Reduce the noise of the computer power supply fan. The principle of reducing fan noise

Reducing the noise of the computer system unit at minimal cost

...the next morning, after redoing my first computer, I pressed the power button and, not hearing the usual howl of a fighter taking off, I thought that the computer was broken!

There are now completely silent desktop computers that have liquid cooling and an electromagnetic pump (no moving parts). But, if you are reading this article, then you most likely have a noisy budget computer. More details at https://site/ru/

This article is about how to assemble a relatively quiet computer or calm down an existing one.

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It is necessary to immediately make a reservation that it will most likely not be possible to assemble a quiet and at the same time very productive computer based on a budget case. Yes, and there is little point in saving 100 - 120 dollars when total cost system unit - 1000 - 1500 dollars.

It is assumed that it is necessary to reduce the noise of the system unit, which consumes 80 - 160 watts. https://site/ru/

In what follows we will only talk about budget building, which together with the power supply costs 20 - 30 dollars. There are many varieties of these cases, but in terms of cooling they differ only in the ability to install a front fan.

Sources of noise.

U desktop computer only two constant source noise, these are fans and hard drives (HDD). The resonator of this speaker system serves as a thin-walled metal casing.

The most in a simple way To reduce fan noise is to reduce the speed of the propellers. Reducing HDD noise will require a serious change in the design of the case.

Case.

To minimize fan noise, it is advisable to consider the cooling system before purchasing a case, unless of course you have already purchased one.

The arrows in the photo show the directions of air flows, which are easy to create inside the system unit cases.

Air flows in system units.

1 - power supply fan,

2 - processor fan,

3 - HDD fan

1 - power supply fan,

2 - processor fan,

3 - video card fan,

4 - front HDD fan.

Which case to choose for the system unit?

It is best if you can choose a case with the ability to install a front fan. This case allows you to easily reduce the HDD temperature by 10-15 degrees without a significant increase in noise. It should be borne in mind that reducing the temperature of the HDD by 10 degrees approximately doubles its resource.

Video card (Video).

How to choose a video card based on ease of cooling?

As an example, I will give cooling options for an inexpensive Radeon 2600Pro video card.

Most video cards are available in several versions, with active and passive cooling. Passively cooled video cards are a little more expensive, but do not contain a high-speed, small-sized fan, which not only generates noise, but also requires more frequent maintenance than larger fans.

The main thing when choosing a video card is to pay attention to the position of the radiator. The fact is that video cards with passive cooling and, accordingly, radiators installed on them come in two types: some are designed for vertical installation, others for horizontal installation.

The photos show the same video card with different options cooling.

1 - with active cooling,

2 - for vertical installation,

3 - suitable for horizontal installation, but in most cases, the heatsink will block the nearby PCI(E) connector,

4 - best suited for horizontal installation.

The most suitable video card with passive system cooling for installation in a vertical housing number 4.

Fans (Fans).

How to choose fans?

Fans vary in efficiency, noise level and the bearings they use.

But, if you can pay a little extra for the first two indicators, then with bearings the situation is different.

There are two types of bearings - ball bearings and plain bearings.

The fact is that ball bearings are more expensive, but they can also turn out to be quite noisy after a year - another job. In addition, during wear, the noise of ball bearings increases more than that of plain bearings.

Sliding bearings, with periodic lubrication, can last for many years, and their noise level will not change much.

Fortunately, buying a fan with ball bearings does not threaten us, since they are not used in budget fans, even if the seller swears to you that this is the case.

Also, you may be offered case fans with so-called hydro bearings. You shouldn’t overpay for this either, since these are the same sliding bearings, the bushings of which have grooves that improve oil access to the rubbing surfaces. The only problem is that usually bearings begin to wear out not because the oil is not delivered to the friction points, but because of insufficient precision in the manufacture of bearings, rotor eccentricity, due to the lack (drying) of lubricant or a change in its properties during the process. operation.

Another “improvement” that increases fan prices is the so-called electromagnetic clutch. It is believed that this thick metal washer, using a magnetic field, holds the shaft and thus reduces bearing wear. Everything would be fine, but this washer significantly shortens the length of the bearing, which cannot affect its service life. And you shouldn’t overpay for this either.

And one last thing. If you move the impeller by the edges with your fingers, you can easily determine the presence of play in the bearing. The amount of play is inversely proportional to the bearing life.

The initial choice of a fan can also be made based on appearance.

Quieter fans tend to have more aerodynamic impeller blades and lower current consumption.

For identical models, current consumption can serve as a proxy for performance and noise. Typically, the current consumption of inexpensive 80 mm low-noise fans is in the range of 0.1 - 0.15 Ampere, and 120 mm - 0.15 - 0.25 Ampere.

Here are some labels from budget fans. For all fans, the supply voltage is 12 Volts, but the current consumption is different for different models.

The following picture shows two 80 mm fans purchased at the same price. On the right is a quieter one, but less efficient.

We buy a fan.

Case fans can range in price from 2 to 10 dollars or more, but among inexpensive models You can choose not very noisy specimens.

All fans indicate current consumption. Noise level data is provided for some models.

However, in any case, it is better to hear and feel once than to see many times.

