Have you ever ever puzzled how these axial followers from Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4090 or GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Version carry out exterior the graphics card? One DIY fanatic from the Chiphell boards (opens in new tab) (by way of Olrak (opens in new tab)) has the reply, as he has repurposed the axial fan from two of the finest graphics playing cards for his top-down CPU cooler and shared the outcomes.
The axial cooling fan seemingly stored the discussion board member’s Core i5-13600KF’s working temperature as much as 9 and 5 levels Celsius decrease than the Thermalright TL-C12 and Cooler Grasp Mobius 120P ARGB, respectively, in the course of the Cinebench R23 benchmark. As well as, the noise degree was reportedly decrease than the opposite followers throughout common operation. Nevertheless, the axial fan emitted a buzzing noise at very low RPMs, making it extra audible than different 120mm and 90mm he had examined.
Nvidia makes use of a mixture of Nidec’s AD4A31K04 and AD4A31K05 cooling followers for the corporate’s GeForce RTX 40-series (Ada Lovelace) Founders Editions graphics playing cards. Nidec Servo, the Japanese producer’s subsidiary, gained a lot fame for growing the famend Mild Hurricane followers in 2009. With such a distinguished pedigree, it is simple to know why Nvidia selected Nidec to supply the energetic cooling resolution for Founders Version merchandise.
The AD4A31K04 and AD4A31K05 are comparable of their core, however there is a distinction within the airflow path. Keep in mind that Nvidia employs a dual-axial fan design for pushing air in several instructions. Sellers have labeled the followers as Sort A and Sort B. The previous pushes the air towards the entrance of the blades, whereas the latter directs the air in a downward path to the motor.
The followers usually retail for $20 (opens in new tab) on Chinese language on-line platforms like AliExpress or Taobao. Nevertheless, retailers on the latter promote the followers for lower than $1.50 (opens in new tab) — I child you not. The laughably low price ticket permits DIYers to experiment with the AD4A31K04 and AD4A31K05 past the product’s unique use scope.
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The issue is that Nidec has tailor-made the cooling followers to Nvidia’s specs. They do not include a normal 120mm design; due to this fact, the mounting holes are totally different. Moreover, the AD4A31K04 and AD4A31K05 aren’t even 120mm cooling followers. In keeping with one Taobao service provider, they measure 115 x 115 x 12.5mm, so DIYers must 3D print their very own bracket out of plastic or another kind of fabric. It is a problem, as one other Chiphell discussion board person (opens in new tab) said that the fan’s diameter measures 116m with round 2mm of reserved area. Because of this, the body’s thickness is proscribed to 1mm.
Nidec would not checklist the AD4A31K04 or the AD4A31K05 on the corporate’s web site, so we gathered the specs from the varied Chinese language retailers across the market. The fan’s base is steel, whereas the motor’s shell is constructed from aluminum alloy. The fan has a most pace of three,300 RPM and may pull as much as 0.63A. Nevertheless, one proprietor (opens in new tab) claims that some samples can hit 3,500 RPM. In any occasion, the AD4A31K04 and AD4A31K05 are very fast-spinning followers.
They do have a considerable energy draw, although. The Cooler Grasp Mobius 120P ARGB has all of the disco lights and is rated for 0.48A, and the AD4A31K04 and AD4A31K05 are as much as 31% larger. This is not a giant concern since standard 4-pin fan connectors are appropriate for as much as 1A.
The AD4A31K04 or the AD4A31K05 attracts energy from a particular ribbon cable with a six-pin structure. Whereas the followers join on to Nvidia’s PCB, they require a customized 4-pin adapter to connect with a normal fan connector on the motherboard.
Given the general value and complexity of modding the axial fan, buying a premium cooling fan to your CPU cooler, AIO liquid cooler, or case might be extra viable. Nonetheless, it is at all times cool to see DIYers assume exterior the field.