Just want you to know.

[Bas]

I have a 9 months old Aopen miditower.
Aopen uses bad fans in there powersupply. It's really ****! Starts to make LOTS of noise. Anyway I replaced it for a PAPST 8412 N/2G with a speed sensor connected to my mobo.

Works fine now!

[Ed_S]

In my box, ALL P/S fans get noisy after a few months!

I think this is an environmental or stress issue, rather than quality of the fan. At least in my case it is.
Floor standing case, never closed. Pet hair & dust. Smoke. Heavy load, even with 300 watts.
Add that up & no fan stands a chance!! I just consider replacing it part of routine maintenance.

9 months? My current one is a 3 or 4 month old bearing fan, recently cleaned, and SCREAMS.
No biggee, it's only money! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Now, our other machines with more "conventional" usage seldom have these problems. But they don't get much "mileage" either.

[barry glisson]

remove the fan.take a q tip and alcohol and clean the dust off of the fan blades then take a knitting needle and dip it in 3 in one machine oil and place adrop on the shaft where it enters the motor case let gravity work while you turn the fan by hand. works for house fans also. barry

[seti]

I have a "windtunnel" constucted of thin cardboard and fans from old 386 and 286 powersupply's. It fills the two bays below the cd-rom perfectly hight-wise. The air is directed down into the case right past the cpu. These fans are ancient, but still move the air quietly. I don't think they're even ball bearing.

Thanks for the warning Bas, I was looking at their cases for my next build. I think that's an awful place for a company to cut corners, hopefully you just got unlucky.

[ram]

My aopen case & fans are quite as a mouse.
3 months old on 24/7.I think he must of got a bad one..

[U-96]

ditto, the 300W PSU fan in my AOpen HX08 has been going almost 24/7 for the last 6 months, no problems...