CPU Fan Upgrade for XC-830-UW91 First can you confirm the dimensions of this fan

CEG
CEG Member Posts: 7

Tinkerer

edited November 2022 in Aspire and Veriton Desktops

I just bought this little machine and I kind of like it. It's not terrible, but I would like to replace the little CPU fan with maybe a Noctua or some other really quiet one. First can you confirm the dimensions of this fan and are you aware of a quieter fan that fits it?

[Edited the thread to add the issue detail]

Answers

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 31,436 Trailblazer

    Look very carefully at the height that's available above the CPU. Your case is pretty slim, so you might not have enough clearance even for the Noctua. Remember quieter really means 'moves less air'. Since the CPUs are soldered in Acer only provides the fan and heat sink as a part of the motherboard. It should be the standard size for the Gemini Lake processors.

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 9,687 Trailblazer
    edited November 2022

    Dont know if you can get any aftermarket cpu cooler for the Intel Celeron J4125 Socket FCBGA1090 cpu? Noctua don't make one so search around as I can't find one.

    XC-830 Intel Celeron J4125 Socket FCBGA1090 cpu and its cooler


  • CEG
    CEG Member Posts: 7

    Tinkerer

    Thanks for the replies. I decided to order a Noctua fan and will make it work. The size is close, a little taller. The system can run pretty well with the fan unplugged, so I can make it work. I have a SFF 5050 Optiplex with a reasonably quiet CPU fan, but with an annoying buzz. I jerry-rigged a whisper quiet Noctua fan over the CPU that solves the noise issue and keeps it just as cool. The 5050 is not great at cooling, but I am running the janky setup with a GT 1030 graphics card and the system is running just fine. I don't mind MacGyvering a system to get what I want. This little box is what a little mini would be if it had more upgrade options and better cooling. I'm running a GT 710 card in it. Can't do that with a low-end Celeron NUC. 😀 Thanks again.

  • CEG
    CEG Member Posts: 7

    Tinkerer

    Fan upgrade complete. Noctua fan fits perfectly with og screws from PC. Whisper quiet. Inaudible with ear to vented side panel of case. I had been running fanless for several days with no problems with cooling. The fan will lower the overall experience a few degrees. Seems like for once a simple upgrade worked!


  • CEG
    CEG Member Posts: 7

    Tinkerer

    edited December 2022

    To keep the record straight: After noticing CPU temps were remaining kind of consistent with what I had been seeing with no fan, I decided to join the camp of people who think a fan should blow into the fins of the cooler and not away. I reasoned that it makes sense that if you cool the cooler you might cause more heat be attracted to the cooled heatsink.

    Turns out, one reason the fan was so quiet was because ..... it wasn't turning! 😉 I am certain it was turning when I first installed it but when I opened the box it would only twitch once when I plugged it in but acted as if it were somehow binding. It was not.

    I peeled off one set of the rubber sound dampening feet on one side of the Noctua and put them on the OG Cooler Master fan and reinstalled the OG fan. The feet might be having some effect but the buzzing hum is back. I only bought this because I saw it at BestBuy was was amazed how quiet it was and how kind of interesting the system is with its tiny CPU cooler. Later, I found it refurbished in like new condition at the Acer eBay store for 99.00 and 12 percent off that, so I bought it just for fun. Absolutely new condition. I figure the ambient noise at BestBuy was masking the noise of the CPU fan.

    The OG fan is just a dumb fan that runs at the same speed all the time, so it is what it is.

  • CEG
    CEG Member Posts: 7

    Tinkerer

    edited December 2022

    Further tinkering reveals the Noctua can be made to spin when connected to the board but only with an assisted finger spin to get it started. It is likely it might run intermittently. Closer look shows OG fan at .16 amps and the Noctua at .05. Not really knowing I would wonder if that could be the problem. There is some kind of incompatibility.

    I have after some more messing with the fans come up with a compromise. The Noctu fan comes with a short inline low noise adapter cable that limits the voltage to the fan I think. It occurred to me, why not use that with OG Cooler Master fan to slow it down and make it quieter. That definitely does work and made a little difference in the OG fan's noise level, while still being an effective cooler.

    Now, I have upgrades the GT 710 to a GT 1030 (max 30 watts) which the machine handles just fine. I can play games like FarCry2, Half-Life2, and Halo-SPV3 at full 1080P. The machine is really kind of impressive for what it is. Even with the 1030 I never see higher than about 55C temps and 35C when typing this note, for example, with several windows open. In truth this Pentium CPU can easily run fanless and having a 40MM fan is for the most part belt and suspenders in my opinion. It's not an i core, it has a real heatsink over it and it's in a relatively roomy metal box with decent air flow and not crowded into a tiny box as it would be if it were a NUC.

    I recommend this little PC, though it is becoming somewhat dated. I does quality for Win/11 and I have it running a NVME and 16 gigs of ram, so performance might vary.