| RavenBlog |
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| Comments on Wednesday 21 April 2004: |
| Tsk. A laptop component dies. The video chip cooling fan, specifically. According to conversation in the Dell forums, Dell won't sell the part, instead insisting that one purchase a whole new graphics chip. One Dell person said in the forum that "any fan will do", which I'm pretty sure is a lie, since, to take an example at random, the fan in my desktop machine is thicker than the entire laptop, and a full-sized office pedestal fan is significantly larger. I couldn't, in fact, find anyone citing a fan that would function as an alternative to "MOTHR-1024-C" or possibly "SUNON GM0503PEB1-8" or maybe neither of those, since I wasn't able to get any sort of firm part number or description or anything, and I think those two are CPU fans for various Inspirons, not GPU fans. Perhaps I'm going to have to open the machine up just to find out what the part is that I need. There were also lots of links, including Dell's own site-search, which, when being supposed to go to an Inspiron 8500 service manual, went to a very helpful page which informed me that "the page you requested is not available". Outside of the Dell site, I at least found instructions which should be adequate for the required operation, as they Upgrade the Video Card on an Inspiron 8500/8600. I suppose there's also a possibility that I don't even need a replacement part - I might just need to clean out the fan, or re-connect it. It'd be nice if it were that easy. If I disappear for a thousand years, you'll know why. A magical curse, or nuclear vaporisation. [07:59] |
| RavenBlack |
| The correct part number, it turns out, is AB3505HB-QB3. Finding the "ADDA" company who makes the fan reveals that this is a 35x35x7mm high-speed ball-bearinged fan with a speed sensor. That one can't buy. Time to go looking for some other 35x35x7mm fans with speed sensors, then. |
| RavenBlack |
| And 5 volt. |
| Kanada Ten |
| Sunon Inc. GB0535ADB1-8 OC Blower, DC, Brushless, 35x35x7mm, 5 VDC, CFM 1.6 $16.370 through Allied Electronics. I don't know if it has a "speed sensor" because the damn PDF isn't loading, but I would think that is just a feedback loop for amperes. |
| RavenBlack |
| Mm, not so useful with me being in Australia, though. |
| James |
| Laptop cooling fan Another is needed soon Dell won't sell the part. I have no idea why your blog inspired haiku. Maybe I'm just weird. James |
| AttackOfTheSpam |
| Part numbers, I often find, are a bit like having just one diamond earring; they're so very difficult to match. Though they are a bit less expensive. And less sparkly. I'm sorry. My dad's been trying to match an earring he had in high school so that he can give the pair to my mother for Mother's Day. He thinks it would be sweet. I think it's a tad bizarre, but then they ARE my parents. |
| RavenBlack |
| Having tried asking my local computer shop whether they could order a suitable part (no) and tried finding anywhere in Australia that sells such things (no), I ended up buying from Allied Electronics as suggested by Kanada Ten. I'd found similar in other places, but that one, at least, does ship to Australia, albeit after charging $25 for the $16.37 part (minimum charge $25 and they didn't have anything else I wanted), and with annoying refusing to tell me the shipping charge until after I've placed the order. Indeed, not even telling me *after* I've placed the order, which is a bit naff. Still, surely the shipping charge isn't as much as the difference between new fan and whole new graphics card. |
| Kanada Ten |
| I hope not. Probably looking at 66$ postal. How much /would/ the graphics card have cost? Allied is an industrial supplier - naturally the last place I checked. |
| RavenBlack |
| New graphics card would've been $150 apparently. Not sure it'll be as much as $66 - I asked for US postal service rather than FedEx or UPS (either of which would have been a little over $50). Presumably USPS is cheaper than the alternatives for something so small. |
| Kanada Ten |
| Indeed. http://ircalc.usps.gov/speed.asp?Country=Australia&Pounds=1&Ounces=0&cmdSubmit=Continue&Contents=1 |
| RavenBlack |
| Asking the USPS website, if they use the most silly expensive option (Global Express Guaranteed Non-document Service) it's $48. Global Express Mail, which I suspect would be the one they use, is $17. Everything else (except, bizarrely, surface/economy at $21.50) is cheaper than that. |
| RavenBlack |
| Tsk. I posted first, as well. Me and my silly ordering by who *starts* to post first, rather than by who actually posts first. My numbers were slightly different than those in the link because I said a tiny tiny fan and packaging weighs 2 ounces, rather than a pound. |
| Kanada Ten |
| Ah, but it's being packaged by Americans. I thought a pound was on the light side. *Shrug* Still adds up to between 45 and 73 dollars. I really hope it works. |
| RavenBlack |
| Shipping was $24.70 in the end, it seems (which I suppose includes packaging and customs and insurance and stuff). And the fan is on its way, hoorah. |
| JC |
| Hi all I found another place to order the fan: http://www.digikey.com/ |
| BW |
| American Science and Surples has them for $2.95 each. http://sciplus.com/category.cfm?subsection=18&category=175 |
| RavenBlack |
| Oh, I forgot to mention that the fan didn't fit, in the end, because the motherboard requires a fan that size with one corner missing. Also, the ones linked by BW are all 12V or more, not 5V. |