# 1200w thermaltake toughpower PSU fan replacement



## purecain (Nov 8, 2016)

I bought a 1200w thermaltake psu in 2014 and the fan is sending me round the bend.

ive tried removing the fan, opening up the center part and adding machine oil. after having no effect the first time and only helping a little the second I'm certain my only option is to replace the fan.

the problem I'm having is finding a 135mm 12v 8A fan. only one appears when I google.

so I need to ask for some info here. I know we have some intelligent folk kicking around on the forum.

what say ye?

and thanks in advance for any assistance.


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## sneekypeet (Nov 8, 2016)

What model exactly as most of them state that are 140mm fans when you check the specs.


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## slozomby (Nov 8, 2016)

12V 8A? is your PSU trying to hover?


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## Athlon2K15 (Nov 8, 2016)

Should be a TT-1425, thats what is inside my TPG 1200w.


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## EarthDog (Nov 8, 2016)

slozomby said:


> 12V 8A? is your PSU trying to hover?


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## Grings (Nov 8, 2016)

I have the same issue, (though it is only just getting a little louder than it was new, not annoying YET) with an XFX 850w that uses a 135mm Adda fan

after a lot of googling i could only find a few 135mm fans, and they were all shipping from china, taiwan, singapore etc

i was too concerned about whether a different fan would react differently as the psu tried to control its speed, one that runs at the same speed (say 2000rpm) at 12v may only run at 400rpm at 6v, where the one i had ran at 1100rpm etc 

with this in mind i would try and replace with an identical part


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## 95Viper (Nov 8, 2016)

purecain said:


> I'm having is finding a 135mm 12v 8A fan



I hope you meant to put a dot in front of the 8A... should be .8A

Also, if you can, take a pic of the fan label, etc ,and post it...


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## purecain (Nov 8, 2016)

too late to take a pic but there are a few pictures online. and yeah its a 140mm 12v .8A i'll buy a 140mm and try that but which one would be compatible. I spent hours looking at ocuk ,scan,amazon. i'll check the coolingshop.com
its a 140mm fan.
http://img.techpowerup.org/161108/psufan.jpg


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## Shengli (Nov 8, 2016)

Just to what I did with my 1200watt club 3d psu. I removed the original fan.  And put in a 140mm pwm fan. And connected it to my mobo. I can now control the fan via speed fan. I have control over every single fan in my pc.


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## EarthDog (Nov 8, 2016)

So ghetto... and dangerous. 

Unless you know what you are doing inside a psu, I ouldnt open it up...


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## Shengli (Nov 8, 2016)

I


EarthDog said:


> So ghetto... and dangerous.
> 
> Unless you know what you are doing inside a psu, I ouldnt open it up...


 Guess you are replying to my suggestion?

Why is that ghetto. I have better control over it.  It is dead quiet. And it is not dangerous. If you mean it will break down because of heat issue it won't. I barely uses half of what it is capable off plus the fan ofcourse ramp up when gaming.


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## EarthDog (Nov 8, 2016)

Yes.. I replied below you and didn't quote anyone else... I'm talking to you. 

It's ghetto because it's 'rigged' with a cord coming out of the psu to your motherboard for control as it should not be.

As far as dangerous,  I meant opening up a psu is dangerous...it can kill you if you touch the wrong part. A novice shouldnt be digging around inside. It also voids the warranty assuming there is one.


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## Shengli (Nov 8, 2016)

It was a suggestion. Mine is past warranty. How would it kill you when not plugged it. Granted it can have a little juice left after turned off but not enough to kill you.


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## EarthDog (Nov 8, 2016)

Yes.. it's a suggestion, a dangerous one if you don't know what you are doing... that's my point.

Charges in the caps can last for hours and still have enough amperage in them to kill you or give you a hell of a shock.

Either way this is not recommend unless you know what you are doing.


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## Shengli (Nov 8, 2016)

Well good to know.  For the future 
Still like the suggestion.  I have never had a more quiet psu.  Besides. He ask to change fan so op have to open the psu regardless.


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## EarthDog (Nov 8, 2016)

Yes, he asked to do it... that doesn't mean he knows how or should do it!!!! What kind of logic is that?!?!?!!

It's up to those in the know to inform users of proper methods and/or safety hazards in doing so. I'm glad you like the suggestion...and that's fine, but it isn't safe. If his psu is under warranty, he needs to rma. If not, he can choose to crack it open and replace the fan....but again, it can be dangerous.

Edit: and after reading it again, the op was already inside his psu and mucked with the fan and borked his warranty....so, PSA was for those reading it, lol!


