Tech Tutorial: Replacing a Case Fan

If you've ever built your own PC before, than you know the importance of proper airflow and fan placement. Fans keep your system's critical components from overheating during normal operation, and especially during high-end gaming and other resource-intensive applications.

But what do you do if your case fan begins showing signs of failure? Where do you go to pick up a replacement? How is it installed? This brief tutorial will answers these questions and more.

Late last week, I discovered that my front case intake fan was on the verge of failing, so I knew it was time to replace it. I built my current rig about a year-and-a-half ago, and this is the first time I've had to replace any components. In the big scheme of things, though, fans are considered disposable parts that wear out after some period of time. Mine wasn't a high-end unit to start with, so I really can't complain too much.

Replacing a case fan really isn't too difficult; you just have to be willing to crack the case, deal with some screws, and hook up a few cables. 

What You'll Need

1. A PC with a failing case fan
2. A replacement case fan of the correct size and type
3. An appropriate-sized screwdriver
4. A small container for loose screws
5. A clean workspace

Step 1 - Pick a Replacement Fan
Okay, so you're doing some work on your PC and all of a sudden notice your case fan is making a heck of a racket, rattling, grinding, or running loud (especially when you first power it on). Don't panic; you have plenty of time to remedy the situation. Just don't hold off too long. These sounds are all classic signs of a failing case fan. Since there's no fixing them, it's time to go shopping.

If you don't know already, determine the size of your fan (for example, mine was 120mm) and what type of connector it uses (ex. 3 or 4-pin Molex ). These bits of information are important when it comes to buying a replacement (fans aren't a 'one size fits all' product). If you're unsure, you may need to check the fan's label or look up the model number online.

Drop by an online computer hardware store like Newegg or Tiger Direct and begin researching fans that are of the correct type for your PC. A decent fan can run you anywhere between $5 and $30. For the average user, something in the $10 range is more than sufficient. If you're concerned about noise, check user ratings and/or the fan's specs to see how loud it runs (in decibels).

If you want to add a little 'bling' or 'style' to your PC, consider picking up a fan with built-in LED lighting. Depending on the model, fans like this can deliver either a very soft or very bright glow (enough to illuminate the insides of your case), assuming your case is set up for it. This really doesn't serve any practical purpose, but it does take things up a notch.

Some fans also come with a fan controller, a device for regulating the speed of your fan. This is especially helpful for people doing high-end gaming or other heavy graphics applications that use lots of processing power. I normally wouldn't bother with one myself, but the replacement I ordered came with one and the fan itself ran pretty load without it.

Step 2 - Open Up the Case
Once your replacement fan has arrived, it's time to crack the case and get to work. Make sure to disconnect main power before popping anything open! Even shut down, most computers have a small amount of current running through them.

After unplugging everything, find a flat workspace (a table, the floor, etc.) to spread out our equipment. Depending on your case, there may be two or more screws that need to be removed in order to slide off the side panel (if you have a really old machine, figuring this out may be a bit tricky...). Find a secure place to put your screws so they don't get lost (a small bowl works nicely).

Once the case is open, make sure to ground yourself against a metal surface (such as the case itself) to prevent static discharge from frying components. If you happen to have an anti-static wrist strap, you may want to don that as well.

You may also want to take the opportunity to blow a few dust bunnies out of your case using compressed air. I don't know about yours, but mine was pretty dusty, and I should know better!

 Mine was held on by two screws on the top and bottom edges of the panel. 

The panel should slide off to the left.

Step 3 - Locate and Remove the Old Fan

If you have multiple fans in your case, make sure you've confirmed which one is actually failing (you'd hate to pull out the wrong one...). Once you know for sure, locate the screws holding it in place and carefully remove them with a screwdriver.

If the fan is at the front of your case, removing the front panel may be in order. Generally, they're held in place by plastic clips, so be careful not to break them off.


Fans (especially lower-end ones) are notorious for having cheap screws and non-threaded holes on the fan itself, so it may take a little muscle to remove. In most cases, the screws go in from the outside of the case.

With the screws gone, disconnect the 3 or 4-pin connector, which is connected to a fan port on the motherboard (if you're lucky, it'll be labeled 'fan'), or tied directly into the power supply. For the former, gently remove the connection, being careful not to bend any pins.

For the ladder, locate the short cable that allows the fan connector to be joined with a 4-pin power supply connector and disconnect the fan end only. These types of setups are used when no free fan connections are available on the motherboard itself. Some fans may even come with this cable if you don't already have one. With all these connections free, remove the old fan from the case and set it aside.

Center: two molex power connectors (male/female). 

Lower Right: two four-pin fan connectors (male/female).

Step 4 - Mount the New Fan
With your old fan out of the way, it's time to hook up the new one. You may find it useful to pre-thread the fan's screw holes before attempting to mount it. This can be done using one of the provided screws, but only if necessary.

