GC fan replacement

Portables, case replacements, mods etc, all in here!
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Xaranar
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Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2015 12:50 pm

GC fan replacement

Post by Xaranar » Wed Oct 28, 2015 9:48 am

Anyone ever had any experience with replacing the fan on a cube? I know it's possible to do, and I kinda want to have a crack at it, just for shits and giggles. 50mm fans aren't expensive, and you can get some very quiet ones. I would assume you need to connect it to power on the 12v rail somewhere, but how does the cube detect that its fan is rotating?
novenary
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Re: GC fan replacement

Post by novenary » Wed Oct 28, 2015 2:19 pm

It doesn't. You just plug it in parallel with the power regulator on the power button board. Fan spins full speed all the time.
Xaranar
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Re: GC fan replacement

Post by Xaranar » Wed Oct 28, 2015 3:03 pm

Fair one. Looks like the connector is only two pin, though, so I'll just cut off each connector and solder them together, and isolate them with some heat shrink tubing.
Xaranar
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Re: GC fan replacement

Post by Xaranar » Fri Oct 30, 2015 10:03 am

So I did it, I replaced the fan. I cannibalised the original fan connector and wired it up in place of the usual 3 pin header, I also had to Dremel down the screw mounts on the fan holder as the replacement sits proud of the housing otherwise. GC is almost silent now.
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capzlk
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Re: GC fan replacement

Post by capzlk » Mon Nov 02, 2015 8:32 pm

would you mind posting what the end result looks like (internally)? I just ordered a fan from ebay because making my cube more quiet sounds rather appealing :)
Xaranar
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Re: GC fan replacement

Post by Xaranar » Tue Nov 03, 2015 8:14 am

Sure, I'll take some pictures later.
Xaranar
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Re: GC fan replacement

Post by Xaranar » Thu Nov 05, 2015 12:30 pm

Sorry for the delay, but as promised here are some pictures:
Image
That's the new fan itself.

Image
You can see there where I joined the end of the original cable to the new fan, complete with heat shrink tubing.
XC-3730C
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Re: GC fan replacement

Post by XC-3730C » Sat Nov 07, 2015 10:45 pm

Anyone know of a fan for GC that also has blue LED's?
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capzlk
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Re: GC fan replacement

Post by capzlk » Sun Nov 08, 2015 1:38 am

XC-3730C wrote:Anyone know of a fan for GC that also has blue LED's?
can't you just add leds yourself? :O
Xaranar wrote:Sorry for the delay, but as promised here are some pictures:
<pic>
That's the new fan itself.

<pic>
You can see there where I joined the end of the original cable to the new fan, complete with heat shrink tubing.
Thanks man, much appreciated!
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namesbond
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Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 7:50 pm

Re: GC fan replacement

Post by namesbond » Fri Apr 06, 2018 3:56 pm

Hey, guys quick question what did you do with the yellow wire on the fan? Does it need to be pulled up or down, fed a clock signal, or can it just be disconnected?
novenary
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Re: GC fan replacement

Post by novenary » Fri Apr 06, 2018 8:11 pm

Leave it alone. It's the tachometer pin which is used by PC motherboards to measure fan speed. If you have a 4th pin, it's the PWM input for fans that have a fancier driver, and it can also be left floating.
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namesbond
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Re: GC fan replacement

Post by namesbond » Thu Apr 12, 2018 11:54 pm

I just pulled it off! Thanks for the help!
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Fan
(2.33 MiB) Not downloaded yet
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boredomca
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Location: USA

Re: GC fan replacement

Post by boredomca » Sat Apr 14, 2018 12:59 am

Wow looks great, Good job.
I had cut off the fan housing in one and attached a 80mm to the outside of the enclosure. Doesn't collect as much dust as I thought but it sure did push air in the tight space it was in at the time.
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