok, Micky Mouse, but it will work. But, seems no one makes "quiet" 40mm chipset size fans. Vantec, Thermaltake, and Papst and others seem to go down to 60mm and stop there. If you google for chipset coolers, you'll find a good offering of 40mm coolers, but they are not quiet or come in HSF kits. Vantec makes a good passive (therefore "silent") cooler, but I want active for these systems (quiet room with elevated ambient temps).
If they don't actually specify the sound pressure levels, you can usually tell by the specs if they will be loud. Sunon, for example, has a 40mm that runs a 8400 RPM and is rated at .12amps. That is fast and it draws a lot of current - and the SPL of 34.4dBa confirms that it is loud. In contrast, Everclear makes one that draws .07amps and turns at 5000 RPM with a SPL of 23dBa, which is fairly quiet - unfortunately, it has a 3 pin connector on a 12 inch cable.
I don't need something that that will start a whirlwind in my case - a low RPM "quiet breeze" is plenty enough to carry the heat away - nothing is OCed.
Thanks.
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