"kony" <spam@spam.com> wrote in message
news:4i14i257d7nrqgilu2bnji15nfi2fgicsa@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 03 Oct 2006 02:27:11 GMT, "The poster formerly known
> as Colleyville Alan" <nospam@nospam.net> wrote:
>
>>First the rant-
>>My case cooling fan has bad bearings and is very noisy. So I went to the
>>Dell site to try and find a replacement.
>
> Ok but why do you want same fan again?

So it will install easily, with minimal hassle. The fan worked well for 4+
years and then the bearings started making noise, so having another 4 years
of decent performance suits me fine. I am not opposed to getting a
different (read better) fan, but I want to keep the installation as simple
as possible. Like, pop out the old one and pop in the new on.

> I've seen a fair number of these fans, some weren't so bad
> but for a big problem- random mismatch of the fan's stall
> RPM (threshold) versus the reduced PWM speed control. In
> other words, not all fans respond the same to fan speed
> reduction, particularly higher current fans and aggressive
> throttling. Particularly when this throttling is temp
> controlled (as usual), one need not even choose such a high
> RPM fan as the controller would speed it up anyway.

I believe that it is a fixed speed fan. This computer is 6 years old and
uses a Pentium with 866 mhz, not one of the newer chips that doubles as a
space heater. So it's cooling needs are more modest. When the fan was new
it was not that noisy, so replacing this fan with the stock unit should
match my needs.

> In short, get your fan dimensions and # of pins it uses, and
> from there you might pick out a more ideal model but also
> keep in mind your room ambient temps (highest they'll be
> year-round), so you don't get something TOO low.
>
> A random suggestion would be a Panaflo "M" speed, it's
> probably a 92mm x 25mm thick fan but measure to be sure.
> http://www.svc.com may have some and low USPS shipping too
> for single parts or very small orders.
>
>>On some other screen, I also tried choosing the model but while it had
>>Dell
>>Dimension XPS it had series like 200, 500, 700 but not B866. It had some
>>series ending with M or MT - I am not sure, I cannot even find the page I
>>got stuck at earlier today.
>
> You could always pick a different model # so long as it uses
> same size fan.

That was the trouble - I could not find the dimensions or, indeed, any specs
about the fan. I happened to find a couple of other posts from people who
had to replace their fans and found that the fan as 92mm - but could not
find even that info on the Dell site.

>>
>>After doing lots of Googling, I find that even for this part, Dell has a
>>proprietary part.
>
> From what I recall, no they're pretty standard... but I
> don't remember seeing a B866, don't know if there's anything
> unusual about it compared to the others. When I mentioned
> 92mm fan, I was thinking of some newer models but it appears
> yours is a Pentium 3 era system?

I think the unusual thing is that the case into which the fan fits has tabs
so that it can snap onto the tower without mounting screws. As to the CPU
type, I guess it would be a Pentium 3. It is 6 years old,was built in July,
2000 and is 866mhz for what ever that info is worth.

> I can't see your shroud, but usually it just clips on. Hard
> to say why that guy had trouble, but you should be able to
> just pop that shroud off and see for yourself what's
> involved.

Yep - the shroud simply lifts off. It was the case into which the fan fits,
not the shroud to which he was referring.

> What I'd expect is you have a plastic piece that slips or
> clips onto the rear wall of the case. Onto that, the fan
> slides on, then the outer shroud that bends towards the CPU
> heatsink, has a couple of large plastic clips on 2 sides.

That's it!

> If it were a sleeve bearing fan, you might be able to relube
> it, though I suspect it's ball bearing as I vaguely recall
> some of them were (but all? I don't know.).

It is ball bearing. My earlier attempts at lubing brought temporary relief.

Thanks for the reply.