This mod was performed at http://homepage.mac.com/tracer302/bluecube/PhotoAlbum24.html and creates a cooler cube by installing a new fan.
80mm Panasonic Panaflo Fan Installation
Disclaimer: This
page is for reference information only. I am not responsible
for any damage you
cause to yourself or your computer.
This mod I think, by far is the most popular to perform to
the cube for numerous reasons.
Althought the cube is made to be convection cooled, adding a fan
should help to prolong
the life of the cube. Apple even included a 80mm fan bracket at
the bottom of the cube for
future models which would not be cooled sufficiently by convection
cooling. It would also
be wise to add a cooling fan if performing additional mods to
the cube such as an upgraded
video card, faster hard drive, processor overclocking, etc.
I chose the Panasonic Panaflo fan based on research and suggestions
by forum
members and the FAQ at cubeowner.com
and cube-zone.com. Both
of these sites are
excellent for any cube owner, I highly suggest them both. Another
site I highly
recommend is xlr8yourmac.com.
The fan runs at 2000rpm and is pretty quiet, it's a bit
louder than my hard drive which is surprisingly quiet(Maxtor 5400
rpm 40GB). In a
future project, I will be installing a resister inline to reduce
the power to the fan to about
9v(normally 12v) and hopefully bring the noise level at or below
my hard drive.
There are two ways to power the fan, one is relatively easy
and the other can be quite
challenging(only soldering the connector terminals is actually
hard). The first method
involves drawing power from the optical drive with a y-cable splitter.
The second method
invovles soldering tiny and I mean really tiny connector terminals
to the fan wire ends
which come bare and plugging that into the dc to dc power board
connector. I actually
used the second method even though it is more difficult because
I'm already drawing
optical drive power for Project:
BlueCube(technically I could tap power from there also,
but why not use where apple intended the fan to get power from).
I will be showing both
methods so you can see the difference between the two.
In my installation I used only two screws to secure the fan
to the fan bracket. Installing
all four screws requires more work and in my opinion is not necessary.
Even the
PowerLogix processor upgrade procedure uses only two screws to
secure the fan.
Here are the parts necessary for the fan mod:
Method 1
- 1 Panasonic Panaflo 80mm*15mm fan(Available from digikey.com
part number P9732-ND)
- 1 Y-Adapter Power Cable for 5 1/4" Disk Drive(Available
from RadioShack.com part number 278-766B)
- 2 Stainless steel screws 6x32x3/4(Available from Home Depot
part number 127948)
Method 2
- 1 Panasonic Panaflo 80mm*15mm fan(Available from digikey.com
part number P9732-ND)
- 1 strip of 10 connector terminal ends(Also from digikey.com
part number WM1775-ND)
- 1 connector, maybe 2 just in case(digikey.com part number
WM1720-ND)
- 2 Stainless steel screws 6x32x3/4(Available from Home Depot
part number 127948)
On the stainless steel screws see praxxus.com/cubefan
for more information, scroll down about half way.
Tools need for the mod(tools may vary depending on method used):
- Torx 8 Screwdriver
- Torx 10 Screwdriver
- Philips Screwdrive
- Flat Screwdriver
- Wire Strippers
- Soldering Iron
- Solder
- Electrical Tape
Lets get started:
Remove cube from enclosure and place as shown
Open the Airport card door by pushing the latch as
indicated by the green arrow, swings open as shown
Now grab and pull up on the foxconn label to disconnect
hard drive cable
Carefully pry the hard drive power connector off, pry
BOTH sides a little bit at a time until it comes free
Position cube as shown and remove 4 top cover screws
Turn cube and remove side top cover screws on both
sides, note center screw length
Remove top cover and unplug power switch connector
as shown in red circle
Note orientation of power switch connector when putting
back together
Now remove side posts indicated by red
arrows by pull up, do the same for the optical drive cover
Here's what is looks like with those removed
Now remove 4 optical drive screws 2 on each side
Now carefully side drive up and unplug the data and
power cables
Hold drive by the corners ONLY
Here's with the optical drive removed
Remove hard drive mount/heat sink by loosening 3 torx-8
screws as indicated by the red arrows
Set heat sink aside and side hard drive out to the
left
Here's with the hard drive removed
Here's where the fan will reside
Speaking of the fan, here it is
Now here's time to chose method 1 or method 2
Method 1
Here's the y-adapter power cable from radioshack.com
Install fan label up, route wiring toward optical
drive
Secure the fan with two screws(left one shown here,
right side the same)
I used different screws then specified by www.praxxus.com/cubefan
because I had some that worked laying around from an
old R/C cars.
Plug optical drive power cable in the y-splitter
Here's a closer picture
Here's the other end of the splitter
One end will plug back into the optical drive and the
other will be used to power the fan
Here's a closer view, note power voltage output 12v
and 5v
Both grounds in the middle, the fan will be using the
12v output and a ground
Here's a side view of the connector with the power
output for better clarity
Cut off both the 12v power and grounds off the splitter
connector and butt connect or solder to
the fan's positive(red) and ground
Reinstall optical drive, while carefully routing wires
Tuck all wires into the space between the optical drive
and hard drive as shown
Finished wiring install should look like this, but
less blurry ;)
Put the cube all back together and enjoy your cooler
cube!
Method 2
Head over to www.cubeowner.com/fan_molex/
and follow the detailed instructions on how to solder and the
fan connector on to the wire.
I would have liked to keep this install all on one
page, but I couldn't possible explain it any better, the author
did a phenominal job.
After soldering the connector ends on, here's where
it will plug in
Please note that I removed the video card for this
picture, so it may look a little different.
Here's a nice close up
Install the fan
Route to power wire like this
Then plug it into the power board should fit nice and
snug with a click when seated properly
Tuck wires into the cube's chassis like this
Secure the fan with two screws(left one shown here,
right side the same)
I used different screws then specified by www.praxxus.com/cubefan
because I had some that worked laying around from an
old R/C cars.
Make sure no wires are getting crimped or schaffed,
put it all back together and enjoy your new cooler cube :)
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