Now that my Steam Deck LCD has been relieved of his duties as a daily driver desktop PC, I finally went ahead and replaced the Delta fan with a Huaying one. It turned out to be relatively easy to do ; and lo and behold, it is indeed quieter.
Recent adopters may or may not know there was a medium-sized kerfuffle about disparities in noise profiles of early Steam Deck units. It was proved and narrowed down to a difference between 2 fan models (see Gamers Nexus detailed analysis).
Obviously the one I got was a “bad” one, emitting a high pitched noise when running at full speed. I did not find it unbearable but it was still not ideal, particularly when using the SD in quiet environments.
Took me 2 years to get to the point where I figured it was an acceptable risk to attempt the replacement. How many of you did the same and kicked the Delta out of your unit ?
Replaced the Delta for a Huaying as soon as I could, ifixit kept being out of stock, but I managed to snatch one earlier last year, it was scary, and removing the backplate felt like i was going to break everything, but the insides are well organised, it was quite an easy repair / replacement
I couldn’t live with the hiss of the Delta, it was driving me insane
Got one has well, then the Huaying started to rattle. Didn’t get around to RMA it so I’m back to whining.
Really cool! Love to see some modding. And wow, that full kit of IFixIt.
Bought these to make the most out of those shipping costs. I do not tinker all that much, but having adequate tools like those certainly is a big help.
I also used them to replace the sticks of a Nintendo Switch joy cons with hall effects ones. I saw that similar components are available for the SD, but I currently have no drift problem, so …
Why didn’t you get the OEM one?
Not sure what you mean. I got this one: https://www.ifixit.com/products/steam-deck-original-model-fan?variant=39723201658983
I mean you said you got a Huaying
I am not aware of better options than the Huaying fan for an OG Steam Deck LCD. Did you have something specific in mind ?