Line up the fan with the mounting screw holes on the case (this may be a bit tricky depending on where your fan is located). Try to align the power cable so it'll be easy to hook up later. Screw in the first screw (there's a good chance it'll be pretty stiff), but don't put it in all the way. Instead, start the other three just like the first one. Once they're all in part-way, finish tightening them. This'll make it a lot easier to make sure the holes are lined up and allow you to adjust for shifting along the way. Don't be afraid to turn the screws in tight; just don't over-tighten them. You want the fan to have no wiggle room, otherwise, it'll shake and rattle while its running, eventually coming loose altogether.

Step 5 - Hook Up Main Power
With the fan mounted securely to your case, it's time to hook up power. If you do have an open fan connector on your motherboard, plug it in. Otherwise, reconnect it to the power supply cable I mentioned above.

Note that if your fan happened to come with a controller, and you'd like to take advantage of it, your wiring scheme will be a bit different. In my case, I connected a 4-pin male power connector coming off the controller with a matching female connection coming off the power supply. Then, I connected the fan power cable to a female fan connection also coming off the controller. In this setup, the power supply is providing power to the controller, which in turn is providing power to the fan. Since the controller is an intermediary, one can control the power going to the fan, and therefore, the speed.

Step 6 - Put Everything Back Together
Before putting it all back together, tie up any extra-long cables with twisties so they don't interfere with anything. Especially watch out for any cables that may get caught in the fan blades. Reattach the side panel to your case and hook up all your external connections (with the power cable last). Hit the power button. If all went according to plan, your new fan should power right up (also don't be surprised if it sounds a bit different than your used to). If not, check all your connections and make sure everything's been wired correctly. The two most likely causes of your fan not working are 1) defective unit, or 2) fan isn't getting any power.

The old fan, a CoolerMaster SickleFlow 120mm 2000 RPM w/ Blue LED

...and the new one, a Rosewill RFX-120BL 120mm 2 Ball Bearing w/ Blue LED

Look at that glow! Much brighter than the original.

You won't be able to sleep with this one on!

That's it for this tech tutorial. Hopefully, you've found it helpful (feel free to comment) and make sure to drop by The Enterprise Bridge for similar articles in the future!

Google Nexus 7: A Review

The Google Nexus 7 is the latest entry into the growing tablet market and a very worthy competitor to Apple's proprietary iPad. My dad picked up the Nexus several months ago, and after playing with it for about a week, I decided to pick one up for myself. It was definitely a good investment, and I'm very impressed with the features this small but relatively inexpensive package possesses. For those of you thinking about buying, hopefully my little review will provide some insight.

Software:
The Nexus 7 hardware is manufactured by ASUS, while the operating system is pure Google Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). Like any Android device, there are five customizable home screens as well as several pages of apps and widgets. By default, several of the Google Play apps (such as Google Magazines) fill up your desktops, but they're easily removable.

Recent updates to the OS have added some interesting features, such as the ability to create multiple user accounts, the ability to add widgets to the lock screen, and 'daydream' screensavers showing information when the device is sleeping/idle, just to name a few. Overall, Android 4.2 appears to be very stable; I really haven't had any issues with crashing, and I rarely shut it down completely.

It comes pre-loaded with some of the essential apps, but is strangely lacking others:

• Gmail
• Google Calander
• Calculator
• Google Chrome
• Clock
• Google Currents (a tech news service)
• Google Earth
• Email (an email client for all your non-Google accounts)
• Google +
• Google Maps
• Google Messenger
• Navigation
• People (your Gmail Contacts)
• Google Play Store
• Google Play Magazines
• Google Play Movies & TV
• Google Play Music
• Google Voice Search
• Talk
• Wallet
• YouTube

What's missing:

• A camera app (try 'Camera ICS' from Google Play)
• A file explorer (try 'ES File Explorer' from Google Play)
• An office suite (try 'Kingsoft Office' from the Kingsoft website or Google Play)
• Facebook app (try the official app from Google Play)
• ebook reader for non-Google books (try 'Moon+ Reader' from Google Play)

Hardware:
On the hardware side, the Nexus 7 is solidly constructed and definitely doesn't feel like a cheap tablet. The back of the device is textured and doesn't slide around in my hand. In fact, the 'long and narrow' form factor makes hanging on to the device hand pretty easy. That's, of course, no excuse for getting a decent case. I picked up this ultra-slim case from Amazon and it works really well as both a case and a stand. The Nexus even automatically comes out of sleep mode when I open it!

The Nexus has very little in the way of physical buttons and external ports. On the right side, there's the power button and volume toggle switch. On the bottom of the unit we have a USB port and a headphone jack. The (rather short) charging cable that comes with the Nexus doubles as an AC power adapter (with the 'brick' connected to the end) and a USB data transfer cable, which makes up for the missing card slot.

