Funky fan installation question

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Funky fan installation question

#1 falcore91

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 12:21 AM

While revamping our old family tower for my grandfather I opened it up and was astounded to find that it appeared the technician who installed our upgraded graphics card had glued an additional fan onto the expansion cards surrounding it, using zipties attached to the fan to attach the glue onto. Can you do that safely without damaging a computer? Also, while I was working with it the fan came loose so I removed it figuring it was an extraneous addition made by someone who thought they were going the extra mile. Have I put this older machine at risk?

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#2 killerx525

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 12:29 AM

It could fall off while the fan is spinning.

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#3 falcore91

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 12:30 AM

killerx525, on 17 March 2011 - 12:29 AM, said:

It could fall off while the fan is spinning.

What could fall off?

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#4 killerx525

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 12:32 AM

The extra fan that was installed.

#5 falcore91

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 12:35 AM

OK. So I have physically removed the fan and do not intend to reinstall it. Should there be any risk of an overheat? In addition, why would you put it in there in the first place? In case I need to do an improvised mod myself some day, can you safely glue objects to expansion cards?

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#6 killerx525

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 12:39 AM

Take a whole screenshot of HW Monitor and post it on your next reply to determine the temperature of the main components.

This post has been edited by killerx525: 17 March 2011 - 12:40 AM

#7 falcore91

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 12:47 AM

Unfortunately the machine is sitting at my grandfather's, an hour long drive away. For now let's focus on what I'm more interested in: have you ever seen someone glue in components like the one I attached a picture of?

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#8 killerx525

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 12:48 AM

No, i have not seen anybody glue in components.

#9 thrillhouse

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 02:27 AM

if you are worried about airflow get a stronger case fan or more of them if the case supports it and put the zip ties to good use by holding the wires out of the way of the air.

#10 MrBruce1959

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 03:41 AM

I have been in the electronics repair field for roughly 18 years now, I have seen things that kids do to put things together that I thought were off the wall, but when you say tech, that word means someone who is advanced enough to find better ways to make things fit into a computer case.

You did not specify what cards the wire ties were glued to, but without that information I can say that the setup would have stressed the boards of those devices to say the least.

Also, the fan being partially secure like that would mean if the system was moved and bumped there was always the possibility the glue would give way and the cooling fan would slam into the motherboard and cause damage.

It is unclear to me, what the fan was supposed to be cooling down, but there had to be a better way of doing so.

Removing the fan you are doing less damage to the system, then the fan would have done if it has broken loose and was floating about the computer case.

If you experience issues with the system needing more air-flow, mount a side fan in the computer case side if it has a whole for one.

If the case is metal, and there is no air hole, you can make one using a 1/4 drill bit and make a nice design of 100 or so air holes and mount a cooling fan in that area.

Or use an 3" hole saw to make the hole, get a fan grill and make 4 holes to hold both the fan and grill to the case side panel.

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#11 caperjac

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 03:52 AM

you removed it from the upgraded graphics card ,correct , if the card had its own fan ,i would make sure thats its working ,if it didn't have one then it did't need one or the manufactor would have installed one

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#12 killerx525

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 04:00 AM

MrBruce1959, on 17 March 2011 - 03:41 AM, said:

LOL that's what i did to my case by mounting a intake fan.

#13 falcore91

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 07:54 AM

Thank you for all the replies. The graphics card did appear to have some form of heat sink on it, however I should clarify by stating that the "upgrade" was less than 100 mb of additional graphics memory.

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#14 hamluis

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 12:29 PM

FWIW: I use superglue to attach front vent/rear vent fans. Works great, at least as good as screws.

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#15 MrBruce1959

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 02:32 PM

Well I can not see anything wrong with using a super glue to mount to a computer case in the appropriate location, but I do see an issue with using wire ties glued to expansion cards.

The fan its self adds extra weight to the card in question and can cause it to bow or bend, this can cause weak solder joints on the boards to break loose.

Bruce.