In order to evaluate the performance, noise and vibration of a particular fan, it is enough to take a pre-assembled circuit with a connector at the end to the store. Comparing different models and even instances, you can choose fairly quiet fans.

When testing, you need to hold the fan in your hand, then you can evaluate the amount of vibration of the case.

Assignment of contacts (pinout) of connectors for different fans. The beginning of the numbering is marked with a unit, both on the fan connector and next to the connector installed on the motherboard.

Two-wire:

1 - “-” power supply

2 - “+” power supply

Three-wire:

1 - “-” power supply

2 - “+” power supply

3 - speed sensor

Four-wire

1 - “-” power supply

2 - “+” power supply

3 - speed sensor

4 - speed control

If the motherboard has four-pin connectors for connecting fans, this means that the motherboard can change the speed of the propellers depending on the temperature. Typically, this requires installing the appropriate utility or enabling the desired function in the BIOS.

Changing the rotation speed of the fan blades.

The supply voltage for all fans is 12 Volts. The easiest way to reduce the noise generated by fans is to reduce the speed of the propellers. To do this, just connect the ballast resistor in series with the fan. To select the required resistance and power of the resistor, it is enough to assemble the following circuit.

Having selected a suitable variable resistor value, you can calculate the required power for it.

The resistor power will be equal to:

W- required resistor power in Watts,

A- current flowing through the resistor in Amperes,

U- voltage across the resistor in Volts.

Although, you can do it easier. Simply measure the resistance of the variable resistor R1 and replace it with a constant one of the same resistance.

The power of the constant resistor can be selected in accordance with the current indicated on the fan label:

0.05 - 0.1A - 0.5 Watt,

0.1 - 0.2A - 1Watt

0.2 - 0.3A - 2 Watts

At the same time, it is not recommended to reduce the voltage on the fan below 6 volts, since a budget fan may not start at lower supply voltages.

In addition, if the voltage drops significantly, the fan lubrication should be inspected, especially if there is any suspicion. For example, if the fan makes strange sounds or starts hesitantly when the supply voltage is low.

To preserve the original connectors on the motherboard and fan, you can make adapters of a similar design. Adapters are also convenient because they allow you to change ballast resistors without removing fans, which can be useful when setting up a cooling system.

You can use any suitable connectors, the main thing is not to confuse the polarity. Connectors from old Soviet televisions and cassette recorders are suitable.

Several examples of installing ballast resistors.

1). Installing a ballast resistor in the power supply without using a connector (in many budget blocks this connector is missing).

2). Installing a ballast resistor on a video card with alteration of the original connector.

3). Installing a ballast resistor using an adapter while fully maintaining the original connectors.

Power supply unit (PSU).

To reduce the speed of the propeller of the power supply, you will have to disassemble the power supply. At the same time, you can install a power filter, which most likely will not be in your budget unit. If the power supply fan remains too noisy even after reducing the supply voltage or its performance becomes insufficient to maintain the temperature in a reasonable range, then a quieter model should be installed in its place.

To reduce air flow resistance, you should bend the partitions in the stamped windows of the power supply housing.

First, let's talk about what it's for.

Somehow checking the quality of reading hard drive Using a program that showed the reading process in real time, I decided to tap with a pencil on the body of the system unit, to which the hard drive was screwed, as it should be based on the design of the case.

It turned out that each such blow is accompanied by an increase in the time it takes to read blocks. Impacts, even the most insignificant ones, on the hard drive itself led to a whole fan of poorly readable blocks. But many computer desks are designed in such a way that the system unit is in mechanical contact with the table, which sometimes requires you to hit it with your fist.

In the case of installing two hard drives, interference noise caused by the beating of the spindle frequencies of these hard drives is also added.

These beats are in the region of low and infra-low frequencies. And if low frequencies in the region of 20 - 50 Hertz can simply irritate, then infra-low frequencies can depress the nervous system and have a detrimental effect on a person’s internal organs.

So, by using an elastic suspension for hard drives, we kill two birds with one stone: firstly, we reduce unpleasant noise, and secondly, we protect the hard drives from external mechanical influences.

To make room for elastic hangers and prevent the hard drive from touching the walls, you will have to rearrange the two load-bearing walls of the case to which the hard drives are attached.

To do this, we first remove from the center of the rivets the remains of the pins (I don’t know what these things are called correctly), with the help of which they were flared.

Then we cut off the flared part and knock out what is left.

We mark and drill holes so that the distance between the walls increases by 20 - 30 mm. We select the diameter of the holes depending on the available fasteners.

We attach the walls to the body. In the photo the fastener is M2.5mm.

Now we install the front fan. If the front wall of the system unit is not removable, and this is what usually happens in budget units, then you can secure the fan with an elastic band. The ends of the rubber band must be inserted into the gap at the bottom between the case and the front panel, and then threaded through the holes in the case and the corresponding holes in the fan.

Then, you should pull the elastic band over the remaining loop and secure it at the bottom of the block. The design is not very aesthetic, but it makes it easy to remove and install the fan when you need to replace the lubricant in it.

Number one in the figure indicates the front fan, and number two indicates sections of vinyl chloride tube that prevent damage to the elastic suspensions, which will be discussed below.

To attach the hard drives, you will need to cut hangers from porous rubber or other sufficiently elastic material.

The photo shows that the pendants have two rows of holes for attaching to the system unit case. This is due to the fact that the holes in the hard drive case are located asymmetrically with respect to their center of gravity. Different lengths of the hangers compensate for this asymmetry so that the hard drives are located parallel to the bottom of the system unit. If a front fan is used, then it is advisable to adjust the length of the hangers so that the hard drives are located symmetrically with respect to the fan, for more uniform cooling.

We fasten the hard drives to the walls, having previously placed pieces of vinyl chloride tube on the legs protruding from the walls.

To objectively assess the quality of the cooling system, you will need an electronic thermometer. Some computer components, such as CPU, video card processor, HDD have built-in temperature sensors. However, you should not limit yourself to just this data.

For example, if the processor's heatsink temperature is only 35 degrees, then it is hardly worth blowing it harder, regardless of the temperature of the crystal.

And vice versa, if the sensor shows a temperature of 60 degrees, and you measured the same temperature on the radiator, then you should think about blowing it.

Budget power supplies do not have a temperature sensor at all, or I don’t know how to take readings from it.

Samsung hard drives show a low temperature, and the error varies depending on the temperature value.

By touching the probe of an electronic thermometer to the cooling radiators, you can measure the temperature of the latter.

In order to measure the temperature of the power supply heatsink, you need to insert the thermometer probe through the rear grille.

Adjusting the cooling system.

First, turn off all the fans and turn on the computer, you need to monitor the temperature increase. For example, some configurations based on Pentium and Celeron third models could work with passive cooling. However, the design of a budget power supply is not suitable for operation in the absence of forced cooling. Therefore, in any case, we will need at least one case fan.

If the only fan is the power supply fan, then all the intake air must pass through the front openings of the system unit and exit through the outlet openings of the power supply outside the case.

And vice versa, if this fan is a front fan, then the case of the system unit must be sealed, and all the air pumped by the fan must exit through the outlet of the power supply unit. But you should remember that then, when you remove the cover from the system unit, the power supply may overheat.

An example of sealing a system unit using celluloid.

Reducing air flow, under maximum load conditions and maximum temperature in the room, you need to measure the temperature of the radiators.

Do not raise the temperature higher for:

CPU, VGA, PSU - 50C (meaning the temperature of the radiators)

The crystal temperature may be higher.

Silicon crystals semiconductor devices They normally tolerate temperatures of 80 and even 100 degrees, but the reliability of the elements around them drops sharply. Therefore, what is important is not the temperature of the crystal, which we measure with a “thermometer” built into the crystal, but the temperature of the radiator, from which the surrounding parts are heated. Of course, if there is thermal conductive paste between the processors and radiators.

Noise - the main problem which overclockers face, as they say, sit behind powerful computer- sit at a noisy computer. But this is not true at all. After all, you and I have brains, and this is a huge plus on the way to reducing noise. In this article I will give ten different ways reduce PC noise.

Method One

What makes the loudest noise in a computer? Of course, the processor cooler (fan), that’s what you need to deal with first, but how? Now this is a more serious question, there are many ways to reduce the noise of a cooler, for example, lowering the voltage on it, or installing a special device that regulates the speed of the cooler with a special slider. But this doesn’t make much sense, because when the cooler rotation speed decreases, performance is correspondingly lost, and with poor cooling, the processor temperature rises, and the higher the processor temperature, the lower the stability and lifespan of the processor; an increase of every 10 degrees leads to a decrease in lifespan processor service life for 10(!) years, this is completely unacceptable, so you need to look for another way out. I'll tell you, you can simply replace the standard 60mm cooler with an 80mm one.

What will it give:

Firstly, greater productivity!
Secondly, less noise, which is what we wanted!

So let's get down to business, but how can this be done, because the sizes are different, and an 80mm cooler simply will not fit on a standard mount. I propose this solution: we measure the radiator and, based on the dimensions, we make a cardboard adapter; if everything is measured and made correctly, then the 80mm cooler will hold without additional fastening. So you and I have taken the first step on the path to silence.

Method two

What else does it publish? extraneous sounds? Of course the cooler is in the power supply. You can overcome this noise by regularly lubricating the cooler in the power supply, but this will not give the desired result. You can look for a quiet 80mm cooler, it is much quieter than usual. Of course, you noticed that the cooler is soldered into the power supply. No problem, we unsolder this one, expose the wires in the new one, and solder it, and that’s it, the noise in the power supply went away.

Method three

What else could be making noise? Of course, the body, now we will torture him. But anything moving, like coolers in the case, is nothing. The housing makes noise by vibration against the surface on which it stands. How to eliminate it? - Easy and simple, you need to go to the nearest market and buy a rubber gasket about a centimeter thick there, and put it under the body. Before doing this, it won’t hurt to remove the legs from the body; they will only get in the way.

