Raspberry Pi 4 Fan

[jallamc89]

Just got my 5v fan to my Raspberry Pi 4, and it`s loud like a jet engine

Is it possible to connect it to the 3.3 v to get a lower speed? or will this result in damage of the board in any way?

[W. H. Heydt]

Just got my 5v fan to my Raspberry Pi 4, and it`s loud like a jet engine

Is it possible to connect it to the 3.3 v to get a lower speed? or will this result in damage of the board in any way?

Can't speak to your specific fan...in part because you haven't identified it. Some 5v fans are sold with the claim that they will work at 3.3v. I have a couple on order, but it's because I need to keep the Pis 5v pins clear for other uses. (The fundamental problem being that the two 5v pins are next to each other, so anything that uses the first 6 pins grabs both of them.)

Basic issue here: The smaller the fan, the faster it has to spin to move the same amount of air. The faster it spins, the louder it gets. This is why custom PC building advice normally advises using the largest possible fans for the case, typically up to 140mm.

[jallamc89]

Ok, if i i get a larger fan then, its typically 12v will that cause any issues to connect to 5v then?
I know it will move slower but still move the air around in the case anyway

[gordon77]

I used a 12v fan on 5v with no issues, and practically no noise

[HawaiianPi]

Ok, if i i get a larger fan then, its typically 12v

Not necessarily. There are larger 5V fans available.

will that cause any issues to connect to 5v then?

Again, it depends on the fan. Some 12V fans will work on 5V, others won't.

Noctua makes 40x10mm and 40x20mm 5V fans that are very quiet. They are a bit pricey, but Noctua fans are the best you can get.

I have a couple of Pi computers cooled by Noctua fans, but most of my Pi computers are in Flirc cases, which act as huge heatsinks and keep the Pi cool without the noise or additional power requirements of fans (and without filling the system with dust).

The Fan Shim from Pimoroni is also cool (pun intended). It's pretty quiet, although not as quiet as my Noctua, but you can program it to turn on and off at certain temperatures, so it only runs when needed (Pimoroni has free software for that). It requires some commonly used GPIO pins for power and control.

[LTolledo]

I do have the Noctua fan and recommend it as well
the ones I used were NF-A4X10-FLX 5V (implemented on 2 other NAS projects)

tried this on my newly completed NAS

heatsinkfanRPi4.jpg (40.41 KiB) Viewed 2208 times

as you can see the fan is mounted directly to the heatsink
it too is quiet ( <22db at 30mm)

to get better thermal transfer, I removed the thermal "insulator" tape and mounted the heatsink-fan using thin thermal paste
there is a 7C to 9C difference between the installing via thermal tape and installation via thermal paste.

[chrix]

I have a 5 V 0.2 Amps PI-FAN that's also that loud when connected to its 5V rating, but it's close to silent if I use the 3.3 V pin (so I have it like so). You should give it a try, with passive cooling underneath it's more than enough.

[raspberry_user]

I do have the Noctua fan and recommend it as well
the ones I used were NF-A4X10-FLX 5V (implemented on 2 other NAS projects)

tried this on my newly completed NAS
heatsinkfanRPi4.jpg
as you can see the fan is mounted directly to the heatsink
it too is quiet ( <22db at 30mm)

to get better thermal transfer, I removed the thermal "insulator" tape and mounted the heatsink-fan using thin thermal paste
there is a 7C to 9C difference between the installing via thermal tape and installation via thermal paste.

How to mount the NF-A4X10-FLX 5V on the Pi 3B+ or 4B? Do those Pi have four holes where one could attach the Noctua fan to?

[bjtheone]

My bet is the fan screws to the heatsink only. Mount the heatsink on the CPU using the double sided tape or for likely better heat transfer a thin layer of thermal paste and then use hot glue to tack the heatsink in place.

[LTolledo]

How to mount the NF-A4X10-FLX 5V on the Pi 3B+ or 4B? Do those Pi have four holes where one could attach the Noctua fan to?

the noctua fans are physically mounted on the case of the RPi, not on the RPi nor the heatsink.
one needs to drill at least 3 new holes (or all 4 holes), as well as enlarge the fan vent hole.
if there is air inlet there must also be an air outlet.

let your DIY spirit guide you...

[HawaiianPi]

How to mount the NF-A4X10-FLX 5V on the Pi 3B+ or 4B? Do those Pi have four holes where one could attach the Noctua fan to?

No, there are no fan mounting holes on the Pi (just holes to mount the Pi system board itself).

I have mine in a dual layer acrylic case with fan. Those cases have no sides, which allows easy access to the GPIO and other connectors, and helps with cooling (although things can get a bit dusty, but that's true for any case with a fan).

If you are going to use a Noctua fan, make sure it fits a 40mm fan (some are 30mm). Then just toss the included fan and mount the Noctua instead. I also made a custom GPIO cable for the fan and a USB-UART, added some brass thumb nuts as feet, and mounted an SSD on top.

Older picture with my Pi 3B, but my 4B2 is now in this case.


It stays nice and cool (no heatsinks needed).

[neilgl]

I am not using any fans on my pi4s - all OK