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## purecain (Nov 8, 2016)

well this is what ive done. I phoned round the local pc shops and found someone close with a corsair 140mm 12v 0.30A fan. so after a little research I found out that I could simply cut the wires with the two pin header and attach the other end, the open wires into their respective slots. red in the middle and black for ground on the left.  I taped up the connection with electrical tape and installed the fan.
I am now sat next to a silent pc. my ears keep getting a feeling of joy because they know the torture noise is gone.

it was like Chinese water torture, ive literally been up all night with it bugging me.

anyway sorted it like a boss. also if anyone else tries this. please research how to discharge your psu before opening the case and watch more than a few tutorials. your life may depend on it.

 heres the pics.  
the corsair fan, which is silent btw.






psu open


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## P4-630 (Nov 8, 2016)

I once replaced a noisy fan (wasn't that loud either but my other system fans were_ very _quiet) from an enermax PSU, wired it to a fanspeed controller, worked fine.
Wouldn't do it again though, I'll just buy a quiet PSU in the first place like my current PSU (Be Quiet!).


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## purecain (Nov 8, 2016)

I'm basking in the soft sound of white noise. its almost silent .... just a whisper....  no tick tick tick tick tick...


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## Bill_Bright (Nov 8, 2016)

purecain said:


> opening up the center part and adding machine oil.


 For future reference, this should NEVER be done - except as stopgap measure while waiting on delivery of a new fan.

Case, PSU, CPU and GPU fans all use a permanent lubricant in a sealed bearing chamber - a grease (not oil) based lubricant at that. And the center hubs are sealed to keep dust and other contaminants out of the bearings. Applying _any_ kind of "oil" will actually break down the lubricant that is already there, expose the bearings to dust and dirt, increase friction and further expedite wear and wear.

Once a fan starts making noise, it cannot be repaired short of replacing the bearings completely - and these fans are not designed with replaceable bearings (or to be opened either). Adding a couple drops of oil _may_ quiet the bearings temporarily, but it is only temporary and in the end, the noise will only get worse, eventually resulting in the motor seizing up. Even if you can find the exact same grease formula used originally (and that information is never published so not possible), once bearing noise starts, the damage to the bearings has already been done, and cannot be undone.

At this point, since you successfully replaced the fan, I recommend a more permanent solution instead of just taping the wires. Soldering and covering the splice with heat shrink tubing would probably be best, or at least use wire nuts or crimps. Crimps are better but of course require a wire crimper too.

The problem with tape is the adhesive will decay over time and come unwrapped, possibly exposing the bare wires. This is especially true in environments where there are frequent and wide swings in surrounding temperatures (like inside a power supply).

And remember, anything that plugs into the wall can kill - there are deadly voltages inside a PSU - and these voltages may remain even after the PSU is unplugged if the PSU is not in good repair.


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## R-T-B (Nov 8, 2016)

Bill_Bright said:


> and these voltages may remain even after the PSU is unplugged if the PSU is not in good repair.



And even if it is.  Capacitors hold energy a long time when you're talking in terms relative to an eager guy with a screwdriver..


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## EarthDog (Nov 8, 2016)

Bill_Bright said:


> And remember, anything that plugs into the wall can kill - there are deadly voltages inside a PSU - and these voltages may remain even after the PSU is unplugged if the PSU is not in good repair.


It will remain for some time even if they are in 'good repair'...


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## brandonwh64 (Nov 8, 2016)

In my old 650W PSU I replaced the fan 3 times before upgrading. I really needed up just toss it and get a new one but I was cheap and wanted to make it last. The iraq sand did not treat it well.


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## cdawall (Nov 8, 2016)

Bill_Bright said:


> And remember, anything that plugs into the wall can kill - there are deadly voltages inside a PSU - and these voltages may remain even after the PSU is unplugged if the PSU is not in good repair.



Voltage doesn't kill there is no such thing as a " deadly voltage" . Amperage kills, the hold up capacitors are large enough to run the psu at full load for at least 16ms according to atx specifications. The capacitors that everyone is talking about killing people are those. The TPG-1200M is capable of 125A on the 12v rail alone and a shock of 125A for 16ms is more than enough to kill something a lot larger than a human. 

Safest thing to do if opening a psu is to unplug the psu from the wall and then to hit the power button on the case to discharge the caps. This doesn't make it perfectly safe, but they will hold much much less of a charge after you do this.


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## Bill_Bright (Nov 8, 2016)

EarthDog said:


> It will remain for some time even if they are in 'good repair'...


No it shouldn't. Unlike motherboards, PSUs must have "bleeder" circuits in line with the big filters caps just to quickly "bleed" off and degrade those voltages to safe levels. The amount of discharge is actually regulated by government regulations, and these vary country by country. But generally, for working volts of 650V or less, it must drop below 50V in 60 seconds or less. So in 115VAC and 230VAC applications, it "should" discharge to safe levels in considerably less time than 60 seconds.

Of course "should" is the operative word - there. 

Yes, here it is the current that kills, but to say voltage does not kill is not really correct. You need both - specifically, you need enough voltage to overcome the resistance in the body, then enough current to do the damage. That current can be just a few mA.


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## EarthDog (Nov 8, 2016)

Shouldn't... stick a conductor in there for me to make sure, would ya?  Like your hand, or a screwdriver. 






Stay the F out of PSUs people unless you know what you are doing... come on.


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