Replacement fan for pre-built computer?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Z

Zeikcied

Prominent
Jul 31, 2017
19
0
510
I bought a pre-built computer from a local Micro Center a few days ago. Specifically the PowerSpec G151. http://www.microcenter.com/product/474288/G151_Desktop_Computer

I really like the machine so far. It has all the components I wanted, and has been performing quite well. But it's a little loud. I'm pretty sure it's the CPU fan, but I'm not absolutely certain. Could I replace the CPU fan without replacing the heat sink? If so, then how much would it cost to get such a replacement fan? Or could I use a CPU fan from an older PC? I honestly don't know how interchangeable such parts are. The PC this replaced was a seven-year-old HP computer that also had a Core i5, and it was a lot quieter than this.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
It probably has the stock intel fan.... I have never owned an intel CPU, but I believe that fan is proprietary... I don't think you can just pop a noctua fan on it. With Intel motherboards, replacing the heat sink can be very easy depending on your socket.
I can recommend some coolers that are very easy to install on your system... but to my knowledge that stock fan is a special size and hooks on in a very particular way... I suppose you could get a quieter fan on it somehow... but I would really just spend like 25 bucks and get a gammaxx 400 if your case can fit one.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You can try to have it replaced under warranty if you think it is defective. The case appears to have minimal cooling. You can also buy case fans that move more air.

Cooler Master SickleFlow 120mm often on sale with $5 rebate
w.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103060&Tpk=N82E16835103060

Thermaltake CLP0556-D 92mm 1 x Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106250

P/N CLP0556-D
Compatibility Intel LGA 1156/1155/1150/1151
Heatsink Material Aluminum
Fan Dimension ∅92 x 25 mm
Fan Speed 1800 RPM
Rated Voltage 12 V
Start Voltage 6 V
Rated Current 0.12 A
Power Input 1.44 W
Air Flow 31.343 CFM
Air Pressure 1.484 MM-H2O
Noise 21.3 dBa
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
How can I tell if it's defective or not? The BIOS says the fan is running at around 1,035-1,050 RPM while idle. As for the CPU temp, the BIOS says it's around 45°C, while the sensors in Linux say it's closer to 32°C. There's no data for the case fan. I can't tell if it's connected to the motherboard or directly to the PSU.

I could take it up to Micro Center, but their online support said that the support desk charges $40 for a diagnostic fee. Though I don't know if that fee applies to any part replacements covered under warranty.

And I kind of want to avoid replacing the heat sink, as I'm rather nervous about having to replace thermal paste. If I can get away with just replacing the fan, I'd be happy.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
So... when the fan is loud open the side panel... and gently put your finger on the flat center part of the fan, just enough to slow it down and see if the loudness briefly goes away... that will tell ya if its the CPU fan haha. Could be the power supply fan too..
( DO NOT STICK YOUR FINGERS IN THE FAN BLADEES!) I'm talking about the round flat center thingy... shouldn't catch on your finger at all.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Thank you for telling me to do this. I slowed the CPU fan, it even stopped a couple times (but only very briefly), and the sound didn't go away. I can't access the PSU fan, but I stopped the front case fan. The only way I could stop that fan was by putting my finger in the blades. I had the case open, so I figured it was okay. Anyway, the sound did diminish when I stopped it. So it could be the culprit.

I'd be more than happy to replace that, though. It has a bright blue LED on it, and I'm not crazy about LEDs in my PC case. Especially since the computer is in my bedroom, and I rarely shut my computer down. Would be nice not having the LED lighting the room while I try to sleep.

The people who made this PC tied most, if not all the power cables with a zip tie, so I'd have to cut them loose in order to replace the case fan. Which is a bit of an annoyance. Luckily the case has a sliding panel door on both sides, so I have easy access to the cables.

It's a much cheaper fix than I had initially feared. Of course, if it turns out the PSU is contributing to the sound, that will end up being more of a pain. But I'll deal with that if it comes to that.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
No problem! Just be careful stopping some of those fans with your finger... believe it or not I have broken the fins off a few that way.
If you like quiet and don't like LED, I recommend Notua, love those fans! They even have a six year warranty... but there are plenty of suitable fans out there for half that.
If that noisy fan is plugged into your motherboard, you can probably turn down its speed a bit in the bios and get some silence out of it... if its connected to a big 4 pin plug then your stuck with it.

Hopefully you won't become a fan addict like me ; )
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


I'm not entirely sure where the fan is plugged in. Only that I'm pretty sure it's not the motherboard. The wires go into a big mess of power cables that are tied together with a zip tie, and I have no idea where they go from there. I can't see any cables with the same colors plugged into the motherboard, though.

Now, this case fan is in the front, and is the only case fan on the computer. Could I put a fan from an older computer in the back and remove the front fan entirely? Or should I just replace the front fan? I don't over clock, so I don't know how much air flow is needed. I don't even know if the fan from the old computer will fit in this one.

EDIT: I found this on Newegg https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103052

It's a four-pack of Cooler Master fans, but other than the reviews, I don't really know if they're good. I think Cooler Master is a good brand, and most of the reviews are positive, but I don't know anything about air flow or noise levels or any of that. Other than the fact that they have a lower noise level number than other fans.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The current fan will likely be plugged straight to a PSU molex cable meaning its running full speed all the time


Before you buy new fans make sure
1. They're the correct size for your case fan mounts (a lot of branded prebuilds only take 92mm fans)
2. You have a way to power them, no good buying 3 or 4 fans with board headers & not having any fan headers available on your board.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Yeah, the front fan seems pretty small. I don't know the size of the rear fan mount. I just emailed Micro Center tech support to see if they can tell me what size fans fit inside the case.

And you lost me on the board header and fan header thing. But I did notice that the motherboard does have at least one plug specifically labeled for a case fan. The label is right on the motherboard. Never seen a motherboard with such helpful labels before.

I only saw the one case fan plug (though it was labeled "Case Fan 2" or something), and the BIOS has controls for two case fans (as well as the CPU fan). The case itself only has mounts for two fans. The rear mount is empty. If I can't locate the other fan plug, could I just put a fan in the back mount and remove the fan from the front? The computer seems to be doing fine with one case fan. I don't know if changing the location of the single fan would be too detrimental.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You want 2 fans mate in all honesty .
1 front intake
1 rear exhaust

Measure the screw holes on the fan mounting - distance between the top 2 holes , will tell you what size fan you need.

You probably currently have a crappy 92mm fan I'm there running full pelt at 3000rpm or so.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Thanks to your link to the motherboard site, I managed to find the CHA FAN 1 plug. So, yay.

Also, I remembered I had an old ruler from my middle school days that has centimeters, so I went and used that to measure the holes on the front and back. The front apparently takes three sizes of fans, while the back only takes two.

They seem to be really odd sizes, too. That is, if I'm reading things correctly. I took photos of the two larger sizes. The front seems to have a 74mm or 75mm fan in it, with support for 80mm and 108mm. While the back seems to only have support for 74mm (or 75mm) and something a little over 80mm. I'm trying to go by that and what's listed on Newegg for fan sizes, and I'm not finding any listing for a fan size between 80mm and 90mm. So maybe I'm measuring wrong? I'm at a loss.

http://imgur.com/a/H4Uwi

Okay, I did a quick Google search and found this site: https://www.quietpc.com/faq/27

Looks like I wasn't completely wrong with my measurements. The front measures 72mm, ~80mm, and 105mm between holes, while the rear measures 72mm and 83mm between holes. So I can get two 80mm fans.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Thanks!

The only downside is waiting for the shipping. Would it be okay if I were to plug the existing front fan into the motherboard? As I said above, it's currently plugged directly into the PSU, and has an LED, so I don't know how it would react to being plugged into the motherboard. Like if the BIOS settings would be able to control it and slow it down, and if so, how would the LED react?

It would at least be a nice temporary solution to the sound, at least while I wait for the new fans.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


The fan's plug is tied up with a bunch of other cables in a zip tie. So I'd need to cut the tie in order to figure out how and where the fan is plugged in. I just know it's not connected to the motherboard, which means it's gotta be the PSU. As for plugs, it only has two thin wires coming from it and out to the plug, so I'm guessing it's just the PSU plug and nothing else.

So I'm guessing I'm out of luck as far as that goes. No big deal, I suppose. I can live with it for the time being. I just hope the shipping doesn't take too long on the new fans.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You can do a 7v mod on it if you're really desperate

Its a simple process of pulling a pin on the fan cable & plugging it in the opposite hole.

F1VB493H97JYCD8.MEDIUM.jpg


At the minute you have 2 wires going next to each other into the molex female plug.

Pull the inner one (you need a small screwdriver to flatten the holding tab on the inside of the pin) & shove it in the opposite side of the molex casing so you have 1 cable on the outer edges each side

That will reduce fan speed by 40%.





 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm not that desperate. I can just shut down the computer if the noise and/or LED are bothering me at night.

I got an email back from tech support, and they said the front can use 80mm or 90mm fans, but there's a much larger, third set of screw holes that I saw (it's also in one of the photos I linked earlier). So I emailed back for clarification, as well as to find out the fan sizes for the rear.

Not that I'm doubting what you said, rather I'm doubting my own measurements. Unless you've looked at the photos and think I measured correctly.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Tech support got back to me again and said that the case supports a maximum fan size of 90mm in both the front and back. So I'm confused, as the holes in the back are slightly further apart than the ones in the front, at least according to my measurements.

There is a bit of an obstruction on the inside of the case, as the hard drive mount is about 25mm away from the front of the case, with the drives in a horizontal orientation. I have to remove the hard drive and slide the fan out through the drive mount in order to remove and replace it, and I don't know if it's large enough to fit a 120mm fan.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Well, I got the fans today, and installed them. The 120mm front fan was the hardest. I had to remove the hard drive, like I suspected, and even then I had a bit of a tough time getting it to slide in. But it's in there and installed properly.

My only issue is that the front fan is a little louder than the fan it replaced, and that's even in Silent mode in the BIOS settings. But it doesn't have an LED, so I guess I can live with it. I don't know. I figured it would be quieter. Are fans usually this loud when they're brand new?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Wait, why did my solution get un selected? No fair! I helped more! lol

No fans are not louder when they are new... shoulda went with the Noctuas lol.

JK on the NOctua, get whatever you like. Are you sure you changed THAT fan in the bios?

I did not read through, but the fan you got was molex right? It probably just spins even harder than the stock fan, making it louder.

Actually by the looks of it, its a PWM fan if you bought what he suggested... if you plugged that into a 3 pin header, then its ganna run at full blast...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom