****, guys, this just has to be my luck. So I got all the parts I needed to set up the 120mm fan mod on the turbo cool 510, so I went and set everything up. I powered on the PC, and WOOOW!!! It was so quiet!!! Almost inaudible!! The loudest component was the hard drive, which is considered to be a quiet one, the seagate 7200.8 series.
Anyway, I kick back and prepare to enjoy my newfound silence with a heavy overclock and very high end parts to boot.
But that was not part of the plan for me, appearntly. All of a sudden, the PC just shut off without warning (note: from boot to shut off was about 5 minutes total). I tried to power it on, and nothing. I waited a few minutes and tried again, and it did turn on, only to shut off again a few minutes later. I though I must have knocked a heatsink loose somewhere or forgot to plug in a fan. I checked and triple checked everything -- no problems, everything was good.
Now let me give a bit of background on how I did the 120mm fan mod. To be able to screw anything on to the outside of the power supply, there must be an 80mm fan in it, because there are no screw sockets on the actual PSU, the ones it's fan are used. So I took an 80mm fan and cut out the actual fan leaving the empty "chassis" of the fan. I put that in the power supply so I could secure the adapter on it. This worked, but it turned out the adapter was to close to the power supply and made it impossible to plug the power cord into it. So I had to take another 80mm fan, cut out the actual fan part and attach this chassis to the adapter, to move it further back from the PSU. This worked and I could now plug in the power cord.
Well, after the shut-off incident, I examined my handiwork carefully and noticed it was not a sealed apparatus -- air could escape within the adapter and 80mm fan chassis' before it actually reached the PSU. So I took electrical tape, and made 100% sure all gaps and openings were totally sealed off, inside and out. Then when I hooked up the 120mm fan, I put electrical tape around the area where the fan met the adapter, just to make sure I was thorough.
Time to test this whole thing again. I powered on the PC, and what do you know, it still shut off after a few minutes. This was seriously annoying, there was really nothing else I could do to make this work. And here's the really stupid part. The fan I had inside the PSU before the 120mm mod was some 80mm AeroCool rated for 26db and 38cfm. It worked without shutting off and was MODERATELY quiet. The 120mm fan I used was a Scythe S-FLEX, rated at 20dB and 49cfm. Not only was it a reputable fan maker, (unlike AeroCool), but it pushed MORE air!! And yet, the PSU overheats and shut off with it, but not the AeroCool.
Not only was this mod a complete failure, but one of the 80mm fans I cut up to use was the AeroCool, so I could not reuse it. After some digging around I found an 80mm panaflo fan. As luck would have it, the fan is rated at an almost inaudible 40dBA. It pushes 46cfm of air. So now the only fan I have that works without shutting off, is this one, and it sounds like a *****ing leaf blower!!!!! I can't even enjoy my music with this thing buzzing in the background
At this point I got very fed up and ordered this power supply:
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817139001
It should be very nice, it is highly praised on SPCR for it's features, quality and silence. And it has a 5-year warranty and a 120mm fan STOCK (which is controlled by how much load is on the PSU). And it's rated power level is 520w continuous output at 50 deg.C. Every review I have read, it has voltages that stand still like a rock no matter what the load. The specs, warranty, and reviews actually put it above the PCP&C turbo-cool 510, which I am hesitant to believe, but I guess I will find out. Only problem? Won't be here until the 22nd. I will be all weekend and then some with this *****ing leaf blower of a fan, and be unable to enjoy any music during this time.
Just goes to show you my luck.
