I've got
more power supplies than I care to have. More literally come
through the door every week. I'd rather just let them die and replace the
whole supply once in a great while and then recycle the dead unit rather
JUst hope that the supply doesn't do damage to any other part of the
machine (or indeed catch fire and do damage to anything else), and that
the rest of the machine doesn't run too hot (the PSU fan cools other
components too in most PCs).
than go through the nonsense of replacing the
fan.
If you once replaced the fan with a decent one, it would carry on working
for 5 years or more.
Tony is correct. Also risk management against fire and data loss.
Pick a quality heavy PSU from your pile and check fan is a ball
bearing, the part number on google will say if it is. If not, grab
one from one of your scrap that has ball bearing with thermal sensor
for rpm control and put that in and your 486 should last forever with
occasional dust cleanings and much quieter.
Few months ago, at our tv shop caught a work PC with dead fan
and took it down and put in decent PC (IBM business-type pc celeron
333 instead of generic pc slooow 100MHz.) I manage six networked PCs
and few loose PCs for testing monitors. Just yesterday had to tell
boss to get shop's funds and bought a DVI video card to test monitors
that has DVI.
2 years ago when I first came to work for that tv shop computers were
junky and lurching from problem to another to a humming speedy
reliable group. Bought several PCs from local pc store that has off
lease PCs for sale, only cost us about 200 to get three. One of them
replaced server early on (MII Cryix, oh the horrors!!).
Second pc got robbed for quality parts to fix and upgrade other PCs,
third one was the latest install few months ago. Every PC got
branded NICs 10/100 (3com, intel and one digital tulip) intead of
generic reltek NICs (YUCK!) all dug from used machines from same
source and my parts.
One comment, a front customer service pc does only one job and still
going for years has JTS HD in it. (!!) It was there when I came
there to work.
Cheers,
Wizard
