Hack Your Computer’s PC Fan

Though not an everyday occurrence, PCs overheat because of faulty CPU fans. This will cause your unit to lock up, leaving you wondering what could be wrong with your PC. I’ve dealt with overheating PCs in the past and the solution usually comes from Thermaltake and its Big Typhoon series of CPU coolers. It’s big and uses copper heat pipes to dissipate heat quickly and efficiently.

This time, however, this large cooler took up too much space, leaving no room to replace the chassis fan.

Chassis Fan Unreplaceable

Initially, I searched for a replacement from a well known, hard-to-find PC parts supplier, Star Tech.

The existing fan measured 90mm X 90mm X 25mm. The next size down was 15mm thick. Unfortunately, I could not find a unit of that size for a PC. Even if I did find a fan of that size, its useful life would probably not be very long — and also would not be as efficient as the existing fan.

So it came time to hack it up and not make a big mess. The solution was cheap and easy. All I needed were four screws, bolts, and washers. The solution came by rigging the fan to the outside of the Compaq case.

Before you sit the Big Typhoon inside the case, first install your chassis fan. The Big Typhoon, though not specifically stated in the instruction manual or on the box, fits the AMD 64 processor: slot 754. Just in case you think you received the wrong unit in the mail and want to exchange it for a replacement, the latch that comes with this unit supports AMD socket 754.

You should be able to find a means to run your TX3 connector through the case w/o having to cut the box with a Dremel tool. Either the grill should be removable or you should be able to run it through some other hole already on the case. On the Compaq Presario case there was a soldered door that I was able to push through and run my wire. The length of the wire should not be a problem. What you’ll want to do is protect the wires from accidental nicking. You don’t want to close the case cover over the wires ruining the fan. I wrapped Super 33+ black electrical tape around the three wires protecting them. Any remaining holes on the case were covered with black tape. Two grills that fit the 90mm fan on both sides were required to complete this project.

New External Fan

Thanks to the the techs from the New York Personal Computer Users Group for making this project possible.