Method Four

To further reduce the sound, you can cover the inside of the case with noise-absorbing materials that are sold on any market, and cover the entire case with them, without exception, inside, of course. After that, it’s worth buying a couple of 80mm coolers. Using pliers, bite off the iron protections (where the 80mm coolers will stand) to improve air circulation and insert the coolers. One is for blowing air, and the other is for blowing air. To improve air circulation inside the case, it wouldn’t hurt to round the cables. What does it mean? - And this means cutting them into strips of 6-7 veins and gluing them with tape or tape.

Method Five

In the course of all this work, we have a lot of coolers in our case, what if their full power is not needed at all at some moments? How to temporarily reduce their power? -Eat special device, I think you can buy this because it doesn’t cost a lot of money, this device regulates the speed of the coolers, I already mentioned it above. All coolers in the system are connected to this device and the sliders on it regulate the voltage supply, and as a result the number of revolutions of the cooler, I believe that with such a device you can reduce the noise quite well.

As you noticed, it is possible to make a computer almost silent. And it’s not very difficult, if you want and have time, you can do it in one day, but then for the rest of your life you will be glad that you have a silent computer!

Afterword

I am not responsible for the integrity of your hardware if you have crooked hands. Resoldering a cooler to a power supply may result in loss of warranty.

The cooling system is considered one of the main parts of the computer, since it supports operating temperature in the system, ensures stable functioning of all components. Sometimes it happens that over time the cooler begins to make noise. Next, you can learn how to reduce fan noise.

The processor is the brain part of the computer, without which no system will function. Since it does not have its own cooling source, it is mounted separately. Over time, the cooler begins to make noise during operation, and now it will be presented best option solutions to such a problem as reducing fan noise in a computer.

To make sure that it is the processor cooler that is making noise, you need to turn off the power to the processor cooling system for 5-10 seconds during idle startup. This time will be enough to make sure that the fan noise in the computer is caused by the processor.

It’s also easy to check whether the processor itself is overheating, since this will also require disconnecting the cooler’s power from the motherboard. If after 10-15 seconds the radiator becomes significantly hotter, then you should not reduce the fan speed.

An ordinary awl will help to cope with such a task as reducing the fan noise in a computer. Then you need to pick up the power plug that connects to the motherboard and turn the contacts towards you.

Using an awl, lightly press the central contact and pull out the red wire. After this, the plug is sent back to the power connector, and the red wire remains idle for now.

The next step in solving the problem of how to reduce fan noise in a computer is to connect the red wire to the free plug coming from the power supply. Here you need to be extremely careful, since the red wire is connected exclusively to a contact of a similar color.

The principle of reducing fan noise

In this case, voltage is taken into account, since the pinout indicates that the red contact carries a voltage of five volts. Accordingly, if you reduce the supply voltage to the cooler cooling system, its speed will decrease significantly, which will lead to a decrease in outgoing noise.

Now that we know how to reduce fan noise in a computer with a processor, we can look at the situation with the power supply. The power supply maintains the functionality of the entire system by supplying electricity via power cables. But, like all important parts of the system, it requires decent cooling. Radiators and coolers do a good job of this, but over time the cooler begins to make noise that can be disturbing or even annoying. First, you should figure out why the fan in the computer is humming in the power supply and how to deal with it.

If the fan in the power supply starts to make a crackling sound, it means that it needs to be disassembled and lubricated. Lubricant for the cooler is necessary in order to silently rotate the fan blades, cooling the entire unit.

Practical part

After disconnecting the power supply from the network, you must wait 10-15 minutes to allow the capacitors to completely discharge. The cooler is held on by four bolts that need to be unscrewed. Next, you need to unfasten the sticker, which is located on the front side of the cooler, since its absence will make it easier to access the lubrication area.

There is a special plug under the sticker, which also needs to be removed. Under the plug there is an impeller lock that prevents the fan from dangling around the housing. The plug, which looks like a ring, has a small slot across the axis. By spreading the slot, you can pull out the ring.

After all the manipulations, you can pull out the impeller and clean it from dust. The other part of the cooler needs to be lubricated with a cooler lubricant called MS-20. The fan shaft and bushing inside the cooler need to be lubricated. After this, you can begin assembly.

A dusty system unit is a bad sign, which will be followed by overheating of some computer components and a decrease in their performance. Therefore, it is worth taking the system unit to a computer center for cleaning at least once a year, or doing it yourself, saving a lot of money.

In order to understand how to clean your computer from dust, you need to prepare workplace, which should not contain anything superfluous. You can place several boxes nearby to put bolts and screws, as well as other small parts.

Other accessories are also necessary if you need to clean your computer from dust. This list includes: Phillips and flathead screwdrivers, alcohol wipes, thermal paste, awl.

Next, the computer is disconnected from the network, and the system unit is disconnected from all peripherals. After this, you need to get rid of the side panels by unscrewing all the fastening bolts, and then put them in a separate box. Then you can begin to disconnect all the components that are located on the motherboard.

The next step is to wipe the dust from the spare parts with a dry cloth that does not contain lint, since its presence can negatively affect the operation of the components. Water should not be used.

After the motherboard has been disconnected from the case, it is worth examining it for the degree of dustiness. If dust has accumulated in places where your finger cannot reach, then you should use cotton wool and an awl. However, lint from cotton wool can remain on the legs of the microcircuits, so you should carefully monitor your work.

