More than you cared to know about PC fans
nick-black.com
More than you cared to know about PC fans
1–10 of 102 posts
Re: More than you cared to know about PC fans
#2Great to know, though more of a Mac fan myself... (sorry)
Re: More than you cared to know about PC fans
#3Honestly this isn't more than I cared to know about PC fans. I've worked extensively with industrial appliances and fans are bloody important and underlooked: fan failure is often the step that precedes component failure. The one part of the spec I wasn't aware of was just how insanely high the maximum current draw is; I'm glad that we've made more efficient, longer-lasting, effectively silent air-movers that can fit easily within that power budget.
Re: More than you cared to know about PC fans
#4What I want to know is how a ballbearing-less fan suddenly decides to go brrrrrrr.
So far I've been lazy and just replacing them, but I'd be nice to know as they seem fine when I spin them manually.
Re: More than you cared to know about PC fans
#5Nick Black's personal wiki is a treasure trove. The style is a little terse, but it's a non-issue for me.
Re: More than you cared to know about PC fans
#6What I want to know is how a ballbearing-less fan suddenly decides to go brrrrrrr. So far I've been lazy and just replacing them, but I'd be nice to know as they seem fine when I spin them manually.
Are you sure it's not a resonance elsewhere?
Re: More than you cared to know about PC fans
#7What I want to know is how a ballbearing-less fan suddenly decides to go brrrrrrr. So far I've been lazy and just replacing them, but I'd be nice to know as they seem fine when I spin them manually.
I'd imagine the fluid bearing gets a bit worn over time such that it's a bit "looser", i.e. doesn't hold the fan rotor as firmly in a straight/central position.
Not enough movement to sense by hand, and no roughness, but enough looseness / free-play to allow a kind of resonant vibration or "wobble" when the fan is spinning faster.
Edit: or maybe it's just very slightly worn, has debris in the bearing or something, such that it's out-of-round. I think it's the former though (resonance) as that kind of noise can be intermittent.
Re: More than you cared to know about PC fans
#8Depth of fan analysis in PSU reviews you could find on jonnyguru beats this by a mile.
Too bad jonnyguru site is no more.
Re: More than you cared to know about PC fans
#9Nick has been a prolific writer as long as I have known him. This is some great, esoteric stuff, about fans. I have used case fans in unusual applications not involving a computer but never went deeper than provide sufficient power that it spins full speed. For my own builds, I usually just plugged the fan in without a second thought.
Re: More than you cared to know about PC fans
#10Honestly this isn't more than I cared to know about PC fans. I've worked extensively with industrial appliances and fans are bloody important and underlooked: fan failure is often the step that precedes component failure. The one part of the spec I wasn't aware of was just how insanely high the maximum current draw is; I'm glad that we've made more efficient, longer-lasting, effectively silent air-movers that can fit…
Adding fans to consumer devices that don't have them but should, such as a cable modem, certainly improves its reliability in my experience!