Noctua Quiet Fan for DC - Help

[evil_ash_xero]

I've seen this mod on YouTube, and I've seen some guys posting about it in a forum on Facebook.

Since Assembler is down, I can't really find much info on this at all. I've read that you need to get the fan, and some 3D printed parts.

Can anyone fill me in on this?

[Guspaz]

While I'm not familiar with that particular mod, I'm familiar with Noctua fans. They're quiet and well designed, but expensive and don't move much air (exception: their industrial series move a lot of air, but are only available for 120mm and 140mm). Make sure that the Noctua fan will have a similar amount of airflow and static pressure as the fan you're replacing, or that the device you're cooling is safe to run hotter.

In the computer world, they're often decent for case fan use, but not strong enough for CPU fan use. That's not to say that Noctua doesn't make CPU coolers that user their fans, but those coolers often either have restrictive TDP limits, use multiple fans, or have extremely large heatsinks to account for the reduced airflow.

[BuffaloWing]

I designed the prototype mounting duct that was posted on ASSEMblergames. Seems like collingall reworked that design while assembler was down. You could find more information on Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2308549

[ShadowofBob]

I did this since Assembler was down. Took quite a bit of sleuthing to find pulldown info for the fan! I didn't use that new file though; mine were printed back in January/February from before Assembler went down using BuffaloWings V1.1 Duct and V1 Latch. There was a little bit of rubbing on the fan with the button latch and I did have to shave a bit more plastic off that to get it to not hit the fan so the latch had full travel. Hopefully that was resolved in these updated files. I used Shapeways.com to print mine as I don't have a 3D printer. I'll try to find my pictures from the project later.

[BuffaloWing]

Shadow, do you have a picture showing how much my V1 latch you have to shave? If I could find my old file, I could try adjusting it and post it here. Collingall's designs are more useful for people who own personal desktop 3D printer. My designs were intended more for print services such as Shapeway or Sculpteo.

[ShadowofBob]

Actually it was the button itself that was hitting. The smaller tab that holds it into the shell, near the cut out on the modified latch, would hit the fan before the button could reach full travel. I thought it was the latch at first, but now that I think about it I don't think that part needed any modification.

[BuffaloWing]

I'm sorry, I'm a bit confuse. Are you saying no modification is needed?

[ShadowofBob]

Yes, no modification is needed for the latch. The fan placement in my machine did cause the body of the noctua fan to hit that tab on the open button though. Not sure if there is any room for adjustment of the fan duct.

[BuffaloWing]

Thanks for the feedback. I just realize what you did (you shaved the retaining clip on the eject button). Unfortunately, I don't think there much room for further adjustment on the duct. That area is really cramped. It also didn't help that the Noctua fan is not exactly 10mm in thickness as advertised on their box. I honestly suggest anyone who want to do this, should do any shaving/grinding on the fan chassis rather than on the Dreamcast itself. Noctua fan isn't cheap, but at least the fan is more easily replaceable than Dreamcast.

[ShadowofBob]

Yes, in hindsight it probably would have been better to shave the fan. I had a spare open button though, so it didn't bother me to use that as it was a very quick fix. Thanks again for posting those 3D files.

[CobraKing]

I apologize if I'm derailing the thread here but I've personally felt that the DC's GD-ROM was far louder and more obnoxious vs. the cooling fan. Short of replacing it with a GDEmu unit is there any way to quiet the GD-ROM?

[ShadowofBob]

I apologize if I'm derailing the thread here but I've personally felt that the DC's GD-ROM was far louder and more obnoxious vs. the cooling fan. Short of replacing it with a GDEmu unit is there any way to quiet the GD-ROM?

I did just that with mine! Prior to replacing with a GDEmu I found greasing the slide rails and gears had the best effect of quieting the drive down back to what it was when new.

[CobraKing]

I apologize if I'm derailing the thread here but I've personally felt that the DC's GD-ROM was far louder and more obnoxious vs. the cooling fan. Short of replacing it with a GDEmu unit is there any way to quiet the GD-ROM?

I did just that with mine! Prior to replacing with a GDEmu I found greasing the slide rails and gears had the best effect of quieting the drive down back to what it was when new.

Thanks for the reply, would you be able to tell me what type of grease you used?

[ShadowofBob]

I apologize if I'm derailing the thread here but I've personally felt that the DC's GD-ROM was far louder and more obnoxious vs. the cooling fan. Short of replacing it with a GDEmu unit is there any way to quiet the GD-ROM?

I did just that with mine! Prior to replacing with a GDEmu I found greasing the slide rails and gears had the best effect of quieting the drive down back to what it was when new.

Thanks for the reply, would you be able to tell me what type of grease you used?

