Corsair CX500 Fan replacement Suggestions

SlenysD

Commendable
May 4, 2016
6
0
1,510
Good evening,

I'm currently looking to replace my Corsair CX500 power supply fan. Reasons:
1. Since I replaced most of my case fans with BeQuiet fans, I started to hear fan bearing sound and it seems like it reached it's life-span's end, however psu is still kicking, so I want to keep it for another year or so.
2. Now it is the loudest part in my computer, even when I'm sitting afar from computer.

I have already tried to take it apart once, so I don't worry about the guarantee (since it is a 6 year old psu), the fan is connected to the psu by two pin plug, my main idea is to take current fan Yate Loon 120mm (D12SH-12) and cut off that part with two pin plug, then connect those wires to 3 pin plug, leaving the third one open, so I could directly add new fan without making any modifications to it.

But here is the problem: I know that when you replace psu fan, you should add another fan with similiar specs, however, in reality, this fan doesn't really fulfil his factory settings. Here are the Yate Loon 120mm (D12SH-12) specifications:

Model: D12SH-12

Size: 120mm x 120mm x 25mm

Voltage: 12V

Speed: 2200 RPM ±10%

Air Flow: 88.0 CFM

Noise: 40 dB

So here, I'm kindly asking for a suggestion, to what kind of fan I should be aiming for, my main requirements are: it would be silent when idling and it wouldn't be that expensive like Noctua fans.
I'm aiming at 120mm Be Quiet Pure Wings 2 fan (here is the link from my country, if anyone is interested: http://www.kilobaitas.lt/Ieskoti/CatalogStore.aspx?criteria=be%20quiet%20120mm), however it doesn't really meet the requirements: only 40,2-51,4 CFM etc.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/333772-28-corsair-cx500-power-supply-upgrade?xtor=EREC-8889&_ga=1.39958497.2131505633.1478121046
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I've already checked similiar post, but it didn't really answer my question (and that post was in 2012, times are changing, so and computer fans), so I decided to make my own post.

Thank you in advance, for your help!
 

Dustybin

Respectable
Feb 24, 2016
524
0
2,360


This is the answer ^^^^ It probably isn't worth messing around inside a PSU that cost three times as much let alone for a budget model. There are decent semi passive models you can get if you want a quieter PC.
 

Themastererr

Respectable
May 22, 2016
1,101
1
2,660
Replacing a PSU fan is child's play. Literally I used to rip them apart for the fans they have when I was younger.

The main issue is the connections for PSU fans are half-size headers like you mentioned. I would do exactly what you're thinking, cut the 2 wires and attach positive and negative. One issue I can thin of is if you cut the yellow wire, the fan might lose it's ability to be regulated as that is the RPM sensor (I believe)

As far as a replacement fan goes, I'm honestly not sure. I've ripped apart 6 or 7 PSU's and they all had completely different fans. I think as long as you get a silent fan that isn't going to be loud even at full RPM, you'll be fine.

Good luck.
 

SlenysD

Commendable
May 4, 2016
6
0
1,510
Like I said, I'd like to keep this psu, until I upgrade my system in the future, because my current architecture is kind of outdated, so I'd need to replace practically everything - mobo, ram, cpu and psu. But speaking theoretically, would it be better to add a fan which would push more air at lower RPM, so there wouldn't be a reason for it to ramp up the speed, or I should play it safe and add a louder fan, which would need to run more louder and faster to push the same amount of air as the previously mentioned fan, which pushes same amount at lower RPM. Besides, you can count it as my little project, so I can spend 10 or 15 Euros for a fan, so money is not a problem ;) I would appreciate somekind of example too!