Loud fan follow-up

  • Thread starter Thread starter John R. Sellers
  • Start date Start date
J

John R. Sellers

A while back, I mentioned that I had a loud CPU fan in my Dell Dimension
2350. I made the mistake of squirting some oil in it. After 2 failed
replacement attempts, I'm wondering if thre's anything I can squirt in it to
make it quieter.
 
A while back, I mentioned that I had a loud CPU fan in my Dell Dimension
2350. I made the mistake of squirting some oil in it. After 2 failed
replacement attempts, I'm wondering if thre's anything I can squirt in it to
make it quieter.
Click to expand...

No, there's nothing. If you removed the bearings and soaked them in
gasoline, you might get the oil out, then you'd need a pressure grease gun
to force new grease in. It'd take a high-quality grease and you might
destroy the seals in the process, not to mention it being relatively
messy, expensive, and time consuming for such a simple problem. Anything
less than the grease gun won't be able to force sufficient quantity of
sufficiently thick grease into the bearing.

Then once you'd refilled the bearing and reinstalled it, what you then
have is the fan in it's former state (if everyting went well), that it's
greased but still noisey as it originally was due to the bearing wear, but
probably even worse since the thin-film of the oil will have caused the
bearings to wear much more.

What's a "failed replacment attempt" ?

The fan is a specific size and type. If it were a standard fan the
replacement would be same size. Since it seems to be a proprietary
shrouded fan, the only alternative is to buy a whole new heatsink.

Well, there is another way but it's also subject to "issues". Buy
another fan and remove the bearings, put them in your proprietary fan.
The issues would be that you probably won't know if the replacement fan
has same size bearings, that you might break the fan shaft clip when
removing it, or it might fly off and never be seen again (it's quite
small, delicate).

IMHO, the best solution is a whole new heatsink. A poor second
possibility is fabricating a custom mounting bracket for that 'sink base
and putting a standard fan on it... for a stock heatsink and normal
operating frequencies that's just not worthwhile.

This is one of the reasons I'd never recommend an Intel fan, as they've
always been too loud for my ears after they've worn a few months.
 
"John R. Sellers" said in news:[email protected]:
A while back, I mentioned that I had a loud CPU fan in my Dell
Dimension 2350. I made the mistake of squirting some oil in it.
After 2 failed replacement attempts, I'm wondering if thre's anything
I can squirt in it to make it quieter.
Click to expand...

Since a replacement 80mm fan costs only $4, just replace it.
 
*Vanguard* said:
"John R. Sellers" said in news:[email protected]:

Since a replacement 80mm fan costs only $4, just replace it.
Click to expand...

I tried the 80mm SmartCool Thermally Controlled Case Fan from
CompUSA...didn't fit in the shroud.

I need one equivilent to 5 3/8". What size is that in MM?

I think I'm better off picking out one myself cuz evidently I can't get Dell
to understand what I need.
 
I tried the 80mm SmartCool Thermally Controlled Case Fan from
CompUSA...didn't fit in the shroud.

I need one equivilent to 5 3/8". What size is that in MM?

I think I'm better off picking out one myself cuz evidently I can't get Dell
to understand what I need.
Click to expand...

Hmm. You're not talking about a fan on the heatsink itself, apparently.

You must mean a large fan on the rear wall of the case, with the duct
leading away from it, towards the CPU heatsink?

If so, that should be a 120mm, but 120mm is closer to 4 3/4". The fan
size is measured across the width of the fan, not corner to corner. You
may also need the thickness measurement, for example 25 or 32mm. Take
note of the replacement's RPM range too, as a 120mm fan can be quite loud
even if it's thermally controlled... typically a range that includes a
lower-end of around 1000 RPM would be preferred, or note the brand and
model of the original fan, to search the (fan) manufacturer's website for
it's specs.
 
kony said:
If so, that should be a 120mm, but 120mm is closer to 4 3/4". The fan
Click to expand...

Still, what size is 5 3/8"? That the measurement my stepfather gave me (he
does all my hardware installations for me).
 
John R. Sellers said:
A while back, I mentioned that I had a loud CPU fan in my Dell Dimension
2350. I made the mistake of squirting some oil in it. After 2 failed
replacement attempts, I'm wondering if thre's anything I can squirt in it to
make it quieter.
Click to expand...

I got my ngs confused and thought you were
talking about Davis Love.
 
Still, what size is 5 3/8"? That the measurement my stepfather gave me (he
does all my hardware installations for me).
Click to expand...


5 3/8" is the variable here. We don't know how that measurement was
obtained, which part of the fan is 5 3/8".

If we were to assume the measurement was taken correctly via the method
used to obtain a valid measurement, the result would be:

1 in. = 25.4 mm
5 3/8 = 5.375

5.375 * 25.4 = 137 mm

There aren't any fans that come in a 137mm size, as far as i know..
There are some Nidecs in 127mm size though, and Dell does occasionally use
Nidecs, but I don't know about your particular model and 127mm is a
relatively rare size.

The odd part is that even if measuring diagnoally, a 92mm fan is only 5
inches, yet a 120mm fan is 6.5". I just don't see how a 5 3/8"
measurement could be taken.

Fans typically come in standardized sizes, 60, 70, 80, 92, 120, 172 mm,
for example. The rear of anything but an extra-wide server case (which
isn't what you have) cannot accept a fan larger than 120-127mm. Actually
most cases other than Dell's and a small handful of others, can't even
accept a 120mm fan.