Next, you need to wipe the RAM strips and remove the cooler from the processor. You need to remove the dry thermal paste from the cooler and apply new one. Alcohol wipes are well suited for these manipulations. It is also worth removing the old paste from the processor.

Cleaning the cooling fans in your computer is the most important stage, since these coolers are responsible for the overall cooling of the entire system.

Conventional cooling coolers do not require disassembly, so simply wipe them with a damp cloth. As for the coolers that are located on the processor and video card, it’s worth disassembling them, since this active cooling needs more careful care.

To disassemble the video card and processor cooler, you will need a screwdriver of the appropriate size. When removing fasteners from a video card, you must be careful, as there is a chance of damaging the printed circuit board. After this, you need to wipe the fans and radiator, and then put everything back together.

The cooler is also not difficult to disassemble; after unscrewing a few bolts, you can wipe the fan blades, radiator and put everything back in place.

I think everyone would like to somehow reduce the noise made by coolers in the case or in the power supply.
There can be two reasons that lead to noise:

1) An old cooler is poorly lubricated, then it needs to be lubricated.

Spoiler

How to disassemble, lubricate and then reassemble a fan (Fan) if it starts to make more noise than usual.
The article is mainly devoted to preventive maintenance of fans assembled on plain bearings.

If one of the fans located in your system unit starts to make noise or rattle more than usual, then the reason, as a rule, is either bearing wear or lack of lubrication.

Fans used to cool the system unit (Case), processor (CPU), video card (Video card), hard drive (HDD) and memory (RAM) differ in size, design and type of bearings used.

Fans use only two types of bearings: plain bearings, including hydraulic bearings, and rolling bearings - ball bearings. There are, however, other options when, for example, the fan shaft is additionally supported by a magnetic field, etc., but this circumstance does not in any way affect the preventive maintenance and repair of fans.

All fans used in PCs do not have a collector, but use an electronic winding switch. Therefore, the main parts subject to mechanical wear are bearings.

Fans with ball bearings.

In these fans, both the ball bearings themselves (two pieces) and seats in which they are installed, but the latter happens less often.

First of all, the ball bearing that is located on the impeller side wears out, as it experiences heavy loads.

Most fans use radial ball bearings, and the design of budget fans does not provide for the possibility of adjusting radial and axial play. This leads to premature wear of the ball bearings and increased noise of the entire fan.

Repairing a fan with ball bearings is advisable only in cases where it is not possible to find a suitable replacement. Such a fan, for example, could be a fan of an unusual design for a laptop or video card. In these cases, you can select a new fan of similar size and rearrange the ball bearings from it to replace the worn ones, if, of course, they fit there.

Fans on plain bearings.

The drawing shows a sectional view of a fan on a plain bearing.

1 – impeller,

2 – body,

3 – permanent magnet,

4 – printed circuit board with controls,

5 – stator with windings,

6 – retaining ring,

8, 10 – oil recovery rings,

9 – bearing sleeve.

Here the motor shaft and bearing bushing are subject to wear. Moreover, in most fans, only one bushing is used, which covers the entire free length of the shaft. However, unlike miniature ball bearings, in plain bearings the load is distributed over a large area of ​​the bearing surface, which, in the presence of lubrication, makes these devices quite reliable in operation.

The reasons why fans assembled on plain bearings that have not reached the end of their service life begin to make noise are the following: drying out of the lubricant, leakage of lubricant, use of low-quality lubricant and lack of lubricant (this also happens).

It is advisable to lubricate a regular budget fan that operates 12 or more hours a day at least once a year during the first inspection and after six months during each subsequent inspection. The more often such prevention is done, the less wear on the bearings and the corresponding fan noise.

Fans operating from a reduced supply voltage can be lubricated a little less often. Small high-speed fans should be lubricated twice as much as large case and processor fans.

Tools that may be needed when assembling, disassembling and cleaning the fan.
http://oldoctober.com/pics/fan/fan-2.jpg
To disassemble the fan, first remove the original label. Then remove the rubber plug. (In small fans, this function can be performed by a label).

Next, use a sharp scalpel to expand the gap of the lock washer. We insert a thin screwdriver into the gap and push the ends of the washer apart in different directions.

Now you can remove the lock washer using the same screwdriver or tweezers. But, I strongly recommend that before finally removing the lock washer, cover it together with the tool with a piece of cloth! This will prevent the puck from being lost.

Remove the rubber ring. Use a screwdriver or awl to push the shaft out of the bearing.

Remove the second rubber ring. The figure on the right shows the minimum set of small parts that must be used during subsequent assembly. These are two rubber oil rings and a lock washer (if you haven't lost it yet). Some fan models may additionally have one or two fluoroplastic washers.

Now you should use a brush to clean the fan housing and impeller from dust, and use a piece of cotton cloth to remove all traces of old grease from all bearing parts.

Old organic grease can be removed with gasoline, and silicone grease with acetone, but care should be taken, since such solvents can ruin the appearance of the plastic parts of some fans. In this regard, the most harmless solvent is alcohol, but it does not dissolve fats well.

