80mm USB case fan

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imrazor

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Dec 28, 2009
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My Dell T5500 is running pretty hot in a room with no A/C and two video cards installed, so I'm looking for ways to keep it cool. There are two empty 80mm fan bays on the rear of the case, but no obvious way to provide power. There is a custom 5-pin Dell header near the drive bays, but I'd need a proprietary fan with a really long cable. Oddly, though, there is an internal USB port (not header, a full port) near the rear of the case.

I've seen fans with USB connectors on eBay, but I'm doubtful that 500 milliamperes will provide much airflow. Any advice?
 
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You may be able to get a SATA power(or even old LP4 if you have those) splitter and sata to fan adapter. This will allow fans that will get the job done.

2.5 watts(the limit of usb) should be ok if you can find a decent 5 volt fan. A 2200(mid noise level) rpm Noctua is rated just shy of 1 watt. You will not get a top end high speed fan or anything, but many 80mm fans would work(as long as you get a 5 volt fan). I still think that 12 volt fans and the required adapter is a better option.

Honestly, I do not think dell would ship a system that could not keep it self cool enough to stay in specs.
 
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The most obvious answer I can think of is get some 80mm fans that use a standard 4pin molex connector and reroute one of the psu molex leads over to the rear of the case.
Or, you can use standard 3pin fans and use a molex-3pin adapter.
Much safer way than relying on that USB port.
 
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@Karadjgne - No molex connectors on this PSU.
@Chugalug_ - It's not a laptop, it's a full tower workstation. I'm looking at getting an internal 80mm fan and connecting to the rather odd internal USB port on the *inside* of the chassis.
@nukemaster - Yeah, a SATA splitter to 3/4-pin fan might do the trick. But most of the ones I've seen are molex, and I'd need 18 - 24 inches of reach. The USB port is very conveniently placed for this use, but if it doesn't provide enough juice, there's no point. As far as working within design specs, I don't think Dell designed this thing to be in a 85 - 95 degree office without climate control. So far it hasn't crashed or anything, but as summer kicks into full swing I want to be prepared.
EDIT: I was thinking of something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/80mm-10mm-Case-Fan-5V-17CFM-USB-A-Male-CPU-Computer-Cooling-8010-Sleeve-438-/381817695239?hash=item58e61bac07:g:G4oAAOSwzaJYBTlW
 
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If you have room getting a 25mm thick fan will be better.

10mm fans have lower airflow and pressure at the same speed as thicker fans.

A Noctua 80mm at 2200rpm is rated at about 33cfm(I am not saying to get those, just a fan that has average performance and is fairly quiet. It IS a 12 volt fan so NOT what you want)

Larger fans push even more air, but you lack space for those.

Any chance you can look in the system to find out if you can get power inside(power supply connectors).
 
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Took a look inside the chassis, and to my surprise I found a single molex connector on the PSU. (I would've sworn I checked when I first got the T5500.) Time to rummage around in my collection of spare parts and see if I can find an 80mm with a really long cable. It's got to snake around a rather long GTX 670 on the way to the back of the chassis.
 
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