Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!rochester!udel!bogus.sura.net!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!gatech!purdue!mentor.cc.purdue.edu!npirs!tfisher
From: tfisher@CERIS.Purdue.EDU (Tom Fisher)
Subject: Re: CPU Fans
Message-ID: <1993Apr23.191802.5955@CERIS.Purdue.EDU>
Organization: Center for Environmental and Regulatory Information Systems, Purdue University
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 1993 19:18:02 GMT
Lines: 14

>> the "attached" fans look slick and work well but I'm bothered by the potential
>> loss of cooling if the fan goes out. at least with the power supply fan you
>> can reach back there every few days and feel the fan blowing.
>> 
> Yes, this is a valid concern IMHO.  With the directly attached fan units I've
> seen, it looks like if the fan were to stop the chip cooling would be 
> a good bit worse than no heat sink at all.  In other words, if the fan stops
> the unit turns into an insulator and the chip might get hot enough to
> suffer permanent damage, not just stop working temporarily.
> 
 A suggestion:  Slave (hook in series) a small pilot light off the fan
circuit.  Then, if the light goes out, you know your fan is not working.

Tom
