From what I can tell, my PC Power and Cooling 850 SSI is the primary source of noise in my PC. That PSU was very expensive, but also very solid, when I purchased it in 2006.

I will not replace it until it fails. That said, I would like to shush it by replacing its noisy three-bladed fan. Does anyone have any recommendations in this regard? I have tried searching this forum using Google (since the phrase "PC Power and Cooling" tripped the short-words filter).

You want a quiet fan, but it should keep the PSU the same temperature, since its performance and lifetime depend on that. With that said, measure the fan width to get an idea for the size, and make sure the wires coming from it match those in a standard fan. From there, perhaps the company has a datasheet which gives some information about the fan, to get an idea of CFM, or even just RPM. That should give you an idea of which fans will work. Good luck!

A 3-blade fan usually means it is very high RPM. What kind of fan grill is on it? If it is a stamped metal grill, you can bend the sections outward so the opening is less blocked, and then a slower RPM 5-blade fan should do fine at keeping it cool, and be a lot quieter. You might want to think about a thermally controlled fan? Enermax makes some that are pretty quiet.

What size fan is in the PSU?

PCP+C have not made a single quiet PSU in their history, at best after replacing the fan it will not be any quieter than it was when new (which simply makes it loud), at worst it will overheat and fry everything. Also if it was made in 2006 it wont be very efficient by today's standards (80.4% efficiency - read the review below), not to mention that its 5-year warranty ran out 1-years ago, all in you have had a good run from this PSU, now its time for retirement.

Please post your system spec so we can identify a suitable PSU - most likely costing £50-£60 (assuming you only need a 500-600W PSU, most people don't need more than that in reality unless they need tri-SLI, otherwise look i the range of £80-£110) including a new 3-year warranty, it will also require no cocking around with a fan swap and will be much quieter and more efficient - 80+ Bronze means hitting 82/85% efficiency depending on the load and will possibly be the quietest component in your PC.



A single 80mm fan. Below is a review.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/stress-te ... 62-23.html

Just noticed a bit of nostalgia - my Phantom 500 is in that test, retired a year+ ago.


Andy

You will void the warranty with the swap, why not go all out, cut a hole in the top and use a thermally controlled 120mm or 140mm fan?

You won't make that thing quiet easily, even with a fan swap. 80.4% efficiency at 850W still means you theoretically need to get over 200W (without knowing the 100% power efficiency I can only guess, but substantially more than 200W) of heat out of a small metal box full of a very high airflow impedance design - look at that mess of PCBs and heatsinks in those THG pictures!

Strapping a 120-140mm fan to it will not be ideal. For a start you can not fit the fan inboard with this PSU given the size of the internals. An external fan might well be in the way of something else in your case like the CPU heatsink for example. I also am not sure that this will give good airflow given the mess of PCBs and heatsinks inside it.

Instead I would fully agree with andyb that you should replace it if you really are interested in making your computer quiet.

If you want to persist with the PCP then you should first find some specs for the fan that is on it. Googling gives nothing useful so I suggest you take down the part number on the fan itself (you may need to open the PSU up) and Google for this. Then you need to look for a fan which matches that CFM rating but hopefully at less noise. Here is the SPCR 80mm fan round up:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article689-page1.html

It's a little out of date as 80mm fans are not so popular nowadays.

Hi, as per others recommendations changing the whole PSU has a lot going for it, mostly it’s simple and easy. Your existing one may have good re-sale value and quality new ones are not so expansive.

If you want to go down the route of changing the fan it's probably a 3wire 80mm fan you need, which is very common. Ball or fluid bearings probably a good choice too. I would mount the fan with rubber mounts while at it and suggest one in the 2500~3000rpm full speed range and connect it to the existing fan output as I assume the PSU has fan speed control. It then maintains a degree of safety; as the PSU internal temp rises the fan speed will be increased. This falls down if you are going to load the PSU to a point where the slower replacement fan isn't fast enough, but I would think you could get 250~300w safely enough with a slower fan. How loud it would end up I'm not sure, you will have to try and see...
Scythe do a S-Flex fan in 80mm 2800rpm that could be a good, if expensive, candidate.

I've had success with 80mm fan swaps in Antec NeoHE and my current Antec Signature PSU.

Good luck, Seb