Removing PSU fan?

[chhjposter]

Hi

My system consists of a gigabyte board with the 780g chip, so no added
graphicscard right now, 2gb ram, a 4850e amd cpu, and a 160gb hdd.
This is all stuffed into a silverstone lc04 case.

I want to use it for a htpc, and it doesn't generate much noise apart
from one thing. There's a 40mm temp. controlled fan exhaust at the
rear of the PSU blowing air out, and it's quite noisy. It seems to run
at a rather high speed all the time, so i guess it should be noisy.
I've tried stopping it with a pen and let the system sit idle for a
couple of hours to see what would happen. After a couple of hours
sitting idle, the PSU is still only luke warm - while hotter than with
the fan running it isn't much.

There's a 80mm intake at the bottom of the PSU, which sucks air from
the case, and the air really only has one place to go, and that's
towards the exhaust fan.

What would happen if i simply removed the 40mm fan at the rear? I hope
that it will create a better airflow than the 40mm sitting there not
rorating (like with the pen in there), since it will no longer be
blocking the airflow.

I should add to this that i've added two case fans to vent the case
constantly, so the case temperature shouldn't be a problem - my
concern is with the PSU and whether or not the 40mm is all-important.

Does anyone have an opinion on whether this is a bad idea or not? I
simply cannot live with the noise level as it is now, so it's either
this way, get a new fan (which i think would be the same) or buy a new
PSU (which i don't really wanna get into, because it's a special size
and PSUs of the same size seem to also have a 40mm exhaust fan).

Kind regards,
Carsten

 

[John Doe]

I've tried stopping it with a pen and let the system sit idle for
a couple of hours to see what would happen. After a couple of
hours sitting idle,

You stopped the fan for two hours? Does it still work?

 

[Ofnuts]

Hi

My system consists of a gigabyte board with the 780g chip, so no added
graphicscard right now, 2gb ram, a 4850e amd cpu, and a 160gb hdd.
This is all stuffed into a silverstone lc04 case.

I want to use it for a htpc, and it doesn't generate much noise apart
from one thing. There's a 40mm temp. controlled fan exhaust at the
rear of the PSU blowing air out, and it's quite noisy.

Like all 40mm fans... But what kind of PSU uses such a small fan?
especially since le LC04 has a 80mm fan, according to
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article183-page3.html which, a bit later
(http://www.silentpcreview.com/article183-page6.html) says the PSU fan
is one of the quietest around.

It seems to run
at a rather high speed all the time, so i guess it should be noisy.
I've tried stopping it with a pen and let the system sit idle for a
couple of hours to see what would happen. After a couple of hours
sitting idle, the PSU is still only luke warm - while hotter than with
the fan running it isn't much.

That's the "idle" which is the important word here. Under load you will
likely draw a lot more from the PSU. And rerun you tests in a hot summer
day

There's a 80mm intake at the bottom of the PSU, which sucks air from
the case, and the air really only has one place to go, and that's
towards the exhaust fan.

What would happen if i simply removed the 40mm fan at the rear? I hope
that it will create a better airflow than the 40mm sitting there not
rorating (like with the pen in there), since it will no longer be
blocking the airflow.

I should add to this that i've added two case fans to vent the case
constantly, so the case temperature shouldn't be a problem - my
concern is with the PSU and whether or not the 40mm is all-important.

Yes, because it creates airflow through the PSU (likely over some
heatsinks). Without it the hot air will accumulate in the PSU and you'll
likely fry something. If you have space maybe you can replace the 40mm
blowing out by a 80mm blowing in.

Does anyone have an opinion on whether this is a bad idea or not? I
simply cannot live with the noise level as it is now, so it's either
this way, get a new fan (which i think would be the same) or buy a new
PSU (which i don't really wanna get into, because it's a special size
and PSUs of the same size seem to also have a 40mm exhaust fan).

You won't get away by just removing the 40mm fan.

 

[chhjposter]

Thanks for the response!

Like all 40mm fans... But what kind of PSU uses such a small fan?
especially since le LC04 has a 80mm fan, according tohttp://www.silentpcreview.com/article183-page3.htmlwhich, a bit later
(http://www.silentpcreview.com/article183-page6.html) says the PSU fan
is one of the quietest around.

Yes. As i wrote there's a 80mm intake (which is visible in the link
you posted) at the bottom of the PSU sucking air from the case into
the PSU, and a 40mm at the rear (which you cannot see) drawing air
out. The 80mm is all fine and quiet, but the 40mm is noisy.

