Replacing Antec Truepower Quattro 850W PSU fan?

[elemental]

Hey all, my first post here

Anyway, I have a Quattro 850W PSU in an Antec P180 v.1.1 case. This PSU is definitely overkill for the system I have now, but I'm hoping that by investing in a quality PSU and a quality case, I can keep these two components through years of future upgrades and builds.

The one problem is that the fan on the PSU is fairly noisy. It's not terrible, but it's the loudest thing on my computer right now. I'm pondering switching it out for a quieter 80mm fan, although I do realize this will void the warranty, etc etc.

My questions are:

- Has anyone tried to do a fan replacement on the Antec Truepower Quattro 850W? If so, was it fairly easy? What kind of pin did the fan inside use, and what size is it? (80x25? 80x15?)

- Any suggestions on a relatively quiet 80mm fan that still pushes a decent amount of air? Club overclocker says the stock fan pushes 38.6CFM at its peak of 3010RPMs and 34.4 dBA. I am *definitely* not running at peak right now, and I think I can get away with a fan that pushes around 25-30CFMs.

Inputting those parameters into newegg gives me a list of fans. Some seem decently reviewed (which I'll link in my next post, since I can't post links in my very first post). However, I have no personal experience with any of those companies, though. Any advice/comments are welcome!

Also, FYI, I'm not looking for perfection. For example, I think the stock case fans on the P180 running on low are pretty nice (though there is a certain turbulence-hum coming from air rushing INTO the case from the front if all three are on). I don't run my computer all night or require absolute silence -- I've already dropped >$1000 into this build, so I'd just like it to be reasonably quiet for a reasonable price.

Thanks!

[elemental]

The fans mentioned in the above post:

- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811999343
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835233007
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811998109
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811999125

[NeilBlanchard]

Hello & welcome to SPCR!

I kinda' doubt that any of those are quiet, though I suppose there is a chance they are...did you check the list in the SPCR recommended article?

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article63-page1.html

All the recommended 80mm fans are 1500RPM at 12v. Another one that is pretty quiet (also 1500RPM): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811999199

[elemental]

thanks! happy to be here

and yeah, i did check that out -- my worry is that those are all case fans, i.e. it's okay to have a lot of them running at low RPMs. for my PSU, i only have one fan slot, so i'm worried that if i only have one fan running at 1500rpms max pushing <35CFM max, it won't be enough to cool it if/when i actually stress it.

this isn't too much of a concern right now, as nothing i'm doing is causing the existing power fan to even ramp up audibly and what air it is pushing out is coming out nice and cool. tbh i've run multiple PSU calculators and my build only needs about 400-450W. but in the future i might add a more high-end mobo, two or more SLI vid cards, liquid cooling that runs off the PSU, and other nifty things like that, which might actually begin to draw some of the 850W's i've been promised

[NeilBlanchard]

Hello,

There is only one kind of fan, that get used in cases, PSU's, and on heatsinks. The fan is thermally controlled (in virtually ALL PSU's) and therefore the fan speed will be adjusted as needed.

Another option you have in the P180, is to use the fan in the middle of the lower chamber to push air through the PSU. If needed, you can block up the rear grill, so that all the air passes through the PSU -- that might slow the stock fan enough to keep it quiet enough? You might want to try a Scythe Slipstream in place of the stock Antec...

[brsanders]

When I popped the lid ( ok - voided warranty), noticed the fan was a ADDA AD0812UB-A70GL. It's a 12v fan rated at 3400RPM and 43.8 CFM. Google this model # for specs -- No wonder it's loud.
Am in the process of a new build and am looking to disconnect the PSU fan altogether and just use a Scythe med speed ( on a controller ) in the middle bottom slot of the P182. ( Maybe mod the PSU case a little to let in more air.) Would be very interested if you find a good solution. Building next week.

[elemental]

Hey Sanders, can you take a picture of the fan plug inside the PSU? I'm trying to get the right 3pin-to-2pin adapter from performance-pcs.com and I don't want to pop the lid on the PSU until I have to.

And yeah, I've seen those specs too Don't worry, it's NOT actually 40dBA. That's only if it runs full-blast, and unless you're actually pulling all 850W out of it for extended periods, it won't do that. My system only needs about 400W max, I think, and from the sounds of the fan normally and the first second I boot up, I'd say the fan's only going at maybe... 30-40% max. It's really not as loud as I'm making it sound -- it's just loud enough to bug me

Anyway, I'm thinking of replacing it with this guy:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... 37313a1c75

SPCR's review (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article695-page4.html) shows that it moves a very respectable 20-40CFM depending on how fast it's going, and since the PSU will modulate fan speed (i.e. fan voltage) depending on its needs, I think it'll suffice. Also, it stays VERY quiet. Even at full blast, it's only going 25dBA, which is honestly probably quieter than my room is except late at night.

I'm just kinda scared I'll electrocute myself... LOL... I'm too young to die!

[brsanders]

Ok - two pin connector - clear, so a 3 pin will fit fine. My point on the specs ( I ran this PSU for 2 months ) was that even at low power and "low " fan speeds - it's still spinning fast. It was very noticeable ( to me anyway). No clicking, vibration - just air volume. You may notice that I have cut away the fan hub, and plan to replace the cover with a mesh screen - (see some of the discussions on P182 front vent mods) - for air flow. Since the 180/182 series can use the bottom compartment as a wind tunnel with a fan in the middle or front- we'll see how it works. My plan is to build a "dial the environment" machine. When idle use passive and very quiet ( no or mimimum fans ) water cooling, then be able to increase cooling ( fans and pump) as necessary for hi- load times with a controller. Second picture has connector on the pins - as you know, it's easier than removing the pins.
As far as your choice of fans goes - I guess I'm just not a fan ( pun intended ) of 80mm stuff. I like slow 120mm. Have you thought of putting a 120mm on the PSU connector and mounting it in the p180 case ?
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/3025/850w2hu8.jpg
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/7937/850w1jw2.jpg

[elemental]

OK, comparing your pics with this one from hardwaresecrets.com:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/555/2

It looks like you had to take off one of those little black shields to get at the fan connector. Have you used your PSU at all before doing that? Or was it an uncharged factory-state PSU?

