Re: Adventures in fan replacement - SilenX iXtrema IXP-34-16
quick update...
been running a different fan for the past week (idled on 24/7)
intrigued by Clawfinger's earlier post about a "Fractal Design" fan (the name is coincidental, there's no relation to Fractal Audio)... I just had to try it out.
took a while, but found a place that would ship to the States at a good price and waited for it to arrive.
The Fractal Design 60mm FD-FAN-60 is rated at 19dBA, 16 CFM, and runs at 3000 RPM.
Summary: not worth it over the SilenX, but it provides an interesting mounting option.
According to the rated specs, the SilenX 16 should be quieter, push more air, and run slower (16dBA, 18 CFM, 2000 RPM). Judging just based on unplugging one, feeling the airflow, and plugging in the other one, I'm not sure if the CFM claim holds up... the FD definitely seemed to push more air. The dBA spec is fine though... the FD is obviously louder than the SilenX 16. However, it
is quieter than the stock fan and, to me, more pleasing to the ear -- the stock fan sort of "whines" while the FD "hums." It rarely bothered me when I was sleeping just a few feet away from it -- audible, but not annoying.
It's the same height as the SilenX -- 25mm. The stock fan is only 10mm tall.
Most intriguing about the FD is that it comes with regular small screws as well as small rubber mounts that have screw threads on them. The SilenX has long rubber mounts, but they aren't threaded. So... I tried out these rubber mounts since I still hadn't stopped by the hardware store to pick up proper rubber spacers and proper-length screws.
It's really weird to screw in a rubber screw, but as long as you have a screwdriver with a neck thin enough to fit through the fan's mounting holes, it shouldn't be a problem. But it does take a while since the screwdriver doesn't really latch into it and is mostly tightening the rubber through friction.
After screwing in the rubber screw mounts (already attached them to the fan), you can pull at the fan with a decent amount of force, and they do not come loose -- I was kind of surprised that they didn't, to be honest -- they really *are* screwed in. So, if you're patient enough to do that... no additional stop at the hardware store is necessary.
One caveat about the rubber screw mounts... they add a lot of rubber between the original stand-offs and the fan itself. Because of that, the fan is *much* closer to the CPU's heatsink than before... probably only about 5mm of space. I'm not sure if I would trust that in a gigging rig, but it'd probably be fine for studio work. Pressing pretty hard down on the closed Axe-Fx cover didn't seem to affect things though, so it might even be okay in a gigging rig. (I'm doing this on a pre-owned Axe-Fx that's probably out of warranty, btw. "Do not try this at home", etc.)
So... now... I'm thinking of trying a 10mm height fan (can only find one half-decent dBA one on Newegg, the Evercool), as well as the 8 CFM SilenX for comparison. Considering heat-sink-only options too... but from what I've read so far, most of the 25mm BGA heat sinks seem to be predicated on the idea that there will be *some* airflow.
Anyway... I'll try to keep this thread updated with whatever I end up doing, including more pics/audio vids later.
And again, for anyone that's worried about a noisy fan... the stock fan really isn't that bad. I'm just picky. Picky enough to import a Swedish fan from Italy to California.
