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Subject: extra cooling fan for inspiron 530s
The hard drives in my Inspiron 530s run hot (about 50C when ambient temp is 20C). So does the rest of the system according to speedfan (http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php). I want to add a second case fan to cool things down a bit.
Here’s my question: How can I get power to an extra fan?
I have an unused floppy drive power supply (at least, that’s what I think it is—the dell manual labels the connector as “P4” and it is located at the end of the cable that also provides a sata power connector for the DVD drive—it has four pin holes with two black, one red and one yellow wires, smaller than a regular 4-pin molex). What kind of adapter would I use to connect the P4 to an off-the-shelf case fan (which would have a 4-pin molex or a 3-pin connector)?
Can anyone suggest other options for improving the cooling in a 530s box? Could I plug a splitter cable into the one existing three-pin fan connector on the motherboard? Then run two fans off the motherboard connector? Does the 3-pin connector have enough power to run two fans? And might this power splitting cause problems? [I just tried this and I'm pretty sure it caused a reduction in fan rpm]
System:
Inspiron 530s
Vista home premium
BIOS version: 1.0.18
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E6550 @ 2.33GHz
Northbridge Intel P35/G33/G31 rev. A2
Southbridge Intel 82801IR (ICH9R) rev. 02
Memory Type DDR2
Memory Size 4096 Mbytes / 667 MHz
Display adapter: Radeon HD 4350
Drives: (2) WD Caviar SE / 250GB / 7200rpm
mc.hapa
25 Posts
0
January 27th, 2010 11:00
Hi,
Do you only have SATA power adapter through out the tower? I have not seen the inside of a 530 that is why I ask. Anyhow I used some of these (link below) on customer computers ages ago. I bought these adapters at a local computer shop, I am sure you will have the same luck. Also I am guess that the "s" means slim. I know of a person who litterally drilled a couple of holes on one of the sides of his optiplex 330 slim and placed 2 80 mm fans one blowing in the other blowing out. He compalaind about that little green housing not cooling his system well enough. It looked really nice and I dont know of any problems he had, Posibly an option for you.
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/DISTRIBUTED-BY-MCM-FAN-CABLE-/83-10390
cardboard22
8 Posts
0
January 27th, 2010 12:00
Yep, three cables for sata power, plus one 4-pin connector labeled P4. LIke the one shown here:
As you can see, the above connector is not the usual 4-pin molex like the example in the link you supplied. It seems to be another kind of connector that I suppose may provide power for a floppy drive. Anyway, I'm hoping the above connector can be made to power a fan. It seems a shame to waste what one assumes is a perfectly good power source (the 530s user manual says the plug has two ground wires, plus a 5 VDC wire and a 12 VΛDC wire--not sure what the Λ means).
You're right about the slim case form factor--very little room to work with. I plan to punch a hole in the case to make way for a fan. But I would like to power the new fan via the 530s power supply (so the fan won't run when the computer is turned off). Another option: is there some kind of Y splitter (say, male sata to 3-pin, plus female sata) that can be plugged into a sata power connector. If I did that, would there be enough power remaining to power the fan plus a dvd drive?
mc.hapa
25 Posts
0
January 27th, 2010 13:00
Hmm I just dont think I have seen any type of power cable adapter for a floppy.... I hate to say but you might have to add another cable more somthing like this, then a ugly Molex IDE adapter to get your fan to work. Unless you want to rig something from the 4 pin on your own. Since I have this cable I can try it on my computer and let you know how it works witha fan....
cardboard22
8 Posts
0
January 28th, 2010 07:00
Okay, thanks for confirming what I had begun to suspect: there are no adapter cables that convert a floppy power cord to a different form factor.
Well, I suppose I'll give this a try: cut the 12V and ground wires on the floppy cable and solder them to the matching wires on a 3-pin fan cable.
Am I letting myself in for unanticipated problems with this approach?
Okay, this is several hours later. I did the above. Fan works fine, with no ill effects to system... so far. I punched a hole in the case for the fan cable and will cut a window in the case for fan mounting later.
One further question: Can I hot swap the fan?-- i.e. plug in and unplug the fan while the system is up and running. The fan connects only to the power supply, not to the motherboard. So it seems like plugging in and unplugging the the fan while the computer is running should cause no difficulties. Anyone have an opinion on this?