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Adding a fan

E

Eckslusive

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 12, 2002
261
0
Hey I have a DP Powermac G4 (1 Ghz), and i was wondeing if I could add an extra fan in there. Doesn't have to be big, just a small quiet little one is fine.
If i can, what brand do you sugguest for me to buy? is it easy to install?
 
Re: Adding a fan

Originally posted by Eckslusive
Hey I have a DP Powermac G4 (1 Ghz), and i was wondeing if I could add an extra fan in there. Doesn't have to be big, just a small quiet little one is fine.
If i can, what brand do you sugguest for me to buy? is it easy to install?
Click to expand...

Why do you want... ANOTHER FAN?

sorry... all I know about is replacing one... not adding another. :confused:
 
open your case and look inside. it won't bite, i promise! ;)

that being said, buy something based on decible (dB) rating. lower is better.
 
Adding another fan doesn't sound all that weird. My Quicksilver, after being on for about 24 hours straight, when I started to watch DVD, it OVERHEATED and shutdown on its own. I tried restarting it immediately but would not do so. I waited for it to cool down for about an hour, then it boot up.
 
Originally posted by macphoria
Adding another fan doesn't sound all that weird. My Quicksilver, after being on for about 24 hours straight, when I started to watch DVD, it OVERHEATED and shutdown on its own. I tried restarting it immediately but would not do so. I waited for it to cool down for about an hour, then it boot up.
Click to expand...

Did you block the fans or something...? I left my heavy coat on my iMac accedently for 4 days 24/3 no overheating at all...
 
Hey MrMacman

No the fan was not blocked and it was well ventilated. It caught me buy surprise and I was quite shocked about it. I was rendering bunch of movies for 24 hours, not continuously but constantly, and then watched DVD while taking a break and it just shutdown. When I opened it up, it was quite warm. The heatsink was also hot though not burning hot to the touch.

My initial guess was that DVD watching was what caused it, that decoding DVD movie took significantly more processing power than movie rendering and it pushed it to the limit.

I assume this sort of thing doesn't happen often, and probably isn't even meant to happen.
 
Re: Adding a fan

Originally posted by Eckslusive
Hey I have a DP Powermac G4 (1 Ghz), and i was wondeing if I could add an extra fan in there. Doesn't have to be big, just a small quiet little one is fine.
If i can, what brand do you sugguest for me to buy? is it easy to install?
Click to expand...

The easiest fan to install would be a slot fan, as long as you have a free PCI slot open. I got a 3D Supercool slot fan, which claims to push 42CFM and is really quiet (I don't notice it over the 120mm). It's a great way to exhaust the case, since the only exhaust on the case is through the power supply.

I've been running my machine on a full load (3 other PCI's, 3 7200 rpm hard drives, 2 GB memory) and been running my processors at 100% for the last 2 weeks and my main fan has never kicked up past medium (though it is winter and everythings been running in a room that's 70 degrees or less).
 
OH BTW...does anyone know
the
Dimension, Air Flow, Speed, Noise, Voltage, Current, and Power of the Fan installed in my mac right now? (Dual Processor, G4, 1Ghz, Mirror Drive)
 
Originally posted by macphoria
...

My initial guess was that DVD watching was what caused it, that decoding DVD movie took significantly more processing power than movie rendering and it pushed it to the limit.

...
Click to expand...
Actually, the amount of heat the processor was putting out wouldn't have changed.

What might have caused your problem is the additional heat put out by the optical drive.
 
Originally posted by Eckslusive
OH BTW...does anyone know
the
Dimension, Air Flow, Speed, Noise, Voltage, Current, and Power of the Fan installed in my mac right now? (Dual Processor, G4, 1Ghz, Mirror Drive)
Click to expand...

There's a lot of information at www.g4noise.com , you'll have to poke around a bit to find it exactly...look into the fan mod section. Verax has come up with a solution to the big 120mm fan noise (and it cools the memory, too). But it looks like it'll be mid-April before they start shipping their solution. I think I might go through the extra expense to install this mod...I've got too much invested in my equipment. I'm assuming that they'll want to charge around $40 (that's a rough guess) for their 2 fans and enclosure for the heatsink/memory.


Roughly, there's a 120mm Delta that's capable of 127 cfm, 9V, 56dBa max and 2 Delta 60mm at 37 cfm, 46dBa, 9V. There's one more for optical drive cooling, but it's pretty quiet.

Oh, btw, if you get a slot fan, you'll need some kind of extension for the power cord---the slots are on top and the nearest power to plug into is on the bottom of the case (you can find Y-cables on eBay for around $3-5 shipped).
 
Dang!!!! You got a great deal on that one!!! (Stuck you on shipping, though)

Do you have any drives in your rear bay? If not, the power cable should reach just fine.
 
Install is super easy. All you need is a philips screwdriver:

1) Shut down your computer.
2) Open the case.
3) Remove the topmost PCI cover (save the screw).
4) Insert slot fan, secure with screw.
5) Plug cable from fan into power cable.
6) Close case & power up.

Of course, don't drop anything in the case, don't touch anything on the circuit board, don't set your drink on the heatsink, and if you're worried about static electricity (and you should), always touch the metal side of the case before you do anything. Enjoy!
 
Cool, I got it today and Installed it. Its pretty quiet...cool...I feel the heat coming out and its cooler now. niice..thanks tom.

oh btw..is it okay if those cables are touching those metal plates...
 
By the 'metal plates' I assume you mean the heat sink for the processors, and even though it does get hot, it shouldn't melt the plastic on the wires, so it's OK.

Keep in mind that the fan will keep your case cooler and your PCI cards cooler, but doesn't have a great effect on the temperature of your processors. I'm looking forward to the Verax solution...it looks like it'll be 2 fans blowing directly on the heatsink and memory. Check it out!

I figure every little bit helps!

Glad you got everything in OK!
 
I know you already got yer fan, but here is what I did. I removed the speaker from the front and installed an 80mm fan (w/filter) where the speaker used to be.


Lethal
 
wow cool!! does it work with any fan?
and when you remove the fan does it remove the silvery thing that shows in the front of the case/computer.
 
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