It's a bit safer to enable Storage Mode in BIOS before opening the Steam Deck. Just for fan replacement, I don't think that the battery needs to be disconnected unless you have very shaky hands
There's a Decky plugin called Fantastic that allows you to set your own fan curve. It has done wonders to get my fan under control. Obviously that won't fix a broken fan but if you find your fan swinging back and forth and want it to settle down, the plug-in works.
I'd be so down for it. Having the 3070 with Noctua fans right next to an NH-D15 and it's just divine. The loudest thing in my PC literally is that fan inside the seasonic PSU.
I've just done this fan swap and it's much better! When I first turned my deck on, I was worried that I hadn't connected it properly as it was so silent 😅
thanks a ton. only thing I had slight confusion on was which way to put back the connector. had to look real close at ifixit guide to get that(yellow closer to me toward bottom of deck; red further toward top). and that part was just not easy to place back in to begin with since it's sooo small. but it all worked out. super helpful having this walkthrough, thanks again!
The only people that can stand Delta fans are the old school hardcore overclockers 15, 20 years ago. I remember getting into arguments with a few of them in OC forums about the unbearable noise but basically they consider it a badge of honor to have their PC sound like airplane engines at full power. I immediately recognized the signature delta sound profile. This is just a tiny fan. Imagine having 4 or 5 of the 80mm and 120mm versions in your case.
Delta fans were used mainly for servers. I remember a server with 4 x 40mm delta fans that was so loud at full power that you could hear it through 2 closed doors.
What do you mean nice and toasty? It’s supposed to do better than the delta Dan and cool the deck off better…so there’s No different effects besides the sound!?
I think it's important to point out, that Valve is reported to no longer be using the Delta fan in the Steam Deck anymore. Which is good, because it has a high pitched jet turbine sound, and while there may be some people who aren't bothered by it, I doubt very much that there's anyone who actually likes that sound, and prefers it over a quiet fan.
@@janwiedemann7470 Interesting. I'd guess it's probably remaining stock. They reported that they were going to stop using the delta fans just a few months ago, at most. They'd still have to sell off remaining inventory that was already manufactured. Delta fans should be becoming rare by now though, unless they had to start using them again for some reason. Though, that's probably of little comfort.
@@nunyobiznez875 The recent Decks shipped with the Delta fans have a foam padding applied to them that makes them not as noisy. I assume they think it's an acceptable enough fix to continue using the Delta fans.
I'd actually be interested in testing a Delta fan; the Huaying fan on mine is scraping, rattling and struggling to start at lower speeds. I definitely prefer the Huaying fan sound, but I almost always use my Deck in a way where it barely spins up and with headphones, so the Delta fan could even be an improvement there. Or I might have a bad Huaying fan in mine. It works fine anyway and all the issues disappear at higher speeds.
you may want to try the original fan curve in the steam deck settings under system, all the way at the bottom. you can also set the Performance overlay to level 4 to see what the fan RPM is doing if you don't trust it.
I forgot to mention this, but I have been using the original fan profile since I got it, as the constant ramping of the new profile is more annoying than the sudden switches of speeds with the old profile. I'm also familiar with the performance overlay, have even done some crude but deep profiling with it. But I do trust it, it reliably spins up thanks to it being refulated and does not have issues at higher speeds, it just makes weird and noticeable sounds at lower speeds.
@@WyvernDotRed sounds logical... i got the Delta fan, without the new profile i would already have gone insane from the constant whine at high rpm (so much worse than in the video here). The Huyuyuyu whatever Fan is already here and waiting to be installed. ...maybe this week i will finally get around to installing it.
Got my Steam Deck in November 22, definitely didn't have the Delta fan. So not sure if it's okay to offer suggestions, but if you are doing a lot of various comparison videos that involve sound, a decibel meter is very useful and not too expensive to provide a note "scientific" measurement. Not sure if I can list an actual link, but I did a quick Amazon search for a "sound pressure meter" and found one for $25, sale now for $18. You could also likely record the sound and use an app to show the frequency distribution and amplitude. I'm a nerd so I was totally hoping for that... Otherwise I like your video, it made it feel like a complete repair novice could do this.
Absolutely true. But the point here was the noise *_profile_* comparison, not specifically that one was louder/quieter than the other (I've had fans with nearly identical decibels but one set just sounds more pleasant on the ears)
Did the exact same thing with a PNY 256gb I bought literally 2 weeks earlier…. Was gutted but now I remember to remove it and have a 512gb card instead
I just did this. I had the "good" fan, but it still made a buzzing sound like there was a tiny motorcycle in there. It's much quieter now like a good laptop fan.
me too, same fan and it was starting to sound sooo bad suddenly. "tiny motorcycle" is actually a great way to describe it loll. nice and smooth again after the replacement!
hi, which controller manufacturer do you think is the safest and has a history that proves its reliability? Between Kioxia, WD, SK Hynix, Silicon Motion, InnoGrit and Phison?
