Fan Replacement for EVGA 1000W P3

[setz3r]

Hi there, I'll try and keep this brief, I had a EVGA 1000W P2 for a full decade, it served me well, but I was having a LOT of issues with my RTX 3080TI GPU with crashes, after extensive testing of variables I considered that spikes in power draw from this chipset may be tripping my PSU, I reached out to EVGA to RMA it, and they swapped it out for a brand new sealed EVGA P3 on year 10 of my 10 year warranty, (shout out to EVGA for this incredible warranty service!)

Now for the bad news, after a few quick months, the fan on this P3 Power supply has a bearing issue, it makes this crunchy grindy sound, and although somewhat subtle, it drives me insane. I can send this one back (I have literally 17 days left on my warranty lol), but I have a feeling the manufacturer of these P3's is using a pretty cheap fan, and then when you add in the fact I need to ship this from ontario canada to california, which costed me about $50 CAD the first time I did it, I don't exactly want to pay that amount again, in hopes that I get a new fan that works, and for how long ?

It seems like a much more logical solution is to spend the money on a new fan, maybe $20, and be guaranteed a HQ fan in this PSU, my warranty is just about to end anyways. I've never opened a PSU before but it seems like its attached to the other end of the PSU for the most part, so it doesn't seem that difficult. When I search for advice on this topic all I get is "DON'T DO IT YOU CAN DIE", "ITS NOT WORTH IT" etc etc. And I get it, its dangerous and highly charged electrical components in there. But having said that, I really think this is the smart route to take. All I know so far is that the fan is a "135mm Fluid Dynamic Bearing" fan. Has anyone ever replaced something like that and can give me some advice about what fan to replace it with and if its that difficult to replace ? I feel like if I wear rubber gloves and unscrew 4 screws and remove one fan connecter, I could do a fan swap without going anywhere near anything that would harm me.

I figured I would ask here for a more sensible response than the reddit kids

If you think the better option is to spend $50 CAD to RMA it and pray I get one with a good functioning fan, I would accept that advice too. In my heart it just seems like putting a very good quality fan in there for half the price is a smarter option.

 

[Carlyle2020]

I just have to get the "don´t do it" out for legal reasons.

In theory:

Since the fan-curve/ power delivery is hardcoded and cannot be adapted to your new fan you risk that the new one runs slower, faster or with the wrong signalling method (pwm vs DC).
Most run with a DC signal as far as i know . Wrong power delivery results in : sometimes "rattling" / So you may end up where you startet.

First thing is to watch somebody else dismantle the psu to see where the capacitors are since some don´t look like the round tubes that we all have seen.
Then you need to not be a ground for electricity ! Death will be watching that prep closely.

What your are after is the middle sticker of the old fan with the specs printed on.
Take a picture and close the psu again since a replacement will likely come from Asia which takes a while.
Don´t think you cpu or case fans are better in general. Mostly they are better but fail sooner.

Research the specs of the old fan to order a similar one.

Last thing:
Don´t do it!
PSUs that are "good enough" aren´t that much more expensive than a really good fan.
And they will deliver power more smoothly, not shutting off that easily running nvidias unruly 3000gen GPUs.

 

[setz3r]

I just have to get the "don´t do it" out for legal reasons.

In theory:

Since the fan-curve/ power delivery is hardcoded and cannot be adapted to your new fan you risk that the new one runs slower, faster or with the wrong signalling method (pwm vs DC).
Most run with a DC signal as far as i know . Wrong power delivery results in : sometimes "rattling" / So you may end up where you startet.

First thing is to watch somebody else dismantle the psu to see where the capacitors are since some don´t look like the round tubes that we all have seen.
Then you need to not be a ground for electricity ! Death will be watching that prep closely.

What your are after is the middle sticker of the old fan with the specs printed on.
Take a picture and close the psu again since a replacement will likely come from Asia which takes a while.
Don´t think you cpu or case fans are better in general. Mostly they are better but fail sooner.

Research the specs of the old fan to order a similar one.

Last thing:
Don´t do it!
PSUs that are "good enough" aren´t that much more expensive than a really good fan.
And they will deliver power more smoothly, not shutting off that easily running nvidias unruly 3000gen GPUs.

I appreciate the reply, I thought the fan replacement would be much easier to find an equivalent. I may just suck up the cost and RMA it in the last 17 days I have now..... thanks.

 

[criccio]

I've seen this done 10's of times over the years. If you know what you're doing well enough to not hurt yourself, you usually just do it and don't have to ask.

If you have to ask... just RMA it.

 

[drutman]

Look up the part number on digikey site to see if there is an OEM replacement and please be careful.

140 mm Double Ball-Bearing Fan (HA1425M12B-Z) per TPU reviewer

https://www.digikey.com

 

[drutman]

 

[pendragon1]

i had a fan in my tt psu go, i just matched up the number of pins and jammed one i had on hand into it. been fine for going on 3 years....
id pop it open, check the model and see if you can find one, or one that is close to it.

 

[GotNoRice]

I've replaced the fans in plenty of units. In fact, there have been times when I've got PSUs basically for free because people didn't want to bother with replacing the fan. It's pretty trivial really.

Yes there is potential for danger but if you just take things slow, be careful, and use common sense, it shouldn't be a problem. Don't lick any capacitors or randomly probe around inside the unit with your screwdriver, etc.

In many cases, the fan power cables are soldered directly to the board. In those cases, I just cut the wires, leaving some length to them, and attach the new fan power cables to the old fan cables using crimp connectors. Example: https://www.amazon.com/ELECFUN-10-22AWG-Connectors-Insulated-Electrical/dp/B07G5W9PH1/

 

[vegeta535]

If you actually still have warranty for it then RMA. You will probably get a newer more modern PSU for a replacement.

 

[setz3r]

Thanks for the info guys, I never opened it up and decided to RMA it, it cost me $50 buck but whatever...

I've replaced the fans in plenty of units. In fact, there have been times when I've got PSUs basically for free because people didn't want to bother with replacing the fan. It's pretty trivial really.

Yes there is potential for danger but if you just take things slow, be careful, and use common sense, it shouldn't be a problem. Don't lick any capacitors or randomly probe around inside the unit with your screwdriver, etc.

In many cases, the fan power cables are soldered directly to the board. In those cases, I just cut the wires, leaving some length to them, and attach the new fan power cables to the old fan cables using crimp connectors. Example: https://www.amazon.com/ELECFUN-10-22AWG-Connectors-Insulated-Electrical/dp/B07G5W9PH1/

Appreciate the info, I feel pretty confident I could do it and your comment makes me feel even more so, but I would be much less enthusiastic about it if the fan connection was directly soldered to the board. And since I never opened it up, I'm not even sure how the fan was attached on my unit... if it messes up again on my return unit, I will definitely open it up because my (10 year!) warranty will be over for sure.

If you actually still have warranty for it then RMA. You will probably get a newer more modern PSU for a replacement.

That would be cool and all but they already did upgrade me from a P2 to a P3 just a few months ago, I can't imagine they would upgrade me past that? Also, I'm not even sure its much of an upgrade in the first place, the P2 was a known and respected Superflower unit I believe, and the P3 seems more unknown. I do know the fan on my old P2 never messed up once in 10 years and the fan on my P3 went bad in a mere few months. Which doesn't seem like a good sign...