Two fans in my computer (Dell Dimension 2300) are making noise. One is in
the power supply and the other
is the processor fan. I know I can replace the processor fan (with a green
schroud) if I can find one. But can I
replace just the fan that resides in the power supply. Dell says no, but it
looks like a might be able to if I can
find the correct size and power. I figured 10 bucks for a fan, not 50 or 60
bucks for a power supply.
Yes, both can be replaced. It seems curious that both are
now making noise, I wonder if fine dust is accumulating
elsewhere as well.
On a similar Dimension I've serviced, I took out the rear
exahaust (what you're calling the processor fan), peeled
back the label, took out the plug, and put in some heavy oil
(almost grease) and that did very well to quiet the fan.
You might try it- at worst it is only a temporary fix for a
few months but generally if you use the right lube and the
fan hasn't degraded horribly yet, you may get a lot longer
life.
Similar with the power supply fan if it has a sleeve bearing
rather than ball bearing (check label, it may list "ball" if
it has one or two ball bearings, or after peeling back label
it should be obvious if a sleeve bearing because you'll see
a bronze colored sleeve around the shaft rather than a
stainless steel colored bearing. Trying to lube a
ball-bearing is often only an emergency fix as it may seize
suddenly or become very noisey, but the sleeve bearing type
will also repond well to lubing.
Either can be replaced instead of course, just note the fan
dimensions, voltage (almost certainly 12V but it's good to
be sure of it), and current rating- since it probably won't
have an RPM rating on it. You might choose a "slight" bit
lower current rating but not much, both of the fans in your
system should be thermally controlled and if you chose too
low a current it could mean either insufficient airflow or
complete failure to spin at all.
If you don't have a spare system you can use during
downtime, you might need to do a quick exploratory operation
on the power supply to see what the fan rating is and how
it's connected for power- whether a plastic plug-in
connector or soldered onto the circuit board. The
difference suggest the obvious solution, to seek a fan with
similar connector if it has connector or have soldering iron
and heat-shrink tubing handy (or electrical tape plus a
nylon wire tie to secure the tape to be certain it never
unwraps when the PSU heats up and adhesive does too).
While you definitely need to unplug the power supply and
wait a couple minutes, after that period of time there is no
inherant danger inside, the caps have then drained and you
could rub your hands all over everything with no danger-
just don't plug it in till you have double-checked
everything, made sure the fan leads are secured away from
the fan blades and fixed in place. In other words, try to
minimize slack in the fan wiring and if possible secure it
so it doesn't fly around- a common method is to use a nylon
wire-tie to attach to a fixed part of the assembly- fan
corner hole or an indentation on the casing, or tied around
another wire- how the original wire was secured is
presumably a good method to use.
Providing the power supply fan had continued spinning at
reasonable RPM, it is likely you can just replace it. If
the fan had been severely effected and the RPM was extremely
low, such that there was insufficient airflow to keep PSU
cool, then the PSU may now be heat-stressed and would be
best replaced.
A Panaflo fan would be a good choice for the rear exhaust,
perhaps an "M" speed, maybe "H" (compare each current rating
to the original fan). I would choose a dual-ball bearing
fan in a quality brand for the PSU exhaust. Perhaps NMB.
You can find their model #s on their website to facilitate
easier web searches.