Forum

Message:

Subject: replacing CPU fan
By: Rob Bunting (IP: 69.213.137.*)
Written on: 28-02-2005 09:22

Hi, I'm currently replacing a dead processor fan on an old IBM Aptiva 2138-e96 (for my 3 year old to use for CD-ROM games). The problem I am having is that the original fan is a 2 wire fan (black, red) that has a 5 pin connector on the end (3 pins not used) that plugs into the motherboard. The replacement fan I got (an Intel) is a 3 wire fan (black, green, yellow) that has a 3 pin connector on the end. How do I jury rig this thing so that I can plug it into the motherboard connector? Do I even need the third wire? How do I find out if the fan/motherboard even has the ability to track processor temperature (which is what I assume the 3rd wire is for)?

I need help!

Replies:

By: Rob Bunting (IP: 69.213.137.*)
Written on: 28-02-2005 09:23

....forgot to mention that this is a PII (333MHz) CPU, if it matters.

-Rob

By: Tillmann (IP: 83.121.39.*)
Written on: 28-02-2005 12:58

Hi,

since the old fan only had two wires, the system does not have RPM monitoring capabilities. But that's no problem. Even if the new fan comes with 3 wires, one of them is optional. You only need to connect the red and black wire, the same way the red and black wires of the old fan were connected. Of course you won't get RPM monitoring, but the fan itself will work fine.

See http://www.heatsink-guide.com/connector.shtml for details on the fan connector. Also, check if the new fan has the same voltage as the old one - there's a 99% chance hat both are 12V, so no problem. But some obscure older systems use 5V fans.

bye,
Till