If the preload is done right, it shouldn't matter which direction the fan is blowing in. The idea would be to preload the fan in a direction that it's set up to handle well (due to using a better-than-ordinary bearing to take the thrust forces in that direction), and to have enough preload force to ...

In frankgehry's post, note that the first diagram is of an ordinary sleeve bearing fan, not the Noctua, which has an additional magnet. That magnet seems to have the same function as the magnet in the S-FDB bearing: to apply an axial force to the rotor, to preload it in one direction. This seems str...

I just ripped apart a new Antec TriCool. It has a sleeve bearing. Photos at: http://yarchive.net/photos/tricool/1.jpg http://yarchive.net/photos/tricool/2.jpg http://yarchive.net/photos/tricool/3.jpg http://yarchive.net/photos/tricool/4.jpg Of the six TriCools that came with three new cases, two wer...

However, DC-to-DC conversion on motherboards to drop the voltage from 12V down to the <1.5V level required by current processors means that the same 120mV of ripple can become proportionately quite high, nearly 10%. Uh, reducing the voltage via a DC-DC converter isn't done by simple subtraction of ...

I'm a bit surprised by the rubber sealing strips. I'd have thought one would want to enforce metal-to-metal contact, in order to prevent electromagnetic interference from leaking out from the case. Did this case pass FCC inspection? (I'm not suggesting this be taken particularly seriously, since gen...