Ghetto modding

[Timotheus 416]

 

Cooler Master Ultra Silent 80mm fan (1400 RPM) to replace the one on my 9600GT:

 

 

First, I used a screw driver to remove the plastic cover with the fan unit in it. I did not have to remove the heatsink, just 4 screws and the housing came off.

 

 

And here, the fan is installed on my graphics card with the use of some trusty tie-wraps Temps with load (3Dmark06) are up to 57 degrees Celsius, idle just below 40. These temperatures are roughly the same as with the stock cooler (second picture), but much more silent. The stock cooler had a 70mm in the housing, and the BIOS from the card would not let it go under 35%. I could have done it manually, but it still was the loudest fan in my PC. The replacement is a slow 80mm fan (more airflow at the same speed).

 

One of the benefits of this type of modding, is that I get to keep my warranty (warranty sticker is on the other side, covering one of the screws used to fit the heatsink) and another one is it's cheap. I spent €8 on the fan, that's all. The tie-wraps I still had from my cable management adventures.

Edited January 7, 2010 by Timotheus

[locolagarto 15]

Nice, I need a new 80MM for the top of my case. I pulled the original quiet fans for a Nexus 120 in the rear (beautiful and quiet on those rubber mounts) a thermaltake 80mm for the top and redistributed the Apevia fans to Furian's fanless case. well I am floored by how much air the Nexus moves a only 950 rpm. but the termal take, which pushes good air as well, is noisy and won't run below 2500 rpm with out stopping. I looked for a Nexus 80mm but newegg doesn't seem to carry them.

 

Is your Coolmaster fit for the job of a case fan?

[Timotheus 416]

No, not really. It really doesn't push a lot of air.

Isn't there any way you can fit a bigger fan? Even a 92mm would make a difference.

 

My choices for RPM & CFM (amount of air moved per hour iirc) versus loudness is as follows:

80mm: ~2000RPM, preferably between 1700-1900RPM

92mm: ~1600RPM

120mm: ~1200RPM

 

Brands of choice for more silent (compared to random normal) fans, random order:

-Noctua

-Scythe

-Gelid

-Nexus

Edited January 7, 2010 by Timotheus

[Timotheus 416]

Mod #2:

 

New Sennheiser headphones! Too bad I don't like the pads that much, they hurt my ears after prolonged use.

 

Old Sharkoon Cosmic 5.1 headset with crappy volume adjustment, but great ear pads!

 

I clicked off the Sennheiser pads and put them in a safe place, along with the accessories it came with.

Then, I pulled off the pads of the Cosmic, and put them on the Sennheiser. Got a bit of rubber banding, and fixed the pads in place.

 

 

 

 

I'm gonna fix up the look when I got time, but for the moment, these headphones are perfect.

[Dragon Brother 619]

Nice. Seems that now youve got the best of both worlds.

[Timotheus 416]

Exactly. Still have to figure out how I can make it look good now.

[Dragon Brother 619]

Pretty colours?

[candesco 0]

Why is the thread called modding while you only replace the stock cooler and purchase yourself some headphones.

That's no modding. Modding would be if you changed something entirely by yourself. For example; casemodding.

I have replaced myself also some coolers, like the vga cooler and the cpu cooler. I used on the 9800 pro a zalman VF900Cu. Unfortunately the card is now dead and I have a new one.

On my processor I use the Zalman 7700Cu. You barely hear it.

[Timotheus 416]

Replacing a cooler is not modding, I agree.

 

However, ghetto modding involves making adjustments to stuff preferably without spending money or the least amount possible, and not being concerned with the actual looks as long as it works. Preferable materials: Ducttape, glue, wood, cardboard, etc. Anything you've got leftover.

 

If you want a look at some good ghetto modding, I recommend checking out [H]ardforum's thread on it.

My second mod (changing the pads from the headphones) would be the more 'true' ghetto mod, since it didn't cost me anything, and looks... well... not too good

Edited January 14, 2010 by Timotheus

[User0001 1]

Hi all,

I know that the following thread is not about modding, but it's the finest of ghetto I've ever read (and it features our VIPs gogo and stubbie!), so it deserves a link imo.

 

Ghetto PC Maintenance (scroll down to post #8)

http://darkmatters.org/forums/index.php?Spectral Hand...c=10110&hl=

Edit: the links looks messed up because the forum thinks it's an acronym, but it does work.

 

NamelessBeast Over.

Edited April 17, 2010 by NamelessBeast