I think I used a white lithium based grease that is readily available in hardware stores. As long as its not petroleum based you should be fine. I know they do make a special oil for plastic gear lubrication as well, but I couldn't find it locally.

[nmalinoski]

I realize this is an old thread, but are there any newer solutions for fan replacement for the DC? I've attempted to get the stock fan apart to grease it, but it's so small and tough to separate that I'm afraid of breaking it. I also see that there are still kits for the Noctua fans on eBay, but they don't include the fan, and it ends up being about a $35 USD mod. Is there a cheaper and/or drop-in solution?

[BuffaloWing]

You don't need to disassemble the fan at all. You can lube the bushing in the middle of the fan by lifting the sticker/label on the center. Try not to destroy the label and temporary stick it somewhere clean. Put a tiny drop of machine oil at the center shaft where the miniature c-clip is and rotate the blades with your finger a few time to get the oil to flow into the bushing. Make sure the surrounding plastic is free from oil and reaffix the label back to prevent dust from getting into the bushing. (Use Isopropyl alcohol to clean the surface if necessary.) If done right, your fan should be a little bit quieter.

[RGB0b]

I realize this is an old thread, but are there any newer solutions for fan replacement for the DC?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/273446935745

[nmalinoski]

I realize this is an old thread, but are there any newer solutions for fan replacement for the DC?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/273446935745

Thanks, but:

I also see that there are still kits for the Noctua fans on eBay, but they don't include the fan, and it ends up being about a $35 USD mod. Is there a cheaper and/or drop-in solution?

[RGB0b]

Oh, sorry. Well, if you have that fan it IS a drop-in solution and works really well. I'm not sure you can find anything cheaper that's worth buying though. Maybe try BuffaloWing's suggestion and go from there?

[CobraKing]

If anything I've found the GD-ROM drive to be incredibly loud. Have any of you greased the drive's plastic gears and have had it quiet down?

[Konsolkongen]

I did that. It does help a bit. Still noticeable though

[nmalinoski]

If anything I've found the GD-ROM drive to be incredibly loud. Have any of you greased the drive's plastic gears and have had it quiet down?

Greasing worked for my PlayStation drive assemblies, but greasing my DC's GD-ROM wasn't as successful. :/ Of course, that was after the GD-ROM stopped reading the disc of the one game I wanted to play. I ended up replacing it with a GDEMU, which avoids both the noise and drive failure problems altogether.

[CobraKing]

If anything I've found the GD-ROM drive to be incredibly loud. Have any of you greased the drive's plastic gears and have had it quiet down?

Greasing worked for my PlayStation drive assemblies, but greasing my DC's GD-ROM wasn't as successful. :/ Of course, that was after the GD-ROM stopped reading the disc of the one game I wanted to play. I ended up replacing it with a GDEMU, which avoids both the noise and drive failure problems altogether.

Gotcha! Also makes sense why you're finding the cooling fan noise intrusive now.

Try lubricating the bearing as was suggested earlier and clean the fan blades.

[nmalinoski]

I ordered some sewing machine oil; I'll update in a few days once I've received the oil and gotten a chance to pull my DC apart again.

[nmalinoski]

As a followup, I will say that the machine oil definitely reduce noise, but not enough to eliminate the whine. I even bought a replacement fan, oiled that, and had the same problem; and, with that defeat, I had set aside my Dreamcast until I saw Bob[from RetroRGB]'s recent video on tips and mods for the Dreamcast.

After watching that, I caved and ordered both the fan and the kit from the links provided by Bob, and those parts arrived today. Unfortunately, I ran into some mild fitment issues with my VA1 Sega Sports console, like the one Bob used in his video. (This bit is pretty much crossposted from a comment I left on his video.)

Now, the 3D-printed exhaust shroud is designed to hold the fan at a 45-degree angle, which seems to be the culprit. In this orientation, or at least with this design, the bottom corner of the fan presses against the bottom case (the angled portion directly below), which slightly deforms the exhaust shroud; and the top corner presses against the upper case.

Ultimately, this prevents the case from properly closing. I have to force the top case down, which, as I can see through the exhaust port, results in the fan's shroud deforming. I have no idea if that's intentional, to keep the fan secure, but I don't like it.

Now, if I place the Noctua fan about where it needs to go, without the 3D-printed shroud, I can fit it at a more relaxed 60ish-degree rotation towards the rear, and the case closes comfortably. The fan also doesn't seem to move around when placed like this, but I can't imagine the airflow will be as efficient as with an exhaust shroud.

Is there anyone who'd be willing to modify the design, and maybe print up a few examples? This shroud is really the only thing I don't like about the mod kit; the adapter lead looks and feels well-constructed and works fine, and the fan is so quiet.