As mentioned above, I'm deathly afraid (pun also intended) of getting electrocuted... *LOL*

[jaganath]

As mentioned above, I'm deathly afraid (pun also intended) of getting electrocuted... *LOL*

stickies in this forum show how to work on a PSU safely. disconnect mains power cord, press "power" button on PC repeatedly til fans cease spinning/LEDs go out, then safe to open.

[elemental]

yup, i've read 'em all... but then there's a good number of posts that add a caveat in the vein of: "BUT EVEN LIKE THIS THERE'S STILL THE CHANCE OF A HUGE SHOCK! AND YOU ONLY NEED (miniscule number) AMPS ACROSS THE HEART TO KILL YOU!"

i think i'm just going to unplug, hit power button 10 times, then wear rubber gloves, stand on a rubber floor mat and put one hand behind my back. and tell my roommate to be ready to call the paramedics. and teach her how to do CPR. LOL.

[elemental]

So, I did it! It took me longer than I thought -- I had trouble getting the little plastic seat off the two pins, and then I forgot to put the fan grill back on and didn't notice til the PSU was bolted into my case again -- and the new Noctua fan is this funky flesh-toned color...

...but it was WORTH IT. My computer is almost completely silent now. I can barely hear it at all (I'm about a meter from the back of the computer, where most of the noise is, though it's up on my desk). When I first booted it up, I had to put my hand by the fan to make sure it was going. It was hands down the loudest thing in my system. Now I still have 1 tricool going on low, but it's very quiet, and my stock Q6600 CPU fan, which is almost inaudible inside the P180 case.

I also went ahead and took out the top fan while I was at it and sealed off the hole with, heh, three layers of masking tape. Crude, but effective. There is a bit less air moving through the whole case now, obviously, with one fan gone and another turned down, but so far numbers look okay.

All in all: a VERY highly recommended mod!

[SebRad]

Hi, I've also swapped a Noctua 80mm fan in to an Antec PSU, in my case a NeoHE 430. I too found the mod to be a great success and result in very quiet operation. See my thread with pics on it.
I preserved the RPM monitoring from the Noctua and the speed does vary quite a bit. With minimal load the fan spins below the RPM threshold of ~850rpm but with max over-clocked load (~200w dc) I've seen up to ~1250rpm. I'm presuming the PSU could send the fan to full speed if it needed so I'm only using 2/3rd of the fans speed so I think I've got some safety margin.
Your PSU being in a P180 so getting cool air is going to help but I'm not sure I'd want to pull the full 850w from it with the Noctua fan in it. Should be fine to at least half load and 400w will run quad core sli/crossfire system as long as the overclocking not too heavy. If you can still monitor the fan speed then you can probably tell how far you can go.
Regards, Seb

[Omarko]

awesome thread ...

I have been thinking of using Nexus Real Silent 80mm in my Quattro 1Kw

is the CFM too low guys ? I just want a complete silence.

I can get the Noctua NF-R8 as well but its louder than the Nexus one.

what do u guys think?

EDIT: another fan I thought of was this one:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... ts_id=6669

[jaganath]

yes, the CFM is too low, if you are planning to run 2 x 9800GX2. you will fry the psu.

[Omarko]

hmm ....

so i am better of sticking with the Noctua then?

[elemental]

In my experience, the Noctua is SUPER quiet. Of course, my standards might be a little lower than die-hard SPCRers, but right now if I unplug the stock Intel CPU fan and the stock Tricool case fan, the Noctua fan is almost completely silent -- with my head about 8 inches away. Even at full speed (i.e. when it spins up at boot up) it's very quiet. The reason I got it above any other is because 1) it seems to push a lot of air, and 2) more importantly, it has a very low starting voltage. Since the PSU will autoregulate fan voltage according to internal temp, and since I've never ever heard it spin up to 100% in usage, I was afraid if I got too weak a fan it wouldn't start at all.

The other cool thing about the Noctua is that it comes with two little extensions with resistors on them. They will fit any standard 3-pin fan plug. I didn't use them in the PSU fan, but I kept them in case I wanna downregulate voltages on other (case/CPU) fans in the future.

I haven't heard of the Silverstone. If you do try it out, let me know how it goes!

Next step for me is replacing the CPU cooler and the case fans. Right now I've taken out the lower chamber fan and the top fan, sealed the top vent, and left only the rear fan. Even with the Q6600 OC'ed to 3.2GHz (but undervolted!), everything is reasonably cool. I'm probably going to replace the tricool case fan with another Noctua. I'm thinking of the NF-P12 there instead of the usual S-Flex, largely because of its higher CFM.

As for the CPU HSF, I'm probably going to go with an OCZ Vanquisher for now -- simply because I scored one super-cheap *LOL* at the least it's meant to be cooler and more efficient than the stock HSF, which is already working quite well for me. If it gets too annoying I'll probably default to the Thermalright ultra-120 extreme. I'll let you guys know how all the upgrades go.