d8b Forum

Any newer/better d8b community knowledge out there about quiet replacement CPU fans, or is what's in the d8b database still pretty solid? Any personal experiences here with swapping out fans? The d8b fan noise has become a real nuisance. Similar issues with the HDR24/96. Thanks.

Have you done the Zalman fan mod on the d8b?

As far as the HDR is concerned, Mike Rivers' mod in his book is about the best you can hope for after purchasing a new fan.

Peter

anyhorizon wrote:Have you done the Zalman fan mod on the d8b?

As far as the HDR is concerned, Mike Rivers' mod in his book is about the best you can hope for after purchasing a new fan.

Peter

Hi Peter,

No, I haven't modified any of the fans in either the d8b or the HDR yet. I was wondering if there were any newer/better recommendations out there cuz I only want to do this fan replacement job once. Sounds like the Zalman is still the preferred replacement fan for the HDR...

One idea would require a mod to the chassis cover (either d8b or HDR) to cut a great big new hole, but I really like the huge CoolerMaster fan Jim Rosenberry put in the top cover of my rack-mount DAW CPU. I can barely hear the thing.

bitSync wrote:

anyhorizon wrote:Have you done the Zalman fan mod on the d8b?

As far as the HDR is concerned, Mike Rivers' mod in his book is about the best you can hope for after purchasing a new fan.

Peter

Hi Peter,

No, I haven't modified any of the fans in either the d8b or the HDR yet. I was wondering if there were any newer/better recommendations out there cuz I only want to do this fan replacement job once. Sounds like the Zalman is still the preferred replacement fan for the HDR...

One idea would require a mod to the chassis cover (either d8b or HDR) to cut a great big new hole, but I really like the huge CoolerMaster fan Jim Rosenberry put in the top cover of my rack-mount DAW CPU. I can barely hear the thing.

The Zalman is for the d8b, not the HDR. The HDR can't accommodate it. Mike Rivers outlined a way to safely lower the speed of the CPU fan in the HDR and thus, lower the noise, in his book, "The Last Mackie HDR Manual" or something like that. Just a zener diode IIRC. The thing about the fans that sit on top of the CPU is that the cowling, over time, warps from the heat and it's the blades scraping against the cowling that causes the outboard motor effect. There are some higher quality fans out there. If "Quiet PC" is still in business, you will find some there.

Peter

Thanks, Peter. Yes, I meant the Zalman for the d8b, not the HDR.

I've got Mike's HDR book around here somewhere. I'll crack that open. Thanks.

Both my CPU fans were getting very noisy now and again so I took both my fans out of the d8b and the hdr,
Once out take the label off, there is a little white nylon circlip, take this off carefully and keep it safe, the fan will then come out.
on the shaft you will see the bearing housing, take this off,
clean all parts,( i used the same stuff i clean the heads on my tascam reel to reel, isopropyl alcohol, very cheap on ebay)
with a cotton bud,
i then sprayed wd40 onto the bearing housing and then pressed in petroleum jelly (vaseline) into the bearing sides for a while,
put a dab on the shaft put the bearing back on, then reassemble, after you have put the nylon circlip back on push some vaseline on to the top,then clean the bit of vaseline from top of the fan you just smeared on the top with isopropyl alcohol
put the lable (dust cap) back on,
hay presto both mine have been great since

Incasee you want a new one here are the photos
There are some on ebay if your looking for a new one, 50mm 12vdc 0.07A

I used an old Socket 7 replacement fan and Copper Heatsink combo to replace my CPU fan. Takes about 10 minutes to do. Nothing fancy, as height clearance can be an issue. You don't need anything huge, just working and quiet. I had more issues with the Power Supply fan than the CPU. I've found that once the Power supply fan warps, it take a moment or two for the fan housing to flex and flatten out. Usually becomes quiet after a few minutes. I haven't really wanted to take the PSU apart to deal with it yet, but the CPU fan issue is an easy replacement

Did the same as Axeman, take a cooling assembly for a more recent model - they dissipate far more heat than the originals(newer processors use 2-3 times more power than the one in the d8b), so you can safely lower the fan speed. The newer fan is anyways quieter, but when lowering the speed it can become practically inaudible. The only noise I hear from my CPU is the airflow through the ventilation holes, when the whole thing warms up and the PSU fan starts to work harder.

@synthjoe

Believe it or not, this is still on my to-do list. I've been integrating my d8b with BluAudio D8Bridge MCU emulator and Sonar X2, integrating a DAW monitor capability (Audient Centro), and some other stuff. But yesterday I heard the CPU fan motorboating - first time, and I've had the board for 10 years!

Thanks for the fan info update. I'll be cracking open the CPU case soon!