The 7-inch capacitive touchscreen display is bright and clear, and the is very responsive to even the lightest touch. Fingerprints are, of course, a problem, but that goes for pretty much all touchscreen devices. I have noticed a flickering of the back light on my unit, but from what I understand, it's a known problem that's yet to be fixed. It's either caused by a flaw in the wireless card (which causes flickering when there's low signal strength), or a glitch in the brightness controls.

The unit's Nvidia Tegra 3 1.3 Ghz quad-core processor and 1 GB of DDR3 memory definitely gets the job done. Web pages load quickly, games and streaming media play smoothly and overall, everything most runs 'lag-free'.

I also hooked up an inexpensive Blutooth keyboard when I actually want to type something, and that works pretty well, too. I have noticed lag in the Blutooth signal on larger documents (especially with the most recent update...), but it doesn't seem to be a big issue.

Battery life is about what I'd expect for a device like the Nexus. For normal, everyday lite use, it'll go for a few days without needing a recharge. If you're playing games and watching videos, though, the battery drains pretty fast. Lowering the screen brightness and turning the Blutooth and/or wireless off helps.

Problems & Drawbacks
The unit does have a few drawbacks, however. If you're fond of using microSD cards on your tablet, you're out of luck on the Nexus 7. It has no micrsoSD slot and there's no easy way to hook one up externally. It ended up not being a big problem for me, but it would have been a nice feature, especially considering most low-end tablets have card slots.

The other missing piece of hardware is a rear-facing camera. Now, personally, I don't use my Nexus for taking pictures all that often (I still prefer a stand-alone camera for that), but when I do, using the front-facing camera is pretty awkward. Like the missing card slot, this was just another cost-cutting measure. On the other hand, the front-facing camera works pretty well for video calls (a la Skype) and the quality isn't too bad (720p).

There's one other thing I feel I should mention: beware of ASUS technical support! My dad had a pretty poor experience with them when he had to send his Nexus back for repairs after it froze up at the splash screen. It took them two tries to repair the device; the first time, the unit came back in worse condition than it started in!

Cost:
The price of the unit is fixed at US$199 for the 16 GB model and US$249 for the 32 GB version. While the 16 and 32 GB models are Wi-Fi only, a 3G/4G version for AT&T and T-Mobile customers has recently been released for US$299.

Overall, if you're looking for a fairly inexpensive tablet that works really well as a mobile productivity device, media platform, and ereader, I'd highly recommend the Nexus 7. It's not without its flaws, but it's also one of the cheapest high-end tablets on the market.

"Star Trek: The Section 31 Files" - A Review

"Space: the final battleground. 

For many years, Starfleet has tried to maintain peace within the United Federation of Planets. 

But that alliance has become strained by numerous forces of opposition.

 The threat of Armageddon now lurks in every shadow. 

These are desperate times. 

We are the desperate measure." 


With my recent job switch to doing data entry, I now have the need to occupy my mind with something while I stare at multi-colored spreadsheets all day. Besides music, I started listening to several different audio dramas from several different sources, including Darker Projects' Star Trek: The Section 31 Files. I've listened to some early episodes of this program (and its sister show, Lost Frontier) before, but this was my first time listening to it in its entirety. Darker Projects puts out some very nice work (albeit a bit sporadically), and I'd forgotten how engaging and thoroughly enjoyable their stories are.

In The Section 31 Files, "an observer studies a divergent timeline, in which good people become murderous tyrants, people who have died return unexpectedly, and ancient prophecies become fulfilled. The anomalies all center around certain crew members of the Starship Defiant. But who is behind the changes, and why?".

In a frame story of sorts, we follow the main characters aboard the Section 31 vessel Nosferatu, a prototype ship that doesn't officially exist and whose crew operates above Starfleet rules and regulations. Besides following the exploits of the Nosferatu crew, we begin to see the Federation fall apart as dark forces emerge with the intent of conquering the galaxy. The groundwork for the post-apocalyptic future of Lost Frontier is laid.

Like Darker Projects' other audio dramas, Section 31 gives us an interesting look at a side of Star Trek we've never seen before, an organization that does all the 'dirty work' so peace can be maintained in the galaxy. It's a scary thought that such an organization exists even in the Star Trek future, but it's not that far-fetched either. "It's not all 'let's be friends with our alien brethren'. Here the Federation has a dark underbelly and [a] daring crew [to] go where Starfleet fears to tread."

The Section 31 Files is laced with quite a few complex storylines and characters (I hope you like story arcs...), some of which continue on/crossover into Lost Frontier. Besides the excellent scripts, the voice acting is practically professional quality and it's clear the production values are quite high. The program uses a variety of music from different Trek sources (some non-Trek sources as well, listen carefully...) as well as appropriate sound effects (in most cases). The producers also seem to have a soft spot for the Original Series, since elements from TOS appear in a handful of episodes.

