Vantec Aeroflow (please help)

(sorry this is such a long post, if you don't care about my story and just want the question, skip down to the paragraph starting with "My question is...")

I recently put together my new computer and have been waiting for weeks to get a new heatsink so I can finally overclock it. Today I recieved the Vantec Aeroflow from googlegear for $29, free 2nd day shipping so naturally I couldn't wait to get it in my system and finally get a decent OC on my 2500 barton.

After finally getting the heatsink on and everything put back together (I had to take the mobo out cause I just couldn't get the old one off) I hit the power button with the case still open to see if everything is ok, and to my surprise, the YS Tech TMD fan on it worked for a total of about 10 seconds. I immediately turned the computer back off so as not to fry the chip.

Now, I REALLY don't feel like waiting a week or so get autorization and pay shipping to send the peice of junk heatsink back to googlegear, so I decided I would try to fix it myself because when I tried to spin the fanwheel there was obviously something in there keeping it from spinning freely cause it would barely move. So, I take off the TMD fan, and sure enough there is something rattling around in there that wasn't there before. I take off the casing for the fan and shake it around a little and the little rattling part that came off is actually a little glass electronic something about the size of an ant and it looks like the connections just broke off (I can take pics later if anyone is interested). So I put the casing back on and plug it back into the power source, since it now moves freely and it still doesn't work. I didn't think it would work since something obviously broke off the little circuit board on it, but hey, it was worth a try.

So, I decide that the fan is dead, but it's still a good heatsink so maybe I could just buy a new fan for it for near the price of shipping the stupid thing back to get it exchanged. So, I go to the crappy local computer store and they have absolutely NO fans that are 70mm and could fit, so I just get an 80mm thermaltake smartfan II that has about 20cfm more than the bundled YS Tech fan that broke. There are no other stores that sell computer fans around here and I refuse to pay like 6 bucks shipping on a freakin 10 dollar fan (plus I don't want to wait for it to arrive before I can boot up my system again). I figure there's got to be some way to fit the fan onto the heatsink, it doesn't have to be pretty, or permanent, but I just want something that will work till I can get a new fan on that thing.

My question is... can anyone think of a way to fit a 80mm fan on top of a heatsink with screws for a 70mm fan, with things found around the house? I really would like to use my computer again and I would have to take apart the whole thing to fit the AMD stock heatsink back on it.

by the way... this probably goes without saying, but I DO NOT recomend any YS Tech TMD fan to go on your heatsink, I had heard stories about them just stopping working but figured it was just a few defective ones and wouldn't happen to me, but after my experience, I just would not trust one of those peices of junk to protect something as important as my chip.

oh-oh I got one of'em
Where did you hear stories? Links?


_____________________
2100+ AIUHB 0248
256MB Crucial PC2100 + 2x 256MB Kingston (Hynix chip) PC2100 @ 6 3 3 2
[152] FSB x 15 = 2280 MHz @ 1.8 Vcore with memory frequency at 100% [152] @ 2.77 Vdimm
37(min) C to 46(max) C Winter
42(min) C to 50(max) C Summer
Epox 8RDA+
Thermalright SK-7 with variable speed 80x25mm YS-Tech FD1281259B-2F
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I just heard a few tales like mine from the newegg reviews of the vantec aeroflow http://secure.newegg.com/app/CustratingReview.asp?item=35-110-007

It uses the 70mm version though, you may not have probs with the 80mm, but after having a component from the circuit board just fall off after 10 seconds of use, I don't trust YS tech TMD fans to even move air in my case.

ok, that was a bad idea... I attached the 80mm fan pretty firmly but the second I boot the system up, the temps jump to like 70c in bios reading so I shut it off... I guess I'm going back to stock heatsink and will have to RMA the aeroflow

Just use some tape or stainless steel wire.

If you use a spacer between the fan the heatsink, you will probably get better performance. At least 1" would do, but more is better. Also make sure the area between the heatsink and fan is sealed (like a duct). This will help eliminate the dead airflow spot directly below the fan hub. Since the aeroflow has a copper core, eliminating the dead spot can have a noticeable impact on cooling performance.

Man, I love my Vantec areoflow (I'm lucky. Everything works fine.) Why don't you try blowing on the heatsink. Untill you passout it should work just fine. J/k. Get any kinda fan an somehow hang or attach it to the heatsink. It should be simple. I bet you could even hang a fan from the top of you case with some sort of wire and glue/tape/super glue/ combo.

Alright, I just realized that I was looking at the degrees in F and not the degrees in C. When I wired on the 80mm fan, I freaked out and took it off when I saw 80 something degrees in the BIOS. So I guess the fan did work after all cause 80F isn't that bad, but it's too late now, I already put the stock heatsink on and I'm going to RMA it tomorrow.

I did however have an interesting idea. Do you think it would work if I created an air-tight duct about an inch or so long and hooked a 120 mm fan to it with 100+cfm, rather than using the TMD fan that comes with it, which I now don't trust? Do you think it might even perform better with similar noise?

Hi there and welcome to the forums.

This question would probably get a better response in the cooling section.

Yes ducting large fans down to a smaller sink works quite well if the duct/adapter isn't one of those that more or less just blanks off the fan. There are some PVC drainage pipe fittings that peiople have used, also a rather novel idea has been to use a coke bottle, one of the waisted 1Litre or 2litre bottles, those make quite a nice duct because the shape is almost exactly what an engineer would design in such a situation, a kind of venturi.

Sonny built one and called it a "velocity stack" unfortunately his pics seem to have expired off the forums, but I'm sure if you PM him and ask nicely he'll be able to dig some up for you.

regards,

Road Warrior