I was cruising the internet looking at PC parts, more specifically quiet fans, when I thought, "Hey, I bet I could get a quiet fan for my Octanes". Before I could look for fans on the net, I had to know what I was looking for, what size and what air flow (CFM) they produced.
I was now on a mission. "Operation Teardown" began. I knew all the fans would have labels on them, and I figured I could find the specs on the web.
I first pulled apart the PSU and located the fan label and grabbed the info for it:
The PSU Fan: Panaflo FBA12G12U
Part Number............................ FBA12G12U, FBA12G12U-1C
Manufacturer.......................... Panasonic / Matsushita Electric, Japan
Size, In................................. 4.73" X 4.73" X 1.497"
Size, mm............................... 120mm x 120mm x 38mm
Voltage................................. 12 volts DC
Current................................. 0.65A
Watts................................... 7.80
RPM ..................................... 2950
Flow CFM (Max)...................... 119.0
Noise (dBA)............................ 48.5
Bearing Type........................... Panaflo "Hydro-Wave" lubricated sleeve
Material-Venturi....................... UL94V-0 Plastic
Material-Propeller..................... UL94V-0 Plastic
Power Leads............................ 2- 12",22AWG Leads
Termination ............................ BARE LEADS
Life Expectancy-MTBF............... 50,000 Hours
Next, I went for the HDD Fan and the CPU Fan. The CPU fan required complete disassembly of my Octane.
I located the labels on the remaining fans and looked up the information.
The HDD Fan: Panaflo FBA09A12V
Part Number....................... FBA09A12V-1C
Manufacturer..................... Panasonic / Matsushita Electric, Japan
Size, In............................. 3.625" X 3.625" X 1.0"
Size, mm........................... 92mm x 92mm x 25mm
Operating Voltage............... 7 to 13.8 volts DC
Current............................. 0.225A
Watts (Max)...................... 2.70
RPM ................................ 2100 min - 2850 max
Flow CFM ......................... 42.7 min - 56.8 max
Noise (dBA)........................ 35
Bearing Type...................... Panaflo Hydro-Wave
Material-Venturi.................. UL94V-0 Plastic
Material-Propeller................ UL94V-0 Plastic
Power Leads....................... 3- 22AWG
Termination ....................... 8" Bare Leads
Life Expectancy-MTBF.......... 60,000 Hours
The CPU Fan: Shicoh 0610-12
Part Number.................................. 0610-12
Other Number ............................... F6010AP-12LCW
Manufacturer ............................... Shicoh Engineering, Japan
Size, Inches ................................. 2.35" X 2.35" X .425"
Size, mm ..................................... 60mm x 60mm x 10.3mm
Voltage ....................................... 12 volts DC
Current ....................................... 0.1A (230mA)
Watts ......................................... 1.2
RPM ............................................ 3300
Flow CFM/(m3/min) (Max)................ 12.7 / 0.33(m3/min)
Static Pressure (Max)..................... 16.7
Noise (dBA) .................................. 30.0
Bearing Type ................................ Ball Bearings
Material-Venturi ............................ UL94V-0 Plastic
Material-Propeller........................... UL94V-0 Plastic
Power Leads ................................ 2- 22AWG
Termination ................................. 2- 4" bare wire leads.
Life Expectancy-MTBF.................... 50,000 Hours
After some web searching I found out if I could get any quieter fans at the same or similar CFM. For the PSU fan, the answer is no, for the size, RPM and air flow it actually does pretty well at 48.5dBA. The closest I found was 90CFM at 19dBA from Cooler Master. For the HDD fan, the answer is yes, there's one by SilenX that is only 14dBa and it creates 42 CFM. For the CPU fan, the answer is also yes. You can actually knock 5-10dBA off depending on the fan you get. But that would probably not be very noticeable and you have to find a 2-pin one. All the fans use 2-pin connectors. My war against sound does not end here though. During disassembly, I noticed something about the plastic cover the HHD fan is mounted on...
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It is a big square plastic box with a fan mounted on it. I figured that most of the noise was coming from here. When I put everything back together and powered on the Octane, I was correct. A ton of sound was coming from this mount and its fan. The big square plastic box portion seemed to be amplifying the sound of the fan. I decided that the large flat sides of the box would be a perfect candidate for some stick-on acoustic damping. I don't have any, so I will have to report back when I get some, but this will be a simple solution. When I get some, I won't have to tear everything down completely again. Also, dirty fans are very noisy. I cleaned mine and it really helped.
There are also many other areas inside the case the would benefit from some stick-on acoustic damping. It just depends on how crazy you want to go.