That's the "idle" which is the important word here. Under load you will
likely draw a lot more from the PSU. And rerun you tests in a hot summer
day

Aye, you're right, and that's my main concern. I just wanted to use
the idle states as an indicator, comparing with and without the fan
operating.

Yes, because it creates airflow through the PSU (likely over some
heatsinks). Without it the hot air will accumulate in the PSU and you'll
likely fry something. If you have space maybe you can replace the 40mm
blowing out by a 80mm blowing in.

But there already is a 80mm blowing in. Or do you mean something else?

My idea was to remove the 40mm completely, let the 80mm still push air
into the PSU, seal the PSU as best i can so the airflow comes out
where the 40mm is (or was when i remove it).

 

[chhjposter]

You stopped the fan for two hours? Does it still work?

Yeah, still works just fine.

 

[chhjposter]

Like all 40mm fans... But what kind of PSU uses such a small fan?

Yes. As i wrote there's a 80mm intake (which is visible in the link
you posted) at the bottom of the PSU sucking air from the case into
the PSU, and a 40mm at the rear (which you cannot see) drawing air
out. The 80mm is all fine and quiet, but the 40mm is noisy.

Just answering myself here. The link you posted is a LC04 with the old
240W PSU - i have the new 300W which apart from the 60W differs by
having a 40mm fan at the rear.

 

[Ofnuts]

Just answering myself here. The link you posted is a LC04 with the old
240W PSU - i have the new 300W which apart from the 60W differs by
having a 40mm fan at the rear.

Ah, then you may be lucky by just removing the 40mm fan if you aren't
pushing the limits too much (especially if you are within the original
240W). You could also improve on this by replacing the 80mm by another
one with more flow... But that's your PC, not mine

 

[chhjposter]

Ah, then you may be lucky by just removing the 40mm fan if you aren't

pushing the limits too much (especially if you are within the original
240W). You could also improve on this by replacing the 80mm by another
one with more flow... But that's your PC, not mine

I'm well below 200W at peak, and most of the time it will be used for
music / surfing so it will be significantly lower on average. I'll
take your advice on replacing the 80mm with another. I might be asking
for trouble by doing it, but i'll keep a close eye on it, and if it
looks like it's going to overheat, i think i'll start looking for a
new PSU.

Thanks for your input!

 

[Ofnuts]

I'm well below 200W at peak, and most of the time it will be used for
music / surfing so it will be significantly lower on average. I'll
take your advice on replacing the 80mm with another. I might be asking
for trouble by doing it, but i'll keep a close eye on it, and if it
looks like it's going to overheat, i think i'll start looking for a
new PSU.

Except that that's not a standard PSU in your box... could be difficult
to replace without replacing the whole box.

 

[Guest]

My system consists of a gigabyte board with the 780g chip, so no added
graphicscard right now, 2gb ram, a 4850e amd cpu, and a 160gb hdd.
This is all stuffed into a silverstone lc04 case.

I want to use it for a htpc, and it doesn't generate much noise apart
from one thing. There's a 40mm temp. controlled fan exhaust at the
rear of the PSU blowing air out, and it's quite noisy. It seems to run
at a rather high speed all the time, so i guess it should be noisy.
I've tried stopping it with a pen and let the system sit idle for a
couple of hours to see what would happen. After a couple of hours
sitting idle, the PSU is still only luke warm - while hotter than with
the fan running it isn't much.

There's a 80mm intake at the bottom of the PSU, which sucks air from
the case, and the air really only has one place to go, and that's
towards the exhaust fan.

What would happen if i simply removed the 40mm fan at the rear? I

Most power supply manufacturers cut as many corners as possible, and
if the 40mm fan wasn't needed, I doubt it would have been installed.
Is it possible to post some photos showing the interior of the supply,
including where the 40mm fan goes?

 

[sdlomi2]

I'm well below 200W at peak, and most of the time it will be used for
music / surfing so it will be significantly lower on average. I'll
take your advice on replacing the 80mm with another.
snip<<

Why don't you just try that new 80mm mounted on the case rear over the
present exhaust opening with it blowing OUT? That is after merely
disconnecting older 40mm one. If it is quiet enough, certainly it should
suffice even as is at that point. Or you may wanna completely remove the
40mm one. I'd kinda question the outcome of blowing IN at that point, as
someone suggested--probably by mistake! s

 

[lopezdau]

Hey Carsten, did you find a solution for the LC04 noise? I've bought
this case and I've the same problem as you.
I've seen a guy that got an external fanless PSU, but it was like
150$. The case is expensive enough, so I'm looking for the cheapest
way to solve it.

I've you got any solution?

If I find something, I'm gonna tell you ok?

Regards
Ramiro