As I'm new to this site, I was hoping someone could help me out here...
I picked up a Apple g4 (dual 867mhz) machine from work, I saved it from a horrendious fate with a compactor and well... I'm sure someone else can figure what happens after that...
I love the machine, it's a great box, but, it's loud as hell...
Now, I have replaced the Stock 120mm fan with a SilenX 120x120x38mm - 18dBA - 90CFM iXtrema Pro Fan with Fluid Dynamic Bearings. From FrozenCPU.
Still the machine is loud.... I am rather new to modding, I've done some custom paint jobs on cases, mainly for me..
Does anyone have any ideas how i can introduce more air flow to this machine?
Oh, By the way, I did take out the speaker, and I am looking at mounting a 80mm or bigger fan in that spot...
There are PCI fans available. I'm not sure on the layout of the Quicksilver, but you could pick up a PCI fan to cool the components more directly (bad English, sorry).
They are relatively cheap. Or you could go all out and throw in a water cooling system. There's a review of one in the hardware section. It was pretty sweet. I'd make sure to measure the top of the machine before getting one though, as the 733 I tested it on was just a 1/2 inch to short to sit evenly on top.
Thanks for the awasome replies I really appricate it when someone actually helps someone out!.
I've taken a Powersupply apart before, I'm not sure how confortable I am taking apart a powersupply if I can't get ahold of a spare incase this one breaks or something goes wrong....
Any thoughts on the modification of the powersupply that would be great!
Well, you shouldn't be too afraid of the power supply. There isn't too much that can go wrong if you're careful. If anything, I'd say start that bad boy up and start listening around the case. See what's creating the most noise, and do your best to find out it's size. Then replace with high airflow silents, and your done!
The PSU in the MDD is not tricky to swap the fans in. I believe thats what Apple did as an extended repair program of some sort. Lots of audio pros complained about the noise they made.
Post may be a bit late for your needs, but anyway......
(Goes without saying, but if you have the PSU case open / tampering with it - make sure its unplugged and allow internal capacitors to discharge for a while - otherwise you might get hell of a 'belt' from it - not funny!)
Part of the noise problem with MDDs is that the PSU case 'clips' to the internal side panel on studs thus transferring any noise and vibration directly to the panel - much like a sound board.
Its difficult to put much in the way of packing between the two without making it impossible to re-locate / refit the PSU on the panel, but I've had some success with thin strips of Chamois leather.
Fans.....
There are two in the leading edge ( just above optical drive )....these can get very noisy as the bearings start to get loose over time - all the noise is amplified thru' the side panel (see above).
Often its only one fan causing the problem - you can test which by carefully and quickly stalling each of the fans using a small plastic stick or end of a modelling paintbrush gently pushed through the grating.....DON"T push metal screwdrivers in there - its a PSU !
Be QUICK about doing this - you've got the side panel open so you don't want to leave your CPUs 'cooking' for very long!
iF you determine that one or both fans are noisy (rattle), then you need to replace them.
In my experience, don't mess about trying to improve / repair the existing ones.
The units are fairly stock 50mm items and only use a ground and supply wire (red and black). Some replacement fans also have a speed feedback wire (often yellow) which you won't need / use.
Be careful about mounting the fans squarely in their rubber seats and you will probably need to splice the board connector(s) from the old fan(s) unless your replacements have similar connectors (unlikely). This IS a time to use solder and heatshrink - twisting bare ends together is not acceptable in a CPU case....or in any case to be honest!
Re-assemble and test.... making sure that they DO actually run AND that BOTH fans turn on / speed up when things get warm.
Will they be 'silent' ?........No.
Quieter?......................Yes
The OTHER source of fan noise is the main 5" fan that primarily cools the CPU when the door is shut. After some years of service the bearing gets rattly and somewhat irritating - again you can check by quickly stalling it (as above) to see if the noise goes away.
The fan slots into a carrier under the optical drive(s) and is generally not that hard to find a replacement for.
I have replaced the Stock 120mm fan with a SilenX 120x120x38mm - 18dBA - 90CFM iXtrema Pro Fan with Fluid Dynamic Bearings. From FrozenCPU.com.
The machine is over all alot quieter, now my question is... The fan looks like it's a three wire fan, can I easily trim it so I only have the Red and Black needed? Or can I just slave this off of the Optical drive, I do have a conversion cable that came with the fan.
Another question is, after running the machine for about 45 minutes, it dies. Just turns off, and the power button flashes a few times, I can push and hold it for 10 seconds and then it powers right back up, I'm curious if this is the Fan connector the motherboard "freaking" out do to it not have the solo Red and Black connectors, or if it's something else that is failing? if so...Now what??? */cry...
IIRC, the very last version of the Quicksilver (2002?) could support large drives, the earlier versions of the Quicksilver could not. Lars or MacDoc or JohnClay will probably have the details to hand --- Guys?
Apple Power Macintosh G4 800 (QS 2002) Specs (Quicksilver 2002 - M8705LL/A) @ EveryMac.com
Apple: "The BootROM of Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors), Xserve, Power Mac G5, and any other model introduced after June 2002 can accommodate these larger drives."
Alternatively, you can buy some software (from Insite?) that enables large drives.
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