My fan doesn't spin anymore, I stead it just sort of rhythmically ticks like it IS trying to spin but can't. I had hoped the connection cable was just slightly loose, and that pressing it a bit more into place might fix it, but it sadly did not
My comment on this video was deleted. Here's the comment again (paraphrased): 1. Valve has recently released an official statement that they're using both fans currently, but with an airflow mitigation via foam pads. This is unlikely to be as good as switching the fan, as tests ( see for example the test by jack-of-some on reddit) have shown that the tape mod is less effective than switching the fan. 2. This is a very common problem with Delta fans. Nintendo uses a specially modified Delta fan with uneven blade spacing in the oled switch to mitigate this. This is very easy to prove since ifixit has xrays of the Oled switch available. Since the noise is a pure tone at the blade passing frequency, if the blade spacing is uneven there cannot be a single pure tone because the spacing interval between pressure changes caused by the fan blades constantly changes. This solution is well-documented, see for example Apple's patents on the matter. It is also used in many Apple products, they don't just own patents on it that are sitting unused. If you tell me where I can post links, I will do so. If you need a specific paper about the method, Boyan Jiang, Tonal noise reduction by unevenly spaced blades in a forward-curved-blades centrifugal fan, Applied Acoustics, Volume 146, 2019 is a good candidate.
Is there a way to figure out which fan you have without opening your Steam Deck? I just received my 512GB a few days ago... wondering if they all ship with the better fan now or something?
I just reposted it and you deleted it again. It doesn't contain any links, so it shouldn't be UA-cam's spam filter. My previous comment was up for a few days.
i have that shitty fan haven't used my steam deck alot because of it just order ifixit fan. Valve should of recalled the steam decks with shitty fans how did the miss that in there testing everything else on the steam deck is excellent.
I’m new to standards on fans for devices like this. What is an acceptable rpm for the fan. When I play games like monster hunter rise on medium it gets to like 6000rpm and “toasty” as he says. Is that okay, or should I be not playing games that go to that range. I’m accepting that it’s doing it’s job but I’ve googled rpm acceptable ranges and nothing comes through
As a PC gamer I'm confused. Can't steam deck users just play outside in the winter time to help with fan noise? I wouldn't as a PC gamer but Steam Deck users are ok with suboptimal gaming. They have very small screens, very slow processors, very slow storage, no full size mouse or keyboard, minimal OS capabilities, and not all games work. So playing outside on cold days sounds like something steam deck users would be really into.
@@The8bitbeard I know you steam deck guys are very tough. You have pretty next level thinking. No neighbor would risk angering such a man by going after him legally. So either your neighbor is into it in which case they'll likely buy you games or they'll hate it and buy you a high end gaming machine just to get you to play inside. They don't call Bramble bushes Rubus Vulgaris for nothing! Nicely done sir.
It's a bit safer to enable Storage Mode in BIOS before opening the Steam Deck. Just for fan replacement, I don't think that the battery needs to be disconnected unless you have very shaky hands
There's a Decky plugin called Fantastic that allows you to set your own fan curve. It has done wonders to get my fan under control. Obviously that won't fix a broken fan but if you find your fan swinging back and forth and want it to settle down, the plug-in works.
If only Nactua made laptops/steam deck fans ;)
🪙
I'd be so down for it. Having the 3070 with Noctua fans right next to an NH-D15 and it's just divine. The loudest thing in my PC literally is that fan inside the seasonic PSU.
I've just done this fan swap and it's much better! When I first turned my deck on, I was worried that I hadn't connected it properly as it was so silent 😅
No worries if you didn't the Deck would of shut down on its own to prevent from overheating and frying parts.
thanks a ton. only thing I had slight confusion on was which way to put back the connector. had to look real close at ifixit guide to get that(yellow closer to me toward bottom of deck; red further toward top). and that part was just not easy to place back in to begin with since it's sooo small. but it all worked out.
super helpful having this walkthrough, thanks again!
Sounds much better. It's more like white noise now.
The only people that can stand Delta fans are the old school hardcore overclockers 15, 20 years ago. I remember getting into arguments with a few of them in OC forums about the unbearable noise but basically they consider it a badge of honor to have their PC sound like airplane engines at full power. I immediately recognized the signature delta sound profile. This is just a tiny fan. Imagine having 4 or 5 of the 80mm and 120mm versions in your case.
Delta fans were used mainly for servers. I remember a server with 4 x 40mm delta fans that was so loud at full power that you could hear it through 2 closed doors.
My condolences... May the 1Tb SD card rest in piece.
