Dim 4500 power source fan

Question

About 3 months ago, a winding noise began, sounding like it was coming from the top of the back of the tower, where the power source is. Instinctively, I gave the case a rap on the side at the top (left side as you face the front) and it stopped! Was fine for many weeks, then started up again. Another rap quieted it, but not for as long. Then the raps quit working. I read posts on this board, gathered my courage and opened up the case. There was a fair amount of dust inside which I blew out after disconecting the AC power cable.  I unscrewed the psu and lifted it out without removing any cables. Blew some air into the power supply and put the whole thing back together. It was quieter than it has EVER been in the two years I've had this system. Alas, 5 days later, the winding, whirring is back. Is there a reason to replace the whole psu if the fan is just noisy, or is something catastrophic likely to happen. I don't want to lay out $150 for a new psu if this one could go on for years, noisy as it is.

bjk1318 · Answer

yea, looks to me like buying a psu is your only way. the tower isn't supposed to make allot of noise

shesagordie · Answer

CrankyYankee. You can buy a Dell compatible PSU for the D4500 for $45.00 from the following http://www.power-on.com/oematx.html Bev.

fredha · Answer

The powersupply fan is not that hard to replace if you have moderate mechanical skills. It is a matter of removing the powersupply and taking the cover off. The fan is easy to remove and replace, the hardest part is splicing the wires together. I use heatshrink tubing to seal the splices, you can get it at Home Depot or Lowes for less than $2. The most important thing is to drain the residual power before removing the powersupply. This is simply a matter of unplugging the powersupply and pressing the power button several times.

CrankyYankee · Answer

The Power-on replacement is $45 and the PCPowerandcooling is $149. The Power-on warranty is 1 year, the pcpower is 5 years. My OEM psu was a HIPRO that seems to have lasted 2 years. I'm assuming the Power-on will be similar in life-expectancy to the HIPRO. So, I'd have to replace it 3 times - every two years - for it to approximate the cost of the pcpower unit (not counting shipping and handling, I suppose). Remind me why I might want to choose the more expensive unit????

fredha · Answer

The powersupplies at power-on are made by Fortron Source a very reputable powersupply manufacturer.

Locked Topics – Desktops General

Dim 4500 power source fan

Was this post helpful?