If I were a betting person I'd bet your fan is 120mm.
 
kony, what about a 92mm case fan (see
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=305449&pfp=SEARCH).
Click to expand...

$25?
OUCH!

That might be the most expensive 92m fan I've ever seen. Some Papst are
that high right after a popular website gives them a good plug or review,
but that's extremely overpriced.

A 92mm fan should cost about $5, for a good quality part. A generic or
off-brand should be about $3, but it's really not worth saving the $2 for
your fan's purpose, as it's the primary cooling mechanism for the whole
system (except the power supply).

Your ought to take the fan out and write down it's part numbers, measure
it.
 
"John R. Sellers" said in news:[email protected]:
Still, what size is 5 3/8"? That the measurement my stepfather gave
me (he does all my hardware installations for me).
Click to expand...

Most dictionaries will have a metric to English conversion table. You
can find them online, too.

1 inch = 25.4 mm

So with simple math then 5-3/8" = 5.375 inch = 136.5 mm

No such animal. Well, I suppose there could be some very special fan
around with that dimension but nothing you will find as a replacement.
The closest would be a 120 mm fan but your stepfather's measurement is
off by hefty 14%. If your stepfather had measured from corner to
corner, then divide by the square root of 2 to find a side length.
5.375 inches diagonally would be 3.80 inches on a side, which would be
96.5 mm - and still doesn't match up with standard fan sizes (that is
off by 21% from a 90 mm fan). So whatever your stepfather measured, it
wasn't the fan's dimensions.

There are some specifications at
http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/systems/dim2350/specs.htm#1106961 but
nothing about the CPU fan size. Their CPU replacement instructions at
http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/systems/dim2350/replace.htm#1130925 never
even mention a fan. Could be there is no fan on the heatsink and
instead a case fan next to the CPU blows air across the heatsink,
possibly using a shroud to direct the case fan's air flow directly at
the heatsink. It is a bit of a squat tower with a backpanel grill for a
rear case fan so maybe that's what Dell uses to cool the CPU's heatsink.
If so, it is likely to be an 80 mm fan. According to
http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/systems/dim2350/specs.htm#1107217, the case
is 184 mm wide. Since about half of that will be taken up with the
backside connector panel and side margins, there wouldn't be room for a
120 mm fan, so it would be an 80 mm case fan. Typically you will never
be able to find out about the parts that go into a particular model from
Dell (or Gateway or other mass market jobber). They won't know what
parts go into a specific model from day to day. It depends on what
their purchasing agents found that match the model's operating
specifications that was the cheapest the day they had to refill their
inventory or when they next place another order. So you'll have to
inspect the components yourself. It is likely, however, they use the
same case for a model so they could tell you the size of the backside
grill opening for a case fan.

Is stepfather going to do the replacement of the fan? If so, why is he
asking you about it? If not, sounds like it is time to allocate some
time and actually go look inside his computer.
 
According to
http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/systems/dim2350/specs.htm#1107217, the case
is 184 mm wide. Since about half of that will be taken up with the
backside connector panel and side margins, there wouldn't be room for a
120 mm fan, so it would be an 80 mm case fan.
Click to expand...

Usually the right side of a case and the height of the I/O panel is <=
60mm. That would barely leave room for a 120mm fan, but from the pic I
found it looks possible:

http://www.capital.lv/trade/productview/310/54/
 
A while back, my stepdad tried an 80MM fan, he said it was too big.

Anyway, I contacted Dell about this (again). Hopefully, someone there knows
which fan I'm talkin' about, and can suggest a fan the correct size.
 
A while back, my stepdad tried an 80MM fan, he said it was too big.

Anyway, I contacted Dell about this (again). Hopefully, someone there knows
which fan I'm talkin' about, and can suggest a fan the correct size.
Click to expand...

Is the system under warranty? You might call Dell and see if they'll send
a free fan.

It's surprising that this fan is smaller than 80mm. This is the fan
mounted on the rear wall of the case, not on top of the heatsink itself?
 
"John R. Sellers" said in news:[email protected]:
No, but they finally suggested a fan that might work.


I'll have to order one from their sales dept.
Click to expand...

Yeah, at what price? They'll love to sell you an overcharged item and
make you pay dearly for prime rate postage, too. Seems like a lot of
work just because someone can't figure out how to use a ruler.
 
I had the same problem with my Dell 4300. Called them up and they sent out a
tech to replace a couple of days later. Is your system still under warranty?
When I got mine, Dell had problems with the fans they installed in their
computers. It wasn't an isolated incident.
 
Greg said:
I had the same problem with my Dell 4300. Called them up and they sent out a
tech to replace a couple of days later. Is your system still under
Click to expand...
warranty?

Nope. I called their sales dept. after emailing tech. support explaining my
problem...my $17.95 replacement fan should be shipping by Friday.

Just outta curiousity, how much will a full 4-year extended warrenty set me
back?
When I got mine, Dell had problems with the fans they installed in their
computers. It wasn't an isolated incident.
Click to expand...

The only reason I decided to get a Dell when I needed a new PC was cuz I
could customize my order online.


BTW, you'll have to forgive the late reply, my fan is so loud now that I
don't really want to use my PC 'til I get a quieter fan in my box.
 
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