Apply a few drops of lubricant to the area of ​​the bearing and shaft, after putting on the first low-fail rubber ring. It is convenient to dose the amount of oil with a small screwdriver of the appropriate size. The wider the blade of the screwdriver, the larger the drop of oil.

We insert the shaft into the bearing. We place something like this ring in the picture on the right under the impeller so that it (the impeller) can be pressed inside the fan housing. This will help us when installing the lock washer.

Add a couple more drops of lubricant from the shaft extension side and put on the second oil ring.

We put the lock washer on the very end of the shaft and then push it further into the gap. In this case, you need to cover the tweezers and the washer with your fingers so that it has nowhere else to go except downward. This will prevent the puck from being lost.

After installing the lock washer, you can reinstall the plug and branding label.

Oil for lubrication of plain bearings.

Professor Preobrazhensky: “...and secondly, God knows what they threw in there. Can you tell me what comes to their mind?”

Dr. Bormenthal: “Anything!”

Under no circumstances use edible vegetable oil, thick lubricants or petroleum jelly to lubricate fans!

You can use machine, spindle, silicone, synthetic, mineral, household and other oils sold in retail stores. If we know more about the oil than just its name, then we will use an oil intended for lubrication of high-speed plain bearings.

Lubricants differ in a bunch of different parameters, but we cannot test most of them.

However there is one important parameter, which is easy to determine by eye, is viscosity. Even by dangling bubbles with oils of different viscosities, you can determine which one is more viscous. Indirect confirmation can also be the size of the drop that is held on the working surface of the screwdriver.

Oil with low viscosity can leak from a bearing that does not have seals (most budget fans do not have them), and oil with very high viscosity can make it difficult for the motor rotor to rotate.

However, any lubrication is better than no lubrication.

2) A new branded cooler was selected with a higher speed than necessary.
The way out of this situation is simple - reduce the cooler speed.

So, we have found out that by reducing the number of revolutions of the cooler, we will reduce the noise it produces.
Of course, productivity will drop slightly, but let’s assume that in some “nodes” of the computer this will not cause a significant deterioration in cooling. Thus, fans that are installed in cases and power supplies are high-speed, and the noise/performance ratio is not always at the optimal level.
There are several ways in which noise can be reduced while cooling remains at an acceptable level.
So to speak, find the “Golden mean” in the noise/performance ratio.

Let's start with the simplest and cheapest methods:

Spoiler: Method No. 1.

Enable a function in the BIOS that automatically regulates fan speed.
According to the principle than more load on the computer, the faster the fans rotate.
This function is supported by some motherboards: ASUS (Q-Fan control), Abit (Smart fan control), etc.
Let's look at the Q-Fan Control function, with the Silent/Optimal/Perfomans presets.

1) Go to the BIOS (Immediately before starting the boot, press the button repeatedly)
2) From Main section go to the Power section

3) Select the line Hardware Monitor

4) Change the value of the lines CPU Q-Fan Control and Chassis Q-Fan Control to Enabled

5) As a result, the CPU and Chassis Fan Profile lines will appear.
In these lines you can select three operating modes:
- Perfomans is a productive mode,
- Silent is the quietest mode,
- Optimal is an intermediate mode between productive and quiet.

6) Then save the settings via

Important! Automatic fan adjustment will be performed only on the CHA_FAN and CPU_FAN connectors.
And PWR_FAN is not regulated by the Q-Fan Control system.

Similar adjustment systems are also present on other motherboards from other manufacturers.
If your board does not support this function, then I recommend paying attention to other methods.

Spoiler: Method No. 2.

Reducing cooler speed by switching.

In order to reduce fan speed, you can switch the fan to a lower voltage.
The nominal voltage for the fan is 12 Volts. And the entire specification (speed, noise level, current consumption, etc.) is indicated for the rated voltage.

We can switch our fan to three other voltage ratings: +12 Volts, +7 Volts, +5 Volts.
This is done using a regular Molex connector, which is present in sufficient quantities in all modern power supplies.

In order to switch the case fan you need:
1) Turn off the computer, open the lid and disconnect the desired fan from the socket to which it is connected.
2) Release the required legs, using a needle or awl, from the 3-pin fan connector.
3) Simply cut off the power supply fan wires on the board itself (usually two red wires are “plus” and black are “minus”), bring them out to the outside of the power supply, and also connect them to a free Molex connector.

4) And connect it to the Molex connector at the voltage you need:

At 12 Volt:

At 7 Volts:

At 5 Volts:

Approximately the following speed values ​​will be at rated voltage values ​​for a fan with 2000 rpm and 3500 rpm:

Important! Never move the legs in the Molex connector itself. This may damage the equipment.
More than once I witnessed how a hard drive was connected to a Molex connector, in which the legs were rearranged not according to the standard. The result is that the hard drive is irretrievably damaged!!!

Spoiler: Method No. 3.

Adjusting fan speed using rheobass.

To be able to constantly adjust the fan, you can use a device called REOBAS.
Reobas is a device that allows you to smoothly regulate the voltage supplied to the fan. As a result, the fan speed is smoothly regulated.
You can make a reobas yourself using the diagram below:

The first circuit is similar to the FanMate regulator from Zalman, which is used on processor coolers:

The adjustment range is from +5 Volts to +12 Volts. But the microcircuit gets a little warm.

