Pentium III fan

[e__head]

HI everybody

I have received a Pentium III 550 Mhz system. I would like to use it
as a firewall and have started "cleaning" up the system. With 512 MB
and a new HD installed it is quite a good Firewall. The only problem I
currently have with it is that it is quite loud.

I have found the reason for this - the fan on the CPU. When I remove
the fan the system still works perfectly but I am not sure if it might
damage the CPU once it runs for a couple of days.

The CPU is kept in place using a "Univeral Retention Bracket" (it was
named something like that - cannot remember the exact wording though
)

Question 1: is the CPU fan actually needed?

Question 2: If so I will replace it with a passive cooling heat sink -
anybody know which one would be the correct one for it? I have emailed
2 companies here in Austria (Europe) and they say that the system is
to old for them to still have parts - damit (

Thanking you for any help given
Ursus Schneider

 

[Dave C.]

HI everybody

I have received a Pentium III 550 Mhz system. I would like to use it
as a firewall and have started "cleaning" up the system. With 512 MB
and a new HD installed it is quite a good Firewall. The only problem I
currently have with it is that it is quite loud.

I have found the reason for this - the fan on the CPU. When I remove
the fan the system still works perfectly but I am not sure if it might
damage the CPU once it runs for a couple of days.

I'm surprised it hasn't melted already. NEVER run a CPU without an active
cooler. Meaning, a heatsink with an operating fan or a water-cooler block.
If you really need a CPU that can be passively cooled, I believe VIA (the
chipset company) actually makes that animal. -Dave

 

[spodosaurus]

HI everybody

I have received a Pentium III 550 Mhz system. I would like to use it
as a firewall and have started "cleaning" up the system. With 512 MB
and a new HD installed it is quite a good Firewall. The only problem I
currently have with it is that it is quite loud.

I have found the reason for this - the fan on the CPU. When I remove
the fan the system still works perfectly but I am not sure if it might
damage the CPU once it runs for a couple of days.

The CPU is kept in place using a "Univeral Retention Bracket" (it was
named something like that - cannot remember the exact wording though
)

Question 1: is the CPU fan actually needed?

Yes, but you can replace it with a quietter model.

Question 2: If so I will replace it with a passive cooling heat sink -
anybody know which one would be the correct one for it? I have emailed
2 companies here in Austria (Europe) and they say that the system is
to old for them to still have parts - damit (

You're not likely to find any passive cooling heatsinks for a CPU.
graphics cards, yes, but even that depends on the card, and many still
require a small fan. You need to purchase a heatsink and fan, or just a
less noisy fan, for your CPU.

Thanking you for any help given
Ursus Schneider

--
spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. To jump to the end
of the story, as a result of this I need a bone marrow transplant. Many
people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant, too. Please
volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

 

[jaster]

HI everybody

I have received a Pentium III 550 Mhz system. I would like to use it as a
firewall and have started "cleaning" up the system. With 512 MB and a new
HD installed it is quite a good Firewall. The only problem I currently
have with it is that it is quite loud.

I have found the reason for this - the fan on the CPU. When I remove the
fan the system still works perfectly but I am not sure if it might damage
the CPU once it runs for a couple of days.

The CPU is kept in place using a "Univeral Retention Bracket" (it was
named something like that - cannot remember the exact wording though
)

Question 1: is the CPU fan actually needed?

Question 2: If so I will replace it with a passive cooling heat sink -
anybody know which one would be the correct one for it? I have emailed 2
companies here in Austria (Europe) and they say that the system is to old
for them to still have parts - damit (

Thanking you for any help given
Ursus Schneider

You're not taxing the cpu using it as a firewall and P-IIIs shutdown
when overheated so you shouldn't fry it anyway. However, I'd suggest
using either Intel stock fan or a quality low noise fan solution like
Aeroflow. Check the cpu fan specs to make sure it delivers adequate
cooling at low decibels.

 

[BBUNNY]

I'm surprised it hasn't melted already. NEVER run a CPU without an active
cooler. Meaning, a heatsink with an operating fan or a water-cooler
block. If you really need a CPU that can be passively cooled, I believe
VIA (the chipset company) actually makes that animal. -Dave

Well I found an old HP Pavilion 6340 that has a 300MHz celeron slot 1 in it
with no fan, never had a fan and never will. This was shipped and purchased
this way. I have another HP product that has a socket 370 433MHz celeron,
same deal NO FAN. Is this an HP thing.

 

[IsaacKuo]

I have received a Pentium III 550 Mhz system.

The CPU is kept in place using a "Univeral Retention Bracket" (it was
named something like that - cannot remember the exact wording though

Do you mean the processor is a "slot 1" processor--it's on
a little card that fits into a slot, rather than a flat
square with a bunch of pins that fits into a socket?

Question 1: is the CPU fan actually needed?

Maybe. You want to have airflow, but adequate airflow might
be provided by appropriate use of ducting. For example, if
the only air intake to the system is ducted to pass air over
the heatsink, then suction from the PSU fan will provide
sufficient airflow indirectly.

Question 2: If so I will replace it with a passive cooling heat sink -
anybody know which one would be the correct one for it?

I have a passively cooled PIII550 myself. I used a Zalman
Z80A VGA cooler. This device is designed for cooling VGA
card GPUs, but it also works with slot 1 processors!
There are two concerns, though:

1. For optimal heat pipe operation, the CPU card's orientation
is important. The way the slot is arranged on most MB's,
this means either using a horizontal case or laying a
tower case on its side (turning it into a horizontal case).

and

2. Tall capacitors next to the CPU slot may get in the way
of the Zalman Z80 VGA cooler. Look at the motherboard
and see if any of the capacitors next to the CPU slot
poke out above the slot itself. If so, then the Zalman
might not fit!

My PIII system went from a monstrously loud beast to a silent
pussycat after making this modification. I love it! After
experiencing the pleasure of quiet computing I'll never go
back.

Isaac Kuo

 

[IsaacKuo]

Well I found an old HP Pavilion 6340 that has a 300MHz celeron slot 1 in it
with no fan, never had a fan and never will. This was shipped and purchased
this way. I have another HP product that has a socket 370 433MHz celeron,
same deal NO FAN. Is this an HP thing.

No, Dell and other manufacturers have done this also. It's a way to
cut costs and increase reliability, while having the incidental
side benefit of quieting down the computer. With only one fan, that's
one less thing to break and for support call operators to deal with.

The theory is very simple--control airflow so that the PSU fan alone
will provide sufficient cooling for all components. One way to do
this is to have a duct from the PSU which shrouds the processor
heat sink. Any air which enters the PSU has to first pass by the
CPU heat sink.

Isaac Kuo

 

[IsaacKuo]

BTW, here are pictures and descriptions of my passively cooled
PIII 550 using a Zalman Z80A VGA cooler:
http://www.geocities.com/mechdan/zm80a.html

Isaac Kuo