Replacing power supply fan.

gotha

I was wondering if anyone has any experience replacing the power supply fan.  It looks easy in the Videos but they all say its dangerous with the electricity in the fan.   My current fan just died

 I currently am running this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371047.  

Would it be better to ask a store to fix it because they can do it safer than me?

Is it better to buy a whole new power supply this one is 5 years old,  if so how to I find one comparable?

Ridelynn

If it's 5 years old, get a new PSU.

There are capacitors inside of there, they will still be "live" even after the units has been turned off and unplugged for a few days. They carry enough electricity to arc weld a screw driver to the side of a case, or throw off a lot of copper slag -- not that I've done any of these things (cough)

There is also the redneck option of just duct taping another fan on the outside of the PSU casing...

But yeah, if it's 5 years old, get a new PSU. There are things other than the fan that start to degrade as well, and when PSUs start to die, they tend to take bits and pieces of the computer along with them, and it ends up costing a lot more than just the PSU in the first place.

Ridelynn

Comparable - Look for something in the 500-650W range. I like Seasonic now, it's hard to go wrong with that brand name.

Corsair is ok (apart from the CX or RM lines - those aren't necessarily so good)

Any other PSU is hit or miss - a lot more misses than hits. I tend to look up HardOCP reviews, they put PSUs through the ringer. If a unit passes a HardOCP review, it's a good unit even if it doesn't win any awards.

Quizzical

Here, your new power supply:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151136

H0urg1ass

The last thing I would ever do is open up the case on a power supply unless you are 100% sure that the caps are drained.  If you have no way of determining that, then just buy a new one.

The seasonic listed above is perfect and on sale.

Quizzical

Most things in a computer, you can mess with, and at worst, you'll break it--which isn't so bad for something that is already broken.  But power supplies are different and can give you quite a shock.  If you have to ask, then you don't likely have the experience for you to be appropriate to mess with the interior of a power supply, and it's best to just get a new one.

Vrika

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215200/Teenager-Shawnee-Oklahoma-dies-electrocuted-fixing-computer.html

Cleffy

You really have to research PSUs since simply looking at a maker isn't sufficient for guaging a power supplies quality. They vary model to model. The EVGA you linked to is one of the best. The G2 series.

rpmcmurphy

Interesting that such a small item can retain so much voltage.
I got a nasty jolt from 4HP motor which had 3 large capacitors on it, I was rewiring it to run in the opposite direction and didn't know anything about draining capacitors at the time. My arm was numb for hours and I felt hugely energized, totally buzzed up for most of the day, couldn't think about sitting still.

ceratop001

Quizzical said:

Here, your new power supply:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151136

Nice PSU for the money...

Loke666

H0urg1ass said:

The last thing I would ever do is open up the case on a power supply unless you are 100% sure that the caps are drained.  If you have no way of determining that, then just buy a new one.

The seasonic listed above is perfect and on sale.

We did learn how to do that (but mainly for old CRT screens, they were more dangerous) when I read networking way back, you can actually do it if you know what you are doing with a special tool.

But, no, you don't replace the fan on a PSU. No one does that because it isn't worth the work. A high end GFX card is one thing but a 5 year old so-so Antec PSU really isn't woth it, particularly a 530W one.

A great PSU can last you a long time, but this one wasn't and the saving is about $70 minus a new fan.

Personally do I prefer Corsairs PSUs, but their cheaper models are pretty average. The Platinum ones are awesome but a bit expensive.

The EVGA is pretty good for it's price, but I would have paid the 10 extra bucks to get the 650W version instead, never hurts to have a little extra power (well, it does if you have a crappy no-name, they tend to use far too much electricity), you might want to add a few harddrives, SLI another GFX card or something else in the future. Heck, I remember my old Nvidia 295 card, I actually had to upgrade my PSU to get that one working.

