Silent 40x40 fan

[troed]

Ever since I read Dbug's blog about silencing a Mega STE, and having done the same to my own using the suggested Noctua 60x60 fan, I've wanted to do the same to my Mega ST. I did replace the original fan with the one in exxos' store, but while functional and surely better than the original, it was "standard PC level fan noise".

Since I was anyway looking for a suitable fan to cool the CT60e CPU with, I stumbled upon a (new?) Noctua model that's 40x40. Perfect for the heatsink I've ordered for the Falcon, but also the same dimensions as the Mega ST fan (although not as deep), so I ordered two.

Just installed it (connecting GND to 5V for a delta of 7V as suggested by Noctua to lower the rpm to 3700 edit: Oops, they suggest using their in-line resistor equipped cable, not do what I did. I probably got to 2600rpm).

Wow. I can barely hear it running. Some slight (but very slight) vibration I think between the fan and the metal on one side but I need to really nitpick to even comment upon it. As shown in the (very unfocused, sorry) photos I used the supplied silicon mounts as well.

I truly recommend it. The exact model is Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX.

IMG_20180129_192555.jpg (93.68 KiB) Viewed 3043 times

IMG_20180129_192628.jpg (106.8 KiB) Viewed 3043 times

[exxos]

Can you "feel" the air flow between fans ? Normally quieter fans are shifting less airflow. But of course it does depend on bearings etc used.

[troed]

Can you "feel" the air flow between fans ? Normally quieter fans are shifting less airflow. But of course it does depend on bearings etc used.

Well a lot of the Noctua magic is supposed to be about their bearings and total airflow layout etc - but yes - at least down-volting it as I did the airflow is less. Considering a Mega ST barely needs a fan to begin with it's definitely ok though

For the CT60e I'm over-doing the copper heatsink (50x50x15) so will just match fan rpm to get to wherever I need to be for 100MHz