Edit: The difference is night and day! Well done. 👌
What do you mean nice and toasty? It’s supposed to do better than the delta Dan and cool the deck off better…so there’s
No different effects besides the sound!?
Definitely worth doing since this is way easier than ps4 /iphone / tablet / mouse mod.
Great detailed video Adam!
I think it's important to point out, that Valve is reported to no longer be using the Delta fan in the Steam Deck anymore. Which is good, because it has a high pitched jet turbine sound, and while there may be some people who aren't bothered by it, I doubt very much that there's anyone who actually likes that sound, and prefers it over a quiet fan.
@@pcworld Not in my case, got my Steam Deck last week, and I have the Delta fan, everything else is perfect - except the fan.
Had to replace the fan as well and got my Steam Deck (64GB) two weeks ago
Got my Steam Deck a few days before Christmas and have a Delta-fan too.
@@janwiedemann7470 Interesting. I'd guess it's probably remaining stock. They reported that they were going to stop using the delta fans just a few months ago, at most. They'd still have to sell off remaining inventory that was already manufactured. Delta fans should be becoming rare by now though, unless they had to start using them again for some reason. Though, that's probably of little comfort.
@@nunyobiznez875 The recent Decks shipped with the Delta fans have a foam padding applied to them that makes them not as noisy. I assume they think it's an acceptable enough fix to continue using the Delta fans.
I'd actually be interested in testing a Delta fan; the Huaying fan on mine is scraping, rattling and struggling to start at lower speeds.
I definitely prefer the Huaying fan sound, but I almost always use my Deck in a way where it barely spins up and with headphones, so the Delta fan could even be an improvement there.
Or I might have a bad Huaying fan in mine. It works fine anyway and all the issues disappear at higher speeds.
you may want to try the original fan curve in the steam deck settings under system, all the way at the bottom.
you can also set the Performance overlay to level 4 to see what the fan RPM is doing if you don't trust it.
I forgot to mention this, but I have been using the original fan profile since I got it, as the constant ramping of the new profile is more annoying than the sudden switches of speeds with the old profile.
I'm also familiar with the performance overlay, have even done some crude but deep profiling with it.
But I do trust it, it reliably spins up thanks to it being refulated and does not have issues at higher speeds, it just makes weird and noticeable sounds at lower speeds.
@@WyvernDotRed sounds logical...
i got the Delta fan, without the new profile i would already have gone insane from the constant whine at high rpm (so much worse than in the video here).
The Huyuyuyu whatever Fan is already here and waiting to be installed. ...maybe this week i will finally get around to installing it.
If the fan struggles to start, you can install Fantastic plugin and adjust the curve to idle a bit higher, at about 2000RPM.
Sounds more like a faulty fan. Replace it.
Very cool, literally! Steamdeck looks fun to tinker with too
I haven't taken mine apart but definitely sounds more like the huaying, lacks that higher pitch whine.
Got my Steam Deck this week after ordering at the last day of the sale and still got the Delta fan here in Germany.
Damn. I highly recommend swapping out the fan if you can.
-Adam
I definitely prefer the sound of the Huaying over the Delta.
Great little project. Very cool.
Got my Steam Deck in November 22, definitely didn't have the Delta fan.
So not sure if it's okay to offer suggestions, but if you are doing a lot of various comparison videos that involve sound, a decibel meter is very useful and not too expensive to provide a note "scientific" measurement. Not sure if I can list an actual link, but I did a quick Amazon search for a "sound pressure meter" and found one for $25, sale now for $18.
You could also likely record the sound and use an app to show the frequency distribution and amplitude.
I'm a nerd so I was totally hoping for that...
Otherwise I like your video, it made it feel like a complete repair novice could do this.
Absolutely true. But the point here was the noise *_profile_* comparison, not specifically that one was louder/quieter than the other (I've had fans with nearly identical decibels but one set just sounds more pleasant on the ears)
Just took a glance through my jsaux clear backplate to see what I have and it's the H model. Sick,
2:20 RIP little SD card
Did the exact same thing with a PNY 256gb I bought literally 2 weeks earlier…. Was gutted but now I remember to remove it and have a 512gb card instead
I just did this. I had the "good" fan, but it still made a buzzing sound like there was a tiny motorcycle in there. It's much quieter now like a good laptop fan.
Me too, only bothering to replace it now that I have the OLED and don't want my sister to inherit the annoyance
@@SolDizZo Same. My LCD went to my son, and I'm rocking an OLED now.
Nice! Yeah she told me she probably wasn't going to play it very much, and now she's almost beat Baldur's Gate 3 in a week LOL.
@@The8bitbeard
me too, same fan and it was starting to sound sooo bad suddenly. "tiny motorcycle" is actually a great way to describe it loll. nice and smooth again after the replacement!
