Finally swapped out the fan in my Antec TP 430

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 9:28 pm

What an improvement.

I'd be running it with the standard 92mm Antec fan, and an 80mm Stealth both at 7v for months. I just took out both those fans, replaced them with a single 92mm Nexus at 7v and removed all the grills. The breeze coming out the back is at least as strong as it was before, and it's nigh inaudible.

If it stays cool to the touch, I'll probably drop the Nexus down to 5v and see how that is.

el_ · Post by **el_** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 10:39 pm

Nice I did my 403 with a 120mm hole in the bottom works great with panafloM running at 5volts. did you have a temp probe on the heatsink that controls power? or just powering from outsid powersupply?

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 10:45 pm

I ahve it running at a fixed voltage

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Sun May 01, 2005 12:48 am

I got a request through PM for more details on this.

I'll update this with pictures once I get my computer back next week (in the middle of moving right now)

While the full scope of my PSU mod happened over several months, I'm going to act like I went from stock to the current state without any other setups in between, since I find the current arrangement most satisfactory.

Please remember, your mileage will vary. Just because my PSU works witha single nexus at 7v, doesnt mean yours will. Stress out your PSU with Prime95 and random HD seeks, and carefully monitor temperatures for at least a few hours.

This just might void your warranty.

First I opened the TP 430, after draining it using methods discussed in the sticky. Removed the two noisy stock fans and threw them away. They're hooked up with small inline connectors that just snap off. I used electrical tape to seal up ALL vents in the unit except the primary bottom 92mm intake and the rear 80mm exhaust. The reason for this being that with only an intake running, air is free to escape via these in-case vents, recycling the hot air and not doing an effective cooling job.

The 92mm nexus fan's connector was removed and braided using a standard braid technique, and the connector re-attached. This isn't entirely necessary, but it keeps things much neater. The nexus was then screwed to the bottom of the PSU without the fan grill in place. You shouldnt have your hands in there when the computer is on anyway, right?

Since there is no longer a rear 80mm fan, there is no rear 80mm grill. This part is up to you. I dont have any small children running around the house, and no one uses my computer but me. You CAN stick your fingers into the PSU by mistake and this CAN spoil your day, quite badly. If you feel like it, bust out the hub and spokes of an old 80mm and use it to attach the grill, although I feel quite strongly that it will restrict airflow. A better solution would be to construct a small hood that would make it difficult to accidently pop your digits into the guts of your PSU, while not restricting airflow.

After threading the nexus connector out through the wiring hole, I carefully sealed the unit back up and re-mounted it. The nexus's 3 pin connector was then hooked up to an adapter I had rewired for 7v and after testing the PSU with a paperclip (shorting out the PWR_ON lead) to make sure I hadnt buggered something up inside that would fry my machine, I hooked everything back up, and I had a silent, if slightly warmer, Antec TruePower 430w.

omega_1 · Post by **omega_1** » Sun May 01, 2005 2:54 am

Splinter wrote:I got a request through PM for more details on this.

I'll update this with pictures once I get my computer back next week (in the middle of moving right now)

While the full scope of my PSU mod happened over several months, I'm going to act like I went from stock to the current state without any other setups in between, since I find the current arrangement most satisfactory.

Please remember, your mileage will vary. Just because my PSU works witha single nexus at 7v, doesnt mean yours will. Stress out your PSU with Prime95 and random HD seeks, and carefully monitor temperatures for at least a few hours.

This just might void your warranty.

First I opened the TP 430, after draining it using methods discussed in the sticky. Removed the two noisy stock fans and threw them away. They're hooked up with small inline connectors that just snap off. I used electrical tape to seal up ALL vents in the unit except the primary bottom 92mm intake and the rear 80mm exhaust. The reason for this being that with only an intake running, air is free to escape via these in-case vents, recycling the hot air and not doing an effective cooling job.

The 92mm nexus fan's connector was removed and braided using a standard braid technique, and the connector re-attached. This isn't entirely necessary, but it keeps things much neater. The nexus was then screwed to the bottom of the PSU without the fan grill in place. You shouldnt have your hands in there when the computer is on anyway, right?

Since there is no longer a rear 80mm fan, there is no rear 80mm grill. This part is up to you. I dont have any small children running around the house, and no one uses my computer but me. You CAN stick your fingers into the PSU by mistake and this CAN spoil your day, quite badly. If you feel like it, bust out the hub and spokes of an old 80mm and use it to attach the grill, although I feel quite strongly that it will restrict airflow. A better solution would be to construct a small hood that would make it difficult to accidently pop your digits into the guts of your PSU, while not restricting airflow.

