Personally I like to have a quiet computer and any unnecessary noise should be removed in my opinion. Therefore I have written this guide to a quiet power supply fan: changing your stock PSU fans to quieter ones. I have done this to both my Antec power supplies. I first did this to my PP-403X 400w power supply and for this guide I will be using a PP-303X 300w power supply.
Fan Specifications:
- Stock PP-403X: AddA #AD0812HB-A70GL. 42 CFM, 34dB
- Stock PP-303X: Top Motor #DF1208SH. 41CFM, 34dB
- Replacing with: Panaflo #FBA08A12L. 24CFM, 21dB
What you will need
- #3 Philips head screwdriver
- 80mm Panaflo L1A or other quiet fan
- Drill & bits
- Wire cutters
WARNING!Before we begin I must warn you that power supplies contain large capacitors that hold enough electrical charge even when unplugged and powered off to kill you. Do not touch anything in the power supply. Also opening your power supply voids the warrantee. I take no responsibility for anything you do from reading this guide or anything else for that matter.The first thing you will want to do is to turn your computer off and remove the power supply. Place it on the ground somewhere where you have some space to work in.
Take your screwdriver and remove the 4 small screws on the bottom side of the PSU.
Carefully remove the cover of the power supply and inspect the inside of it. If you would like you can use a can of compressed air to blow away the dust that has collected inside of it.
Now take your wire cutter and cut the black and the red wire coming from the fan. Be sure you are cutting the right wires and that you do not touch anything else while cutting.
Unscrew the 4 screws that are holding the stock fan in place again being careful not to touch anything else. Now carefully remove the stock fan and put put it aside.
Now you will need to take the cover from the power supply and drill a hole in it so you can run the fan connector through it so you will later be able to hook it up. Determine where the best place for you to drill will be. Your case may be setup different than mine and the hole may work better somewhere else. I used a 5/16″ drill bit to make a hole large enough for the fan plug to fit through. Depending on what kind of fan you use and the connection it has you will have drill the hole accordingly.
Now that you have the hole drilled in the cover you can mount your new quiet fan back into the power supply. Slide it in and line it up with the holes. Be sure when you position the fan the wire is going to match up with the hole you drilled.
Take the 4 screws you removed from the stock fan and remount the fan you just positioned in the power supply. Be sure not to accidentally touch something inside of the PSU while screwing the 4 screws in. Now that your new quiet fan has been mounted in the power supply take the cover and thread the fan plug through it.
Pull the slack through the hole and replace the cover of the PSU. Now Screw the 4 screws back into the cover of the power supply. Now you are done changing your loud stock fan to a quiet one like this Panaflo. Your finished product should look something like this.
Take your new quiet power supply and put it back in your case. Rescrew your power supply into your case and make sure the wires for the new fan dont get stuck or trapped anywhere.
The Panaflo I installed is a 2 pin motherboard connector. Take the 2 pin or 3 pin connector and connect it to the closest motherboard header. Plug all of your power connectors back into their respective spots and power up your computer.
Conclusion
Now that you are finished changing the fan in your power supply your computer will be much quieter. Also with the PP-403X there is a “smart fan” feature where when your computer is being used the fan spins faster and when it goes back to idle the fan slows down. This was the most irritating thing about the power supply. Now that your new quiet fan is connected to your motherboard it will no longer spin up and down. I hope this guide was helpful and please feel free to email me with any suggestions, questions or comments.