Replacing Pentium II CPU fan - could use some help...

[rlbuntin]

Hi, I have an old IBM Aptiva 2138-E96 that my 3 year old is using for educational games. I need to replace the CPU fan, which has gone bad.

The CPU is a Pentium II-333MHz. The motherboard is made by Acer, but both they and IBM have been of no help. My problem is this: the original fan is a two wire fan (red, black wires) that connects to a 5-pin connector on the motherboard (3 of the 5 pins are not used). The replacement fan (an Intel) is a three wire fan (green, yellow, black wires) that connects to a (different and more standard I'm told) 3 pin connector. I need to splice the 5 pin connector to 2 or 3 of the wires of the new fan to be able to use it. I assume that for the old fan the red wire is the power and the black wire is the ground. Any ideas what color wires on the new fan correspond to? I'm not sure if this motherboard supports CPU fan idle control, but I'm perfectly happy to let this small fan run full tilt all the time.

-Rob

[saphalline]

Welcome to the PC Guide forums!! :D

5 wire fan connector? Weird. Also weird is Intel's colored wires...

In any case, the green should be power, the black is ground (almost always thankfully), and the yellow is the rotational signal (apparently not needed on your Acer mobo). They should be in this order: black, green, yellow - correct?

[rlbuntin]

Thanks for info. Actually the wire order is green, black, yellow (black in middle, green and yellow on outsides). Does this make any difference?

[saphalline]

Oh right, I keep forgetting that CPU fans are different. Yes, black is still ground, green is power, yellow is rotational monitor. Yep, it still works! :D

[rlbuntin]

Thanks, I'll give it a go. I'll report back tomorrow.

[rlbuntin]

After a bunch of monkeying around, I finally got this thing to work. Turned out the yellow was the power rather than the green.

Just to confirm that I got this hooked up right, this CPU fan has a housing covering the fins, with openings at the sides (the short end of the CPU). The way it is running now it draws air in at the fan and it exhaust at the side openings. I imagine it probably doesn't make too much difference, but this made more sense to me than drawing in at the side openings and exhausting through the fan in the center. Am I correct?

-Rob

[saphalline]

The yellow was power? Ok then...

Yes, having the fan blow onto the heatsink is always the best method of cooling! Independent studies have confirmed that air blowing onto the heatsink is better, so I have no idea why some manufacturers continue to tell us that the other way is better. Whatever.

[rlbuntin]

Thanks for the help!
-Rob