SzczepanX

I replaced many fans in power supplies. It's easy and doesn't carry any risk. If you ever soldered a cable then you are good to go as far as skills go. You will need one thing before you start, people mentioned it before. Draining all power from it. http://cdn.makezine.com/uploads/2014/04/da87333a_atx24-1bcq.jpg Short pins 16 and 17 (24 pin diagram) with paper clip then plug in power cord and turn psu on. It will start working. Then just pull out the power cord and wait few seconds.

nickelsig229

Replacing the fan on a power supply is as easy as replacing a fan in your case. If the power supply is putting out the correct voltage but has intermittent problems, odds are its over heating due to the dead fan.

It is completely safe to work on when unplugged, and really only requires you unscrewing 4 to 8 screws. Usually 2-4 to remove the p/s from the case, and 2-4 to remove the top housing from the power supply. Sometimes screws are hidden under stickers.

When the top housing is removed you can unscrew the fan and replace it. 

The only thing that is remotely dangerous are the capacitors as they can store a charge but unless you go messing around sticking a screw driver under the computer board and shorting the caps nothing bad will happen. You can't jam the screwdriver under there by accident, you have to actually remove the board from the bottom housing and find the solder points to short. So unless you know specifically what to do, you wont short them.

This is one of the easiest repairs possible on a pc.

holdenhamlet

If it's 5 years old, odds are you'll have to replace it soon anyway, so you myaswell do it now.

I just had to replace my psu.  My computer started shutting off when I played games.  Took a few days to figure out it was the PSU going bad.

PSUs failing can cause all sorts of weird issues.  Better to just avoid that and get a new (and good) one.

Loke666

holdenhamlet said:

If it's 5 years old, odds are you'll have to replace it soon anyway, so you myaswell do it now.

I just had to replace my psu.  My computer started shutting off when I played games.  Took a few days to figure out it was the PSU going bad.

PSUs failing can cause all sorts of weird issues.  Better to just avoid that and get a new (and good) one.

Oh, yes. Seen some PSUs fry motherboards, never a good PSU though but ones with names you never heard of (or at least wish you never heard of).

A good PSU is imposrtant.

gotha

Nice thanks everyone for the help.  Im buying in Japan so options are a little weird.
Is this ok?
http://www.amazon.co.jp/Corsair-CX500M-80PLUS-BRONZE-CP-9020059-JP/dp/B00ALK4EXS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460460654&sr=8-1&keywords=cx500m

or this one?
http://www.amazon.co.jp/EA650G-ATX電源-80PLUS-GOLD認証-EarthWatts/dp/B011ZNCGDO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1460460947&sr=8-2&keywords=antec+earthwatts+ea650g

Quizzical

I'll throw this one into the mix:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/ANTEC-【HASWELL対応】-PC電源-EA-550-PLATINUM/dp/B006PAE8QG/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1460501338&sr=1-5

What CPU and GPU do you have in your computer?  Let's make sure you're not doing something unusual that requires a ton of wattage.

Saxx0n

It is easier just to buy one and make sure it is "more" power than you need that can fit into your budget. Mine is very powerful but guess what? The fan hardly runs and I have plenty of power and I can add components as I feel I need without running into a power shortage.

edit - buy quality, over the years I have had to replace these more than any other component. In tight boxes this can be a pain in the ass.

SomethingUnusual

If you're on a budget, the fan can certainly be replaced. Most ATX power supplies use a 12V at appx 0.6A fan. While it may be the same size as a 135mm case fan (blade diameter.) There is a pressure difference than the typical 135mm case fan that runs usually around 0.12-0.25A Not only a power difference, but blade configuration, which in turn will effect air pressure.

IF you are going to replace the fan, don't do it with a case fan. It just won't make the cut and you will burn out the power supply from excessive heat. 



Left is a power supply fan, right is a case fan. Notice the difference in not only blade configuration, but voltage, amperes, and even connector. 

Right part for the right job, or just buy a new power supply as the improper cooling could have already damaged components (Capacitors and transformers would be likely okay, however ceramic components such as the resistors likely have exceeded their heat tolerance and may have burned open.)

gotha

Is the corsair ok?
Already bought it and apparently this country has a no return policy even for an unopened box.

gotha

Also running a 970 graphics card and 2500k i5 cpu one ssd and one normal hard drive