OT: Replacement CPU fan?

Look this site too, Lots of PC fans with heatsink for your need.

Good Luck Cyrus®

My MESH Athlon 1800 PC has a CPU fan and it badly needs replacing. It's a common 3-pin 12V, 60mm type. Its depth (which BTW never seems to be included in specs) is about 12mm. That's considerably thinner than 60mm case fans, and the screw holes are much smaller diameter too.

After much googling I've so far still not found a replacement UK source. Can anyone help please?

Neither my nerves nor skills are up to replacing the *heat sink*. I want to replace only the fan.

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Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK

Fan/sink combinations are pretty cheap lately. To get the fan size you want, you may have to buy a new combo and use the fan from it. Dunno bout UK distributors, but Cofan offers a fan by itself that matches your dimensions:

That looks perfect, thanks. Now, if only I could find a UK equivalent!

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Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK

Thanks, looks good. But I'll have to wait until I can 'phone tomorrow, as the spec doesn't confirm it's a 3-pin, nor show depth (or a decent image enlargement so I can take a guess).

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Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK

Just about any 60mm fan will work so long as there's clearance for it, any computer shop can help you out.

Replacing the heatsink is pretty easy too, most stores that will sell you one locally will probably install it for a nominal fee too, or just find the nearest tech savvy teenager.

If I felt there was any risk, I'd just pop into one of dozens of small local computer shops where they'd do the work for cheap, probably while I waited.

The fans eventually wear to the point where they start making a lot of noise, and then eventually seize. That's why a lot of MOMBOs have fan RPM monitoring hardware and firmware. The former situation is what I think "badly needs replacing" implies.

Arrrgh!!!! The whole *UNIT*, fan+heatsink, is about GBP 10 in a mail-order computer shop!!!!

*Just Order* and you will have it the next day or the day after.

Rip the fan off that if you must, or better just replace the whole thing (remember to buy heat sink compound - whatever is under there have dried out buy now). It's not a big deal, my 15-year old can do it.

Not safely in my PC, I bet he couldn't. Clearance is very tight. But that aside, why incur *any* risk by replacing a perfectly satisfactory component?

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Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK

"Terry Pinnell" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

mail-order

out

What risk? BTW, you start to behave like Jim Thompson, who also posts off-topic stuff in SED, whenever his zipper jams or his mouse cable gets tangled.

Now, get out and buy a new fan ;)

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Thanks, Frank.
(remove \'q\' and \'.invalid\' when replying by email)

Though 'risk', is fairly low, many units that used the thermal transfer 'tape' assemblies, suffer from becoming permanently bonded to the chip. I have seen a number of people have severe problems seperating these from the processor (ranging from damaging the socket, trying to prise the heatsink off, to actually breaking the CPU...). Personally, I'd suggest that Terry measures the fan, and orders a heatsink assembly, that has the same size fan, and just swaps this. Seperate fans _are_ available from electronic suppliers, like Farmell, RS, and some from Maplins, but in general, often cost more than the assemblies (the key is how many of the latter are sold).

Best Wishes

With AthlonXP, the CPU chip die was practically exposed and being just a little bit clumsy with the heatsink can chip the edges and the cpu is toast. It happened quite a lot. I was scared to handle it. Thanks God the new opterons/athlon64/semprons have metal case over the die.

I'd just scrap the old fan and mount the normal 80mm over it somehow. Usually there are some fixing points available in the case, be creative with the old junk you have lying in your drawers. This way it'll work better and more silent. Those small fans are noisy and not that efficient.

--
Siol
------------------------------------------------
Rather than a heartless beep
Or a rude error message,
See these simple words: "File not found."

Yep, thanks, that's exactly what I'm trying to do.

It's surprising how elusive a simple (UK) replacement is proving to be though. Maplin looked hopeful but a phone call established they no longer stock any suitable 60mm types. CPC are another possibility, but specs (catalog or online) are never conclusive enough for a confident order.

Meanwhile, right now you'd never know the fan had died. After re-oiling with 3-in-One, and a bit of Sellotape to seal it (the original label was losing its adhesiveness), it now seems to be running OK.

After recommendations in alt.comp.hardware, I've now installed a monitoring program called MBM 5. It reports my CPU at a steady 50°C. That sounds a bit warm, but I assume it's OK. (CPU = AMD Athlon XP1800+ on ASUS A7A266-E m/b) The case is at 31°C. And the fan is typically at about 4750 rpm. I'd prefer it to be slower (quieter). I hope that will be the result if I eventually succeed in *finding* a thicker (25mm instead of 12mm) 60mm replacement, maintaining similar air displacement but at lower revs.

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Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK

in message

bit

quite

there

have lying

are noisy

Agreed, thanks. As per earlier posts, that's what I'm doing. (60mm, not 80mm.)

Despite the gung-ho posts up thread, no way would I try shifting it myself. Can't even get my fingers to one of the levers. Nor would I contemplate the hassle, expense and stress of cable disconnection/reconnection, getting the case to a computer shop, and paying them to try removing and replacing the integral unit. Even if

*they* felt the risk worthwhile, I've now read enough tales of woe that I wouldn't be comfortable. All that for a fan costing probably 5-10 UKP (9-18 USD), that's going to take me 5 mins to replace in situ? No, it's just a matter of finding one!

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Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK

thing

dried out

little bit

happened quite

Yeah - to clumsy people - the whip teaches ;-).

Usually there

junk you have lying

fans are noisy

Nothing ventured, nothing Gained.

Besides, it is normally not a finger job, instead there should be a slot where one inserts a flat screwdriver to unclip the "locking spring" that holds the assembly. (The only problem is that it might be glued to the chip with some of the 3M thermal strips).

Sure - and you spend what, GBP 250???, in your own time doing that (unless it is at work, of course ;-)

If you want to replace the heat sink, pull the motherboard first.

Anyone who tells me it's not necessary gets to troubleshoot an A7V that worked perfectly before the heatsink was replaced, and went to doorstop mode afterward. (That's what I get for listening to people telling me it was safe to do this.)

--
        If John McCain gets the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination,
           my vote for President will be a write-in for Jiang Zemin.

Well, first, I don't recommend that you "rip" anything off anything, even if you're salvaging - it will unclamp, or as FAJ says, just buy the whole assembly. But _do_ unplug the old fan! And note the polarity! Then, be sure to gently clean the old heat sink stuff off the top of the chip with isopropyl alcohol. Gently, as in "with a Q-tip dipped in the IPA". And don't be afraid to be generous with the new heatsink goo (I like DC-340) - the spring holder is designed to apply the exact right amount of pressure to squeeze the goo out from between to the right thickness, and the goo that squeezes out around the edges is just spare. But it avoids voids, sorry for the alliteration. :-)

Cheers! Rich

On Sun, 27 Nov 2005 12:19:02 +0000, Terry Pinnell said to us:

Hello,

I would try Maplin if you have one nearby. Otherwise, I have also bought from Midland Computers:

Kris.

Thanks Kris. As mentioned up-thread, Maplin looked hopeful but a phone call established they no longer stock any suitable 60mm types. But the low-priced fan at

might be OK, perhaps with the plug adapter. The only minor snag might be the larger hole diameter, but I imagine that springy washers would ensure a snug fit with existing machine screws. (Don't want to have to re-drill holes in the heatsink.)

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Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK