PS1/2 PS2 fat quiet fan mod w/ noctua fan

[Daoxer]

I recently dug out my PS2 fat as I've had a bit more time for gaming lately. I never seemed to notice this when I was younger, but that fan is obnoxiously loud haha. I like to tinker and don't mind modding just about anything. So I did some searching and found a tutorial by William Quade who did a Noctua fan mod to his PS2. For those who don't know, Noctua is a fan company that is known to make high quality and very quiet fans. Anyway, William's mod was nice but a bit rough for me. He had to hack up the back panel of his PS2 because the Noctua fan is 25mm thick and the OE fan is only 15mm. This makes the fan stick out of the case a little bit.







I'm a mechanical engineer and have a 3d printer at home that I use for a number of things. So I decided to print a whole new back panel for my mod. This took a while to model up and a few times printing it to get it to fit just right, but I am very happy with the final version. I think it has a nice polished look with no hot glue!







I also made up an electrical connector that plugs the new fan right into the PS2 instead of having to do any cutting or soldering.

What do you guys think?

 

[Deleted User]

That looks quite good and professional.

I've a question: Do you use a HDD to play PS2 ISOs? It's surely better than a USB?

 

[Daoxer]

Thanks. I really like how it turned out as well.

I do not have a HDD. I play my games off discs.

I should have mentioned in the first post, but this mod works amazingly well. The PS2 is now virtually silent. I can hear the disc spin up and that is it. You can't hear fan noise at all unless you stick your head really close to the console.

 

[DinohScene]

HDD or SMB loading is the best way on PS2.

I must say, it's not something I'd go for but the 3D printed part makes it quite good.

 

[Zense]

Looks pretty smooth actually. Obviously a fan that stays inside would've been better, and maybe a black finish on the metal but the functionality makes up for it. Not sure I remember the fan being loud on my fat ps2. Btw for even less noice you should consider the hdd mod for your fat.

 

[Deleted User]

HDD or SMB loading is the best way on PS2.

I must say, it's not something I'd go for but the 3D printed part makes it quite good.

If I had known there was a way to play games on PS2 via HDD/USB I'd have never sold mine back then. PS2 disc laser issue was/is really annoying, but kind of irrelevant as games can be loaded up by other means.

 

[slaphappygamer]

Your mod looks great. Yes, the fan noise is incredibly loud. Probably notice it more since most newer electric things have much quieter fans.

 

[crabfists]

This is awesome. I would love to do this mod as the sound of my PS2 is horrendous. Would you mind sharing the 3d printer files?

 

[rs1n]

Thanks. I really like how it turned out as well.

I do not have a HDD. I play my games off discs.

I should have mentioned in the first post, but this mod works amazingly well. The PS2 is now virtually silent. I can hear the disc spin up and that is it. You can't hear fan noise at all unless you stick your head really close to the console.

Can you provide details on the wiring? Was it just soldering the fan wires with the old fan wires’ connector?

 

[DaFixer]

Nice mod well done

 

[WarioWaffles]

Reason #5609 I should buy a 3D printer, great work guy.

 

[Daoxer]

This is awesome. I would love to do this mod as the sound of my PS2 is horrendous. Would you mind sharing the 3d printer files?

My job is an online retailer. I come up with little fixes to life's problems / annoyances and see if there is any interest for others. So, right now I am looking into if there is any demand for this as a product. This thing took me several days and quite a few prints to get it to fit just right, not to mention getting fans shipped from Noctua from Austria. So, as of right now I am looking at selling the kits. If that flops, I will definitely put the files out there.

Can you provide details on the wiring? Was it just soldering the fan wires with the old fan wires’ connector?

I actually made up a jumper harness so the fan plugs right into the board on the PS2. No cutting wires or soldering was necessary. Here is a picture.

 

[rs1n]

What's your pricing for the kit (just the mounts and the harness; no fan included)?

 

[WarioWaffles]

What's your pricing for the kit (just the mounts and the harness; no fan included)?

I second this, or the files so someone could order it from a print shop.

 

[Daoxer]

I am honestly still working on the pricing. I'm waiting on some additional numbers from Noctua. However, my initial idea is $19.99 shipped (in the US) for the 3d printed back plate plus electrical fan connector. If you want that plus the fan with silicon mounts fully assembled and ready to drop in it'll be $34.99 shipped.

 

[Daoxer]

In case anyone was interested, the listing on Amazon is live. I only have a few items in stock right now just to gauge the interest.

PS2 Fat Quiet Fan Mod

 

[Fxt]

Isn't the noctua fan a 12v and the factory fan a 5v or 7v? Is there not an issue getting the noctua fan to spin up?

 

[Izula]

Mine arrived today but I'm having a few issues with the installation.

 

[Fxt]

Mine arrived today but I'm having a few issues with the installation.

Yeah I'd too. The print wasn't trimmed quite right. It's a very snug fit even after trimming some of the metal inside the PS2 and some of the plastic on bracket. Also I had to tap into the power supply to get the fan to actually kick on since it's a 12v fan and supposedly the PS2s fan is 7v maybe 8v max.

 

[Izula]

I thought the wires might have just been mixed up but when putting the fan pin in and mock turning it on I was getting an electrical hum with no fan turning. Could you explain a bit further or even show with pictures how you got the fan to work? ( was just in the middle of returning it to stock)