PSU Modding Guide
Guide written by Knight1976

Ever wanted the extra cooling of a second PSU fan but don't want to drop the big bucks for an Enermax power supply? I was thinking the same thing about 2 weeks ago, so I decided to add a fan to my existing PSU. Looking back at the project, its a lot easier to do than you would think. All you need is a fan, fan grill (not necessary but helps keep fingers and small pets intact), drill, hole saw the size of the fan being added, a dremel, wire cutters, pliers, and some Radio Shack (or any other local electronics shop) connectors. If you follow this guide and your PSU will allow it you should end up with something that looks like this.

***Warning opening your power supply voids your warranty!! Messing with electronics can be hazardous to your electronics and dangerous to your person! In no way am I or Hardwarepub responsible for any personal or property damages. Attempt this modification AT YOUR OWN RISK!!***

Please take all the safety precautions (i.e. gloves, goggles, cup etc.) you feel are necessary when attempting this mod. I did not use any, and had no problems what so ever.

Sorry had to get that out of the way and putting it at the front of the guide makes sure its not overlooked at the bottom of the article.

There are really two mods going on in this article. The first is a airflow mod for the original fan already mounted in your PSU. Most PSU fans have a stamped out guard that looks similar to this.

To improve airflow out of this fan we need to replace (cut out) the existing fan guard and add a less restrictive fan guard. Luckily almost every PSU fan I have seen has fan mounting screws on the outside of the PSU. This allows us to place a less restrictive fan guard on the outside and use the fan mounting screws to hold the new guard on. This fan is an 80mm model (some PSUs have 92mm exhaust fans so make sure to check this) so an 80mm fan grill is going to be applied here.

Start off with your power supply (unplugged of course from the computer and the wall socket), and cut through the warranty sticker located on a corner of the power supply. (Once this is cut your warranty is gone, poof, done, no mas, so be sure you want to do this!!) Next, remove the four fan screws from the power supply fan. This should allow the fan to dangle by its power wires. The one obstacle I ran into that actually worried me the most was how to cut out the original fan guard without spreading metal bits all over the PSU. The solution I came up with was to cover the guts of the PSU with a bandana and to place a piece of double corrugated cardboard that fits on the inside of the PSU. **Note this must sit tight and flat inside so it doesn't fall off, and seals the rest of the PSU from the metal flakes. When satisfied that no metal is going to get to the PSU, break out the dremel with the cutting bits. Cut the four connection points of the grill so it looks like a big circle. Once that is removed carefully remove the cardboard and then the bandana. Now add the new grill to the outside of the PSU and mount it to the fan which is on the inside of the PSU. The outcome should look like this.

The second half of the mod is a little more complicated. To start off with more tools are going to be needed, and more work is going to be put in.  Open up the PSU if it is still not open from previous mod. Now here is where some people are going to be disappointed. Some power supplies wont have enough clearance between the PSU heatsinks and the top of the case. If this is the case try going to a slim line fan, or if your really crazy cut the heatsinks down (that's an entirely different mod). However for some people neither of there solutions is feasible and this mod is completely out of the question. For all these people Sorry!! For the rest of us just line up where you want the fan to be mounted. I chose over the heatsinks to cool them off.

There are a few important things to check out before cutting. Make sure that there is clearance on the outside of the PSU once the fan grill for the new fan is installed. Once all that checking is done its time to cut the hole. I chose to add a 92mm fan like the ones on the Enermax PSUs. This is relatively easy if you have used a holesaw before. If you are not very comfortable using power tools get someone to help you. Once the hole is cut place the fan grill for this fan over the hole to mark the mounting holes. Make sure the fan guard is square so it looks as good as it performs. Now use a 5/32" drill bit to drill out the mounting holes marked with the fan grill. Lastly mount your fan on the inside of the PSU and the fan grill on the outside of the PSU. I chose to mount my fan blowing air into the PSU. Go slow and I promise you will be happy with the results. Now to the wiring. The wiring is going to be pretty simple if you use the quick connectors like these. I chose to mount my fan blowing air into the PSU. Go slow and I promise you will be happy with the results. Now to the wiring.

Cut the power wiring to the existing PSU fan in the middle so there is enough wire to work with. Next, strip about 1/4 inch of insulation off each wire. Strip the same amount of insulation off of the fan's wires also. Put the female connector on the PSU wire that is connected to the PSU (the side that would have power). Now twist/ solder (I twisted them) the two fans' red wires together and put the male connector on them. Do the same to the fans' black wires. Connect the red wire's male to the red wire's female connector and the same for the black wires.

Now close up your PSU and you are done. If everything went well the project should look something like this.

Hopefully it will power up and not smoke like crazy or catch anything on fire. Your new power supply should move a ton of air and only cost u the price of fans and grills. Sure beats the heck out of $89.99 for an Enermax.  If you have any questions or suggestions email me here.

knight1976