Customer Reviews

Antec TriCool 92mm DBB Case Fan with 3-Spd Switch 3/4-Pin & 3-Pin Monitoring

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We have a Dell Dimension 8100 (desktop machine), which is notorious for its CPU fan. For whatever reason, Dell used a proprietary 3-pin motherboard connector for the fan. When the fan starts going out, it gets really loud, but the part is out of stock. Disconnecting the stock fan from the motherboard means that on every boot, you get a beep and have to hit "F1" to bypass the missing fan.

Antec to the rescue.

This fan (TriCool 92mm) ships with a 3-pin connector and a Y-adapter. The Y-Adapter allows you to get power from a large power-supply socket, like the kind a hard drive uses. The other branch of the adapter goes to a 3-pin connector with a white fan sense pin.

To use this fan to replace the Dell Dimension 8100 fan:

* Disconnect the existing CPU fan from the motherboard, noting which pin is connected to the white wire. This is the fan sense pin.

* Using pliers, carefully remove the plastic sheath on the motherboard fan pins.

* Using the Y-adapter, connect the Antec to a power supply socket.

* Using other branch of the cable, with the white wire to a 3-pin plug, connect ONLY the wired pin to the fan sense pin on the motherboard.

The Dell will then detect the new fan and bypass the warning message.

As a bonus, this fan moves more air on its high setting than the stock fan did.

Easy to install. Has both the fan speed sensor and a power plug. Quiet. 3 speeds for RPM (rotations per minute) 1200, 1600, and 2200 corresponding to CFM (cubic feet per minute) or 21, 28 and 38 and corresponding to dBA (decibels/sound) of 15, 21 and 27.

This is an excellent cooling fan - quiet, easy to install - make sure you get the double ball-bearing version - like this - there is a cheaper version available without the bearings.

Great product... I got 2 units for my 680i based Intel Core 2 Duo system!

The Antec 92MM FAN is great for individuals that are looking for a variable speed fan which can be increased or decreased to balance cooling and sound levels.

I purchased this item for our ~3-year old HP Pavilion a1730n. The HP store wanted to sell me something for ~$50; ~$11 sounds better to me. It was an easy install (no instructions, but it's pretty obvious how it goes into the case). The fan runs whisper quiet.

One thing about my motherboard: the BIOS doesn't seem to have any fan settings in it, so the three-pin connector actually didn't work for me. That said, the 4-pin power and the speed adjuster work great.

Due to it's size, I was worried it was going to be louder than my previous fans. This was definately not the case. After purchasing 3 fans I am finally satisfied with this...

I have an old Dell Dimension 8100 that sounded like a tractor. After researching online, I found that this fan was a working replacement for the stock Dell fan. After following the instructions from an earlier post here on Amazon, I was able to remove the existing fan, modify the part on the motherboard, and install the new fan. (Caution, take care when removing the plastic sheath, as it's difficult to remove and I almost damaged the pins on the motherboard when removing). Now, everything works fine and my computer sounds the quietest it's ever been. A cheap and easy upgrade and a must have for old Dell Dimension users!

Seriously, I must have looked at 40 or so different fans before settling on this one. WHY, you may ask? Well, for me, I am not a hard-core gamer, but wanted to be able to use my 'heavily modded for recording' Dell for a game if I so choose in the future. THIS fan sold me pretty much because of it's ability to hook it directly to your power supply WITH a separate switch to manually control fan speed. -Whoever thought of this one deserves some serious kudos. I have the 92mm fan which attached directly to my rear grill with ease. If you have a Dimension 5150, say, or similar case, (pre-measure the grill opening inside to get your dimensions right ;) and need an exhaust fan, this will work great. For my install, I was able to use 2 of the 4 self-tapping screws -of which, you will want to pre-thread before getting it into your case as a very small amount of plastic can shed during this process.. true with all fans of this nature, but doing so will prevent said plastic from getting in other areas or mucking up video card fans, etc... :) Also for my install, I just placed 1/4" squares of 1/8" thick adhesive foam insulation between the fan housing (at all 4 corners and center) and case to help with any case noise. The end result was perfect. -like, absurdly perfect. I am not a computer tech and honestly the thought of modding my case seemed a bit ambitious.. until I popped it open and started reading. haha.. so easy. And fun.. anyway, I have a total of 4 fans in my machine now including the one for my video card and all is appropriately (and very) quiet. Very happy. The switch is perfect for those who just need a bit of flow thru your case without wanting to have a fan pinned at its max setting when no other power source is available other than your P.supply. And if more air flow is needed, just pop your case open and move it up a notch. :) This fan is also the double bearing version. Excellent price. Great product.

I don't know why Dell decided to to go with an unusual connector for their computers fans, but this is a fairly easy replacement. I followed the instructions given by the other reviewers and now my old, loud Dell fan is gone and I have a quiet Antec fan instead. I set the fan speed to "medium".

For my noisy Dell Dimension 8400 3GHz, I actually use the lowest speed of the fan for about 2 month now. It is probably 95% quieter than before. I barely notice the noise unless it is a quite night. But it took some work to cut the wires and put my old fan's 4-pin connector to the new fan - only need to connect 3 of the 4 pins.