Modding delta fan questions

ok what is so special about delta fans, where can i find them, who makes them, what is the companys home page

thank you

 

The fans you hear about are made by Delta Electronics. DC fans are only one thing they do. They make generic fans and high performance fans, which are the ones you hear about. They move a lot of air and make just as much noise. Their frames also straighten out the air. Here is their catalogue page, look at the FFB series.

Where to get them? Not sure, never bought one. You can probably order them direct or from suppliers like Mouser Electronics or various other electronics surplus stores.

 

You can also look for Vantec Tornado fans or some PCToys equivalent. They're all the same thing. Most online places that sell fans sell those in some variation or another.

 

I know sidewindercomputers.com sells them in the US, thats where I got mine.

 

I got my delta 120mm off of ebay. You usually don't find many dc delta on ebay but since there was a generation of loud powermac g4 s( the "windtunnel" mirrored drive door one) and apple had a 120mm fan replacement program, people don't know what to do with the extra 120mm delta fan screamer.

It's a really nice fan, pushes HUGE amounts of air at high dB's.

 

I'm imagining a 120mm delta on thermalright's newest XP120 (aluminum SP94/97 that uses 120mm fan and 5 heatpipes). I'm also imagining dropping a pencil or something into the edges of the blades and it sending shards into my eye...

 

i seems nobody has mentioned the ridiculous noise yet

think hairdrier and youre close
but they push massive amounts of air, but if you are looking for 60, 80 or 92mm, vantec tornados are more powerful (no tornado in 120mm iirc though)

 

I had a 60mm Delta 'screamer' and still have an 80mm Delta 'screamer' in one of my cases.

Hairdryer loud is an understatement, more like a vacuum cleaner

 

I have 2 60mm and a 120mm delta ( got a little collection going )

Tried to make a hover craft, but wasn't able to make a good skirt, they were great shuffle pucks though

 

They're very powerful (just feel how much air they pump (and be careful about loose clothing)), reliable (they're often used in industrial-grade IT equipment), and good (electronics hate heat, Deltas expel heat, electronics love Deltas).
Just don't plug them directly into your motherboard (unless it was designed to handle those), as they will draw too much current and you risk burning it out.
With that in mind, just get some Deltas for your computer, and just see how much cooler the computer runs.

 

thanks all as soon as i get my new comp running it will have deltas (i am curently usaing laptop)

all who want to help me with comp go to hardware/overclocking and look for motherboard problems?? by me

 

Well heatsinks can only remove heat from the processor so fast, there's a point where no amount of extra airflow would make the slightest difference. And often times the temp difference between average noise and uber-loud is only a degree or two, more than made up by the saved sanity. My 2c.

 

ok so if i replace my fans with delta "screamers" my copmptuer will sound like a vacume cleaner but will they still put out reasonable airflow when i turn them down to a decible level more aproite for 4 am in my house full of sisters and my mom

 

I think you will find they will still be rediculously noisey even at 7v.

 

I have a couple FFB Delta fans. I mostly use them for testing high-current circuits (my 92mm Delta 'test-engine' is rated for 1.5Amps). To be honest, its not a quiet fan, but the "sounds like a vacuum cleaner" statement is a bit over the edge. Its quieter than a normal house fan. I know since my comp room has 2 regular fans (I smoke and use window fans to expel the smoke out the window).

It creates a nice dull hum. The noise is subjective. Some people have got their fan setups to the point where you can hardly hear the computer running at all. The only suggestion I have is that you wouldnt want to use these fans if your PC is next to your bed and have sleeping problems whenever subjected to 'white noise'.

Another point: I dont think there is a motherbaord out there that can handle 1Amp fans directly. Always use PSU molex connector to power these. Better safe than a 'dead mobo' sorry.

 

I have seen some servers that have a 3A(!) Delta plugged into the motherboard, and they have been reported to be running fine for over three years!
BTW, Dell has been plugging 0.68A NMB fans directly into motherboards for years, and I have not even heard of a motherboard failure caused by that (likewise with HP plugging 3A Deltas directly into motherboards for their HP-UX servers).
I think all we need are for the "regular" motherboards to be able to support large fans.

 

Server mobos are designed for high-current fans to begin with. Im sure you've been in a server room before.

As for the Dells, same thing. They are proprietary mobos with a different PSU setup and all that (upgrading a Dell means replacing everything ). The last few Dells Ive seen use the ducting method which require a higher-current fan solution and hence they would place the appropraite trace widths on the mobo. But the rest of the 98% mobo market doesnt allow such considerations. Lets face it. The people who use non-standard fans in thier machines are also the people who get certain motherboards and build themselves. The main target for mobo manufacturers for this customer base concetrate on over-clocking and peripheral features. They are wise enough to know that if the end-user so wishes to use non-standard fans in thier machine, they tend to power them directly through the PSU molex and hence dont bother with the difficult task of making thick PCB traces to accomodate the high-current necessary to run these fans.

 

Delta fans....they're the s**t!!

I agree with Hazer here. The main reason why I think Delta fans have this reputation of sounding like "vacuum cleaners" is because almost every PC store that stocks Delta fans only stock the EHE variety, which are the noisiest and most powerful of the FFB Deltas.

But did you realize that most FFB Delta fan sizes come in four power flavors?! Starting with the slowest: HHE (high high), VHE (very high), SHE (super high), EHE (extremely high....I'm not making this up, honest). Each is gradually more powerful (and more noisey) than the last.....so a 80mm HHE is as noisey as the average case fan.

I have a 92mm HHE and a 92mm EHE for use on CPU heatsinks. The 92mm EHE can shift a serious amount of air, it's like sticking your head out of a car window whilst travelling at 40mph! But it is noisey!

I currently use the 92mm HHE on a Swiftech MCX462-V to cool an Athlon 2800. The fan is controlled and powered through an Akasa Fan Controller Pro. It's running at 2500rpm instead of it's max of 3100rpm and I can barely hear it above my case fans. Resulting CPU temps (case 26^o): 39^o idle, and 43^o load. It's doing the job it was made for!

A word of warning: if you ever own a FFB Delta fan, do resist the hypnotic urge to stick a pencil/body part/screwdriver/live creature into its finger chopping blades whilst it's on!!!

 

I'm sold! Where can I get one/ten?
Here kitty!

 

Hopefully you're buying one for cooling and not torturing (I happen to like cats). The best place in the world for buying FFB Delta fans is www.sidewindercomputers.com! There's a whole store section dedicated to Deltas! Gary Stofer runs the place, he's a very friendly and helpful guy, and he'll ship parts to the UK any way you desire....surface mail, airmail, etc (I recommend USPS Global Priority Airmail). He even accepts Paypal.

Even with basic airmail shipping the fans are way cheaper than what you'd pay for in the UK. Just compare the price of the Delta 80mm EHE at Sidewinder Computers to the price at Overclockers.co.uk. Almost half the price, no thanks to a weak Dollar to the Pound though. Gonna be buying some more parts myself from Sidewinder very soon!