dplatt@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA (Dave Platt) (10/28/87)
I spoke this afternoon with Larry Dziegielewski of Micah about hard disks. I happened to mention the noisiness of the Mac II's fan; he suggested a procedure that he has used successfully in reducing the fan noise. Larry pointed out that most Mac IIs are set up with the video card (Apple or otherwise) located in slot #1, closest to the power supply. He suggested that putting the card in this location tends to obstruct the fan's air duct, thus causing turbulence and generating quite a bit of noise. He suggested that moving the video card over to slot #6 (as far away from the power supply as possible) would cut the fan's noise significantly. I haven't tried this yet, but plan to do so when I have the opportunity; I'll report back about the results. CAUTION: if you do this, be _sure_ to power off the Mac, wait for the power supply to cool down, and _ground yourself_ momentarily before unplugging the video card... the rumor mill has reported that the Apple video card is quite sensitive to electrostatic-discharge damage. If you've got an approved wrist-grounding strap, it'd probably be a good idea to use it.
dplatt@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA (Dave Platt) (10/31/87)
I mentioned a few days ago that I had been told that moving the video card on a Mac II from slot #1 (next to the power supply) to slot #6 (as far away from the power supply as possible) could reduce the noise of the Mac II's fan, by un-obstructing the fan's air passage and reducing turbulence. Well, I tried it, and it does seem to have made a difference; the amount of noise that escapes through the vents in the top of the Mac II's case has been reduced somewhat. It's not a stunning decrease, but it is noticable.