I still need to grab one of those fans cause the look the old lady gives when the fan kicks in is worse than the $30 it'll cost to fix it, lol
Sounds far better now
hi, which controller manufacturer do you think is the safest and has a history that proves its reliability? Between Kioxia, WD, SK Hynix, Silicon Motion, InnoGrit and Phison?
My fan doesn't spin anymore, I stead it just sort of rhythmically ticks like it IS trying to spin but can't.
I had hoped the connection cable was just slightly loose, and that pressing it a bit more into place might fix it, but it sadly did not
Hello do you have any videos on cleaning a steam deck and on maintenance, refurbishing deck?
My comment on this video was deleted.
Here's the comment again (paraphrased):
1. Valve has recently released an official statement that they're using both fans currently, but with an airflow mitigation via foam pads.
This is unlikely to be as good as switching the fan, as tests ( see for example the test by jack-of-some on reddit) have shown that the tape mod is less effective than switching the fan.
2. This is a very common problem with Delta fans. Nintendo uses a specially modified Delta fan with uneven blade spacing in the oled switch to mitigate this. This is very easy to prove since ifixit has xrays of the Oled switch available.
Since the noise is a pure tone at the blade passing frequency, if the blade spacing is uneven there cannot be a single pure tone because the spacing interval between pressure changes caused by the fan blades constantly changes.
This solution is well-documented, see for example Apple's patents on the matter. It is also used in many Apple products, they don't just own patents on it that are sitting unused. If you tell me where I can post links, I will do so.
If you need a specific paper about the method,
Boyan Jiang,
Tonal noise reduction by unevenly spaced blades in a forward-curved-blades centrifugal fan,
Applied Acoustics,
Volume 146,
2019
is a good candidate.
I probably have the huayang fan. Didn't have that high pitch sound but mine is hardly at 50% fan speed so far.
I hope nactua sees this and make a better fan
Mines doin this i dont know if i should take it back to shop or not or try fixing it myself
I have same laptop aero 15 oled but fan noise is very bad! Please make a video for change the paste and make it better.
5:43 "This is the delta fan because it has a triangle on it." - or, you know, the upper-case Greek letter delta: Δ
The delta is a triangle
I'm I the only one addicted to smelling the fan outtake? 😆 🤣 😂
NO
I have just ordered steam deck and still got delta fan. Thx Valve......
Is there a way to figure out which fan you have without opening your Steam Deck? I just received my 512GB a few days ago... wondering if they all ship with the better fan now or something?
No, I don't think is possible.
Dose both of the fans have the same RPM?
Sorry, I posted a comment with references to scientific papers regarding the cause of the fan whine, did you delete that?
Do you have a problem with me citing sources?
Thank you 🤙
Okay you do have shaky hands😂. However, thanks for the guide. Just ordered a new fan.
Thank you😊
I will keep the Delta fan and just upgrade the SSD to 2Tb :)
I just reposted it and you deleted it again.
It doesn't contain any links, so it shouldn't be UA-cam's spam filter.
My previous comment was up for a few days.
nice decal.. i would forget the sd card to, and blamed on dbrand for the distracting decal. if at least there were a sd card on the decal
.. lol
We need a noctua fan! that be amazing
No we dont
Seconded. Noctua are fan wizards. My all-Noctua cooled PC is so silent you can hear a feather fall.
rip 1TB sdcard
Someone show this video to QuantumTV.
i have that shitty fan haven't used my steam deck alot because of it just order ifixit fan.
Valve should of recalled the steam decks with shitty fans how did the miss that in there testing everything else on the steam deck is excellent.
I’m new to standards on fans for devices like this.
What is an acceptable rpm for the fan. When I play games like monster hunter rise on medium it gets to like 6000rpm and “toasty” as he says.
Is that okay, or should I be not playing games that go to that range. I’m accepting that it’s doing it’s job but I’ve googled rpm acceptable ranges and nothing comes through
30 bucks? Geez...
I got mine for $13
Use a Philips 1, not 0
Do the LTT cooler mod ;)
🚲 🔋
made in China
As a PC gamer I'm confused. Can't steam deck users just play outside in the winter time to help with fan noise? I wouldn't as a PC gamer but Steam Deck users are ok with suboptimal gaming. They have very small screens, very slow processors, very slow storage, no full size mouse or keyboard, minimal OS capabilities, and not all games work. So playing outside on cold days sounds like something steam deck users would be really into.
I only play my Deck while naked in a bramble bush before I go take a bath in lemon juice.
@@The8bitbeard I know you steam deck guys are very tough. You have pretty next level thinking. No neighbor would risk angering such a man by going after him legally. So either your neighbor is into it in which case they'll likely buy you games or they'll hate it and buy you a high end gaming machine just to get you to play inside. They don't call Bramble bushes Rubus Vulgaris for nothing! Nicely done sir.