The second circuit is a little more complicated, but it has a wider range of adjustments: from +1.5 V to +11.8 V. It is also possible to set the threshold lower voltage, since the starting voltage for the fan is +3.5 V.

Advantages this method- cheap and accessible, you just need to try a little.
==========================================
You can buy ready-made REOBAS from well-known companies in a 5.25" compartment.

Such reobass are produced by ZALMAN, SKYTHE, AeroCOOL, Akasa, etc.
Advantages: very beautiful and effortless. Disadvantage - expensive!

Which of the presented methods to choose is up to you.
©

Added after 2 minutes 51 seconds:

Spoiler:

Proper computer cooling

It's no secret that when a computer is running, all of its electronic components are heating up. Some elements heat up quite noticeably. The processor, video card, north and south bridges of the motherboard are the hottest elements of the system unit. Even with normal computer idle time, their temperature can reach 50-60 degrees Celsius. But if the system unit is not periodically cleaned of dust, then the heating of the main components of the computer becomes even greater. Increased heating leads to constant computer freezes, fans run at high speeds, which leads to annoying noise. Overheating is generally dangerous and leads to an emergency shutdown of the computer.

Therefore, the main problem of the entire electronic part computer technology– this is proper cooling and effective heat removal. The vast majority of computers, both industrial and home, use heat removal air cooling. It gained its popularity due to its simplicity and low cost. The principle of this type of cooling is as follows. All the heat from the heated elements is transferred to the surrounding air, and the hot air, in turn, is removed from the system unit case using fans. To improve heat transfer and cooling efficiency, the hottest components are supplied with copper or aluminum radiators with fans installed on them.

But the fact that heat removal occurs due to air movement does not mean at all that the more fans are installed, the better the cooling will be overall. Several incorrectly installed fans can do much more harm than solve the problem of overheating, when one correctly installed fan will solve this problem very effectively.

IN Selection of additional fans.

Before purchasing and installing additional fans, carefully examine your computer. Open the case cover, count and find out the dimensions of the mounting locations for additional case coolers. Look carefully at the motherboard to see what connectors it has for connecting additional fans.

You need to choose the fans yourself big size, which will suit you. For standard cases this size is 80x80mm. But quite often (especially in Lately) fans of sizes 92x92 and 120x120 mm can be installed in cases. With the same electrical characteristics a larger fan will be much quieter.

Try to buy fans with more blades - they are also quieter. Pay attention to the stickers - they indicate the noise level. If the motherboard has 4-pin connectors for powering coolers, then buy four-wire fans. They are very quiet, and their automatic speed control range is quite wide.

Between fans receiving power from the power supply via a Molex connector and those running from the motherboard, definitely choose the second option.

There are fans on sale with real ball bearings - this is the best option in terms of durability.

Installation of additional fans.

Let's look at the main points correct installation case fans for most system units. Here we will provide advice specifically for standard cases, since non-standard cases have such a varied fan arrangement that it makes no sense to describe them - everything is individual. Moreover, in non-standard cases, fan sizes can reach 30cm in diameter. But still, some aspects of cooling non-standard PC cases are discussed in the following article on proper cooling computers.

There are no additional fans in the case.

This is the standard layout for almost all computers sold in stores. All the hot air rises to top part computer and, due to the fan in the power supply, goes outside.

The big disadvantage of this type of cooling is that all the heated air passes through the power supply, heating it even more. And therefore, it is the power supply of such computers that most often breaks down. Also, all the cold air is not sucked in in a controlled manner, but from all the cracks of the housing, which only reduces the efficiency of heat transfer. Another disadvantage is the thin air produced by this type of cooling, which leads to the accumulation of dust inside the case. But still, it's better than incorrect installation additional fans.

One fan on the back of the case.

This method is used more out of desperation, since the case has only one place to install an additional cooler - on the back wall under the power supply. In order to reduce the amount of hot air passing through the power supply, install one fan that works to “blow” out of the case.

The fan must be installed opposite hard drives. It would be more correct to write that the hard drives should be placed opposite the fan. This way, the cold incoming air will immediately blow over them. This installation is much more effective than the previous one. A directed air flow is created. The vacuum inside the computer decreases - dust does not linger. When additional coolers are powered from the motherboard, the overall noise is reduced as the fan speeds are reduced.

Installing two fans in the case.

Most effective method installation of fans for additional cooling system unit. A fan is installed on the front wall of the case for “blowing”, and on the rear wall – for “blowing”:

A powerful, constant air flow is created. The power supply operates without overheating, since heated air is removed by a fan installed under it. If a power supply with adjustable fan speed is installed, the overall noise will be noticeably reduced, and more importantly, the pressure inside the case will be equalized. Dust will not settle.

Incorrect installation of fans.

Below are examples of unacceptable installation of additional coolers in a PC case.

One rear fan is set to "injection".

A closed air ring is created between the power supply and the additional fan. Some of the hot air from the power supply is immediately sucked back inside. At the same time, there is no air movement in the lower part of the system unit, and therefore cooling is ineffective.

