Jerky’s 92mm AX7 Mod

Bigger fan, less noise. — Jerky

Introduction

Recent forum discussions at AMDMB motivated me to seek out better performance on my AX7 heatsink while keeping dBAs low and somehow increasing RPMs/wind velocity. So my solution – a 92mm fan. It can spin faster while producing less noise! This mod takes about 1-2 hours.

The general idea is to make a fan-adapter that isn’t a funnel (these adapters cause too much back pressure and may actually reduce cooling effectiveness). This mod can also be applied to ANY heatsink that uses screws to mount the fan, and can be used with any size fan + heatink.

Materials

• 1 Sturdy thin metal or plastic (slot bracket, cookie tin, old plastic ruler)
• 4 AX7 Grommets
• 4 AX7 Screws
• 4 thin bolts
• 4 nuts for bolts (optional)
• 1 92mm fan

Tools

• Dremel with fibreglass reinforced cutting wheel
• Drill
• Screwdriver
• Duct tape (optional)
• Safety goggles

Before You Begin

This mod may not work in all motherboards! If your socket is too close to the back of the case or too close to the PSU, then the 92mm fan will not fit! Make sure to size it out first before starting.

In my case and with an IWill KK266+, I had to remove the exhuast fan and mount it on the outside of the case to ensure that this mod fits.

Step 1 – Make Metal Tabs

Using a Dremel, cut the metal into tabs measuring 2cm x 1cm. Make 4 of these.

Step 2 – Drill Holes Into Tabs

Along the length of a tab, drill 2 holes into it so that the holes are 1 cm apart. Do this for all 4 tabs.

Step 3 – Duct Tape The Tabs (Optional)

Duct tape the tabs completely to help reduce vibration noise. Use a screw to punch through the duct tape.

Step 4 – Shortening The AX7 Screws

CAUTION!! Make sure to wear eye protection as small pieces of metal and sparks will fly into the air.

The AX7 screws are too long and will come in contact with the motherboard PCB and components when doing this mod! Therefore, we need to shorten each AX7 screw. Use the Dremel and cut 7mm-10mm off the end/tip of each screw.

Step 5 – Put The AX7 Screws Through an End of Each Tab

Using an AX7 screw, put it though one hole of the tab. Repeat for all tabs.

Step 6 – Mount The Tabs Onto The AX7 Heatsink

Now mount the tabs using the screws onto the AX7 heatsink.

This is what it should look like from above with 4 tabs mounted.

Step 7 – Prepare the 92mm fan

Thread the bolts through the 92mm mounting holes. Thread the grommets at the end.

Step 8 – Mount the 92mm fan

Using the bolts, thread them through the remaining holes on each tab. If you have nuts for these bolts, then you can secure the fan into place. But depending on how tight the hole is, you may not need nuts at all (I didn’t need them).

Results

IWill KK266+
Duron 750MHz @ 1.0GHz

Note I’m using VCool to cool CPU during idle cycles. Therefore a uniform idle temp across all 4 results. I heated up the CPU by running Prime95 for 30 minutes. The in-socket thermal probe was used to measure temps.

SK6 w 31CFM, 29dBA, 5500RPM = 28 Idle / 38 Load (Fan brand: ThermalTake)

AX7 w 31CFM, 25dBA, 2300RPM = 28 Idle / 40 Load (Fan brand: Sunon)

AX7 w 37CFM, 32dBA, 3000RPM = 28 Idle / 38 Load (Fan brand: Cheng Home Electronic)

AX7 w 56CFM, 35dBA, 2850RPM = 28 Idle / 36 Load (Fan brand: ThermalTake)

Two Degree drop in temps! Not bad! A higher RPM fan will probably do a better job. For now, I’m content with my 92mm mod. It’s pretty quiet and I get solid temps on my overclock.

Please let me know if you do this mod and what results you get.

Good luck!

Jonathon Hung or find me at AMDMB Forums as “Jerky”