After threading the nexus connector out through the wiring hole, I carefully sealed the unit back up and re-mounted it. The nexus's 3 pin connector was then hooked up to an adapter I had rewired for 7v and after testing the PSU with a paperclip (shorting out the PWR_ON lead) to make sure I hadnt buggered something up inside that would fry my machine, I hooked everything back up, and I had a silent, if slightly warmer, Antec TruePower 430w.

and how did you connect the fan to the psu ? i thought it used 2pin connection ?

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Sun May 01, 2005 3:06 am

He's not using the original psu connection for the fan. He routes the nexus fan wires out with the other psu wires and connects the fan to a molex with a special 7 volt adapter. There are adapters to go from 3 pin to 2 pin, but it most cases you can pry the 2 pin shroud from the circuit board and use the 3 pin connector. There are some pictures of this in the article on fans swaps. This is if you want to use the original psu fan connection.

omega_1 · Post by **omega_1** » Sun May 01, 2005 3:39 am

frankgehry wrote:He's not using the original psu connection for the fan. He routes the nexus fan wires out with the other psu wires and connects the fan to a molex with a special 7 volt adapter. There are adapters to go from 3 pin to 2 pin, but it most cases you can pry the 2 pin shroud from the circuit board and use the 3 pin connector. There are some pictures of this in the article on fans swaps. This is if you want to use the original psu fan connection.

and whats better ? to take out the shroud and use the connection or rout the wire out of the psu ?

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Sun May 01, 2005 4:27 am

I don't want to second guess splinter, but it could be that the antec fan controller changed fan speeds too much so it made sense to just have one speed and connecting the fan to a constant 7 volts is good way to do that. Since he's using a nexus you can't really hear it anyway. But if you had a good fan controller and wanted to use it and just replace the fan then you might just want to pop off the shroud and plug the fan into the fan controller. Or you could wire the fan to a fan controller so you could change speeds manually, but it sounds like splinter solved his problem and that's what counts. - FG

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Sun May 01, 2005 11:22 am

frank's got it right.

I didnt want to connect it to the internal fan connector because it constantly cycles up and down the fan speed, which I find more irritating that a constant mid-speed. Besides, the temperature probe isn't calibrated for the lower airflow of a nexus.

So the internal fan connectors are connected to nothing. Just a bit of electrical tape over them to make sure they don't short out on anything.

omega_1 · Post by **omega_1** » Sun May 01, 2005 11:39 am

Splinter wrote:frank's got it right.

I didnt want to connect it to the internal fan connector because it constantly cycles up and down the fan speed, which I find more irritating that a constant mid-speed. Besides, the temperature probe isn't calibrated for the lower airflow of a nexus.

So the internal fan connectors are connected to nothing. Just a bit of electrical tape over them to make sure they don't short out on anything.

could you take pics of your psu ? like ofcopurse dont take it apart..just in the case so i can see it.

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Sun May 01, 2005 11:49 pm

I get my computer back on Thursday

I'll take pics then, cracking open the PSU isnt a problem.

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Mon May 02, 2005 12:19 am

The eBay link is not just obsolete, it is dead.

StarfishChris · Post by **StarfishChris** » Mon May 02, 2005 2:47 am

And it's also taken your sig out of SPCR spec.

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Sat May 07, 2005 3:49 pm

Pics:

scara · Post by **scara** » Sun May 08, 2005 7:25 am

Splinter, do you have a temperature meter? I'm messing with my TP480 and wondering what exhaust temp your getting with that set-up.

At the moment I have a Nexus 92mm soft-mounted and running at ~1200rpm and an 80L1A @ 6v. The internal temps seem too high but I'm monitoring the exhaust (between the fan blades and grill) and thats steady at 40C.
Based on your experience, would I get a safe improvement removing the Panaflo and blocking the intake vents?

StarfishChris · Post by **StarfishChris** » Sun May 08, 2005 7:58 am

scara wrote:Splinter, do you have a temperature meter? I'm messing with my TP480 and wondering what exhaust temp your getting with that set-up.

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... 937#178937

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Sun May 08, 2005 12:08 pm

Using the somewhat ghetto temperature recording method I'm using, I've never seen the heatsink temp go above 42C

A few things to keep in mind:
I'm only measuring the temperature of one heatsink
The accuracy of the temperature probe is unknown
Your mileage will vary. What works for me works because of my case temp, power draw and any other number of factors.

Just be careful

scara · Post by **scara** » Mon May 09, 2005 1:56 am

Thanks for the info.

I guess from the link StarfishChris posted that you're monitoring this heatsink:

If you are then I doubt I could use the same setup, the Nexus would have to be sped up and thats already too noisy.
Oh well, anyone wanna buy a TruePower?

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Tue May 10, 2005 8:51 pm

I am, but there are other sinks you could monitor without too much trouble.

williemues · Post by **williemues** » Wed May 11, 2005 1:39 pm

Sorry for Ot, what´s that Vga-silencer doing in Your setup?

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... 937#178937

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Wed May 11, 2005 5:10 pm

Cooling the suspended HDs