Two-wire:
1 - “-” power supply
2 - “+” power supply

Three-wire:
1 - “-” power supply
2 - “+” power supply
3 - speed sensor

Four-wire
1 - “-” power supply
2 - “+” power supply
3 - speed sensor
4 - speed control
===========================
I should have added it a long time ago, but I forgot

In computer Noise sources are usually moving parts. First of all, this is a fan on the processor cooler; it can also be a fan on the radiator of the chip cooling system on the video card. It may make noise And fan from the power supply, cooling fan of the computer case. Well, perhaps the lowest noise source in a computer is hard disks, unless of course we are talking about an old Pentium 166 type computer.
Of all the above, the loudest and most intrusive noise in a modern computer is the noise of the processor fan. Noise, emitted by other devices is not so loud, to focus attention on it, with the exception of some cases, for example, when a loose case rattles (true for old computers).

There may be several reasons for increased fan noise in a computer system unit:

• Wear, evaporation of lubricant on fan bearings;
• Clogged, clogged radiator grilles with dust;
• The fan speed is incorrectly set to maximum;
• Cheap Chinese cooler no name (my version by the way).

How to reduce computer fan noise?

Often, modern computers sufficiently equipped noisy coolers, which operate at a speed exceeding the minimum required speed to cool the computer processor. Excessively high fan speed are the main cause of increased computer fan noise. Therefore, to reduce or remove noise from a computer cooler, you need lower the fan speed on the cooler. This is most relevant for the video card and processor; you need to be careful with fans in the power supply, since they help cool the entire computer. There are several ways in which you can reduce noise, while leaving the computer's cooling at an acceptable level. That is, choose the optimal ratio of cooling system performance to emitted cooler noise.

The most common ways to reduce cooler emissions:

1. Enabling the function in BIOS, automatic regulation fan speed

It works on the principle that the higher the performance of the application (games, video processing), the faster the fan on the cooler rotates. This function is supported by many motherboards: ASUS (Q-Fan control), Gigabyte (Smart fan control), MSI (Fan Control) and other manufacturers.

Let's look at an example maternal ASUS boards function Q-Fan Control

Let's go to BIOS, we get to the section Main

From section Main go to the section Power and in select the line Hardware Monitor

Changing the value of strings CPU Q-Fan Control And Chassis Q-Fan Contro l on Enabled

After this, additional settings will appear CPU Fan Profile And Chassis Fan Profile.
In these lines you can select three operating modes:
- Performances- this is a productive mode;
- Silent- this is the quietest mode;
- Optimal- This is an intermediate mode between productive and quiet.

Important! Automatic fan adjustment will be performed only on connectors CHA_FAN And CPU_FAN. A PWR_FAN not regulated by the system Q-Fan Control. Similar adjustment systems are present on other motherboards from other manufacturers. If your board does not support this function, then you should reduce the cooler speed in the following ways.

2. Reduce the voltage on the cooler

The method is based on a method of reducing the voltage in the circuit section between the source and the fan. For that to reduce fan speed, Can submit on the fan lower voltage. The nominal voltage for the fan is 12 Volt. And the entire specification (speed, noise level, current consumption, etc.) is indicated for the rated voltage. We can try switching our fan to three other voltage ratings:

• +12 Volts;
• +7 Volts;
• +5 Volt.

This is done using the usual Molex connector, which are present in sufficient quantities in all modern power supplies.

How to disassemble the MOLEX 4 pin connector?
In the plastic case, 4 metal contacts are clamped with tendrils; to pull them out, you need to bend the spacers (tendrils) to the base with tweezers and press on the pin. While pulling the wire, carefully remove the wire with the pin, see photo.

Similarly, you need to remove the power wires from cpu fan connector. We remove only the power wires, that is, +12V and ground (minus).

Now, connect the extracted wires to molex connector according to the scheme, from beginning to "+7" volts, if it continues to make a lot of noise, then "+5" volts, make sure that the speed-to-noise ratio is optimal. Don’t forget about the polarity (yellow/red wire goes to “+”).

All that remains to be done is the adapter to +7V or at +5V as in the photo below.

3) Adjusting the cooler speed using rheobass

Reobas- a device for controlling the rotation speed of fans (coolers). As a rule, rheobass are installed in a 5.25" port, but installation in a 3.5" port is also possible. There are a large number of panels of this kind - with additional USB outputs, audio inputs and additional accessories. You can buy branded reobass ZALMAN, SKYTHE, AeroCOOL and other manufacturers or produce simple DIY reobass from available radio components.

Branded multifunctional rheobass with temperature monitoring AeroCool Touch 2000

Visual diagram of a homemade reobass

To assemble a homemade reobass, you will need the following radio parts:

• Voltage stabilizer KR142EN12A, analogue of LM7805;
• Resistor constant 320 Ohm;
• Trimmer resistor 4.7 kOhm;
• Variable resistor 1 kOhm.

This scheme allows manual mode set the voltage from 1.5 to 11.8 volts. The threshold voltage for starting the fan blades is 3.5 volts.

At the end of the article, I suggest watch the video, which shows how to use a resistor to reduce cooler speed: