VF1000 Fan Swap

[tehfire]

I'm surprised that a thread about this hasn't already popped up...

I have a Zalman VF1000 on a stock HIS Radeon HD4850. Temperatures are very good (60C load), but even at 5v the fan's a little too noisy for my tastes. I'm really hoping to put an 80mm Scythe Kama Flex Fan (FDB) in the place of the stock fan. I know I'll lose yet another expansion bay, but it's worth it.

2 questions:
1. How does one replace the stock fan?
2. Is there any 80x15mm fan that I can use instead of the Kama Flex, so it is both quiet and lets me keep my expansion slot?

Thanks.

[jhhoffma]

I think you can just pop the fan off the clip that bridges the sides of the HS. I don't have one, so I'm just going off pictures. Some of the old flower HS from Zalman had screw mounts, so look for those.

You can do one of two things:

1) Easiest method, just ziptie the fan of your choice onto the heatsink, then you can use a 120mm if you want.

2) Cut off the frame of a fan that will fit and adhere it to the fin structure somehow. I've used SuperGlue, urethane glue, and stickyfoam squares. All will work, but the glue methods hold the best, but can induce vibration with bad fans. Sticky pads work better for reducing vibration but don't tolerate high heats (>50C)

[Mats]

I don't get it, how can the VF1000 be 80 x 160 mm and use a 80 mm fan?
It's obvious that it's not 2:1 in ratio.
Either it's something like a 60 mm fan, or the whole width is maybe 100 mm.

What is the total length and width? Can someone help me out?

[tehfire]

Well, I ended up doing a fan swap with a Scythe Kama Flex fan 80x80x25, and it fit perfectly. I guess the 80mm measurement is the size of the frame, and the fan inside is smaller. The fan is so much better than the stock one!

The swap was not nearly as easy as swaps on the VF700/900 series, but it's doable.

[Mats]

I guess the 80mm measurement is the size of the frame, and the fan inside is smaller.

Well that's true, but the whole heatsink can't be just 80 mm wide.