Overall, The Section 31 Files is a series well-worth listening to. If you're a fan of audio theatre and think you'd enjoy a bit of a darker look at the Star Trek universe, then check it out. It's just like a good book: you won't want to stop listening till it's over.

Although this program has come to an end, all of the episodes are available for download/streaming on the Darker Projects website. Also feel free to check out Darker Projects' other programs, especially Lost Frontier, which is still currently in production.

 http://www.darkerprojects.com/section31.php

Just a note on the order: start with 'Altered Reflection' and work your way down the list. The first few episodes on the page come last and were created in response to JJ Abram's 2009 Star Trek.

A 'Real' Planet Vulcan?

On this day in 1860, French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier announced the discovery of an additional world between Mercury and the Sun, a planet he named Vulcan (as far as I can tell, no connection to Spock's home world). Based on shaky evidence and an unreliable source in the scientific community, Le Verrier used Vulcan to explain Mercury's eccentric orbit, which he believed could only be caused by another planetary body in close proximity.


In the end, Le Verrier was thoroughly disproved by Einstein and his Theory of Relativity in 1915, 38 years after his death (1877).
 
Check out the complete Wired magazine article here:
http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2013/01/jan-2-1860-gentlemen-i-give-you-the-planet-vulcan/

Arthur C. Clarke's "The Star"

I know I'm a few days late, but here's an episode of The Twilight Zone (1980's revival) that delivers a powerful message that fits the holiday season all too well.

Based on the Arthur C. Clarke short story of the same name, "The Star" follows the crew of a survey ship (including a Jesuit Priest and a physicist) who discover the remnants of a long-dead civilization and along with it, a surprising secret. The episode version, however, ends on a much more positive note than Clarke's original story, thanks to the Twilight Zone producers.

The original story can be found here:
http://web.archive.org/web/20080718084442/http://lucis.net/stuff/clarke/star_clarke.html

Merry Christmas from The Enterprise Bridge!

 I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year -- enjoy the food, the presents, and the time with family, but just remember the true meaning of this holiday.

I had also hoped to put up a review of the 2011 British-American animated film Arthur Christmas, a hi-tech twist on the classic "Santa Claus" story, but clearly, I'm not going to have time to tackle that today. 

BSG: Blood & Chrome - A Review

Two years in the making, Syfy's reimagined Battlestar Galactica prequel/web series Blood & Chrome is finally here!

Set ten years into the First Cylon War and 40 years prior to the 2003 series, Blood & Chrome follows a young William Adama on his early missions as a viper pilot for the newly-commissioned Battlestar Galactica.

In the first episode (which is broken into ten segments), Adama and two others are sent on what appears to be a simple milk run, but the mission ends up being far more than they bargained for when the trio finds themselves on a frozen world deep within Cylon-controlled space. Adama's command abilities are tested and his and preconceptions of the War challenged.

Blood & Chrome is an interesting addition to the BSG universe since it gives us some much-needed background on Commander Adama and the First Cylon War. Adama is portrayed as being a very cocky but highly-skilled pilot who sees the War as a chance for glory. We see a Galactica that's brand new and bristling with guns and heavy armor, Cylons who are still more machine then man (or woman, rather), and raiders that are right out of the 1978 series. For those of you who are fans of that classic show, the homages in this web series are pretty obvious, right down to the music used when we see the Cylon War-era Galactica for the first time.

Minimalistic physical sets representing Galactica's CIC...

...were combined with greenscreen effects to create the final shot.

Blood & Chrome's special effects are what one might expect from a web series. The CG is good enough, but looks a bit too 'video gamey' in places. Even the live-action shots have an almost animated look to them due to the extensive use of greenscreen effects (for example, the Galactica's CIC was created almost exclusively as a digital model). Even so, the visuals are more than adequate and really don't take away from the story once you get into it. Considering the large number of effects that had to be created, the VFX staff did quite an impressive job on what I'd guess to be a relatively low budget. 

I wasn't exactly a huge fan of the reimagined series when it first came out, but programs like this have made it grow on me in recent years. It's obvious Syfy is milking the franchise for all it's worth (since they really have no other new sci-fi programming...), but at least they managed to produce a quality show that actually lives up to the name. Overall, Blood & Chrome is a worthy addition to the BSG universe, and well worth watching. It's a fast-paced story with plenty of action, space battles, and an interesting look into a very young and different Adama.

Although the first episode has come to an end, all ten installments are available for viewing on the Machinima Youtube channel.

The complete episode will air as a movie on Syfy early next year, and a DVD release containing extra/unrated materials will come out around the same time.