Absurd and arbitrary HDX fan noise

[clivvy]

people have been complaining about these HDX fans for years one of the problems Avid and digidesign for no good reason always used cheep fans very noisy the 192 very load Avid IO the same i got the Avid IO first thing i did change the fan i don't even know its on that's the reason i also chose a native card no dreaded fan noise its a shame really those HDX cards are pretty pricey for that lack of quite performance !

[Flyingrockstudios]

The dreaded fan noise recently started on my 8 year old HDX card. I looked into buying a replacement fan, but you have to buy it in bulk from some industrial supplier. I also looked into just moving the external card cage with the HDX card but I read about eventual failures with the expensive fiber optic Thunderbolt cable due to some energy overload from the Mac Pro Thunderbolt outputs. I did disconnect the fan temporarily and the card seemed fine, but the OCD in me just couldn’t accept the Avid warnings about the fan on every PT startup. I’ve already had my C24 break twice and so removing the fan wasn’t an option for me. Plus if the card breaks the studio is down(I have only 1 HDX card). I ended up moving the entire Mac Pro, external drives and card cage out of the studio. It’s much quieter now, but extending 3 monitors video, multiple USB and the Avid Digilink cable(I didn’t move the HD I/O yet) over 50 feet in total length was no small feat(I’m still contemplating how to permanently route the wires into the next room without compromising the door sweep seal or making a hole in my double studded, double quiet rock wall)! Again, it’s all working great, but running new wires after the room is built has been a real drag, and like I said I still don’t have a permanent cable pathway yet.

[dwaynedelario]

Hey Flyingrock. Wow you got away with 8 years of fan free operation? Are you hearing anything other than a fan blasting at full tilt?

Sorry you had to join the ranks of us :)

[Flyingrockstudios]

Originally Posted by dwaynedelario

Hey Flyingrock. Wow you got away with 8 years of fan free operation? Are you hearing anything other than a fan blasting at full tilt?

Sorry you had to join the ranks of us :)

Before the fan noise was steady and very minimal, only a bit louder than the Mac Pro trash can itself.

With this problem, the fan gets loud if it's a moderate to heavy session. Fast = loud too. It's obviously the fan bearings, and even after blowing out the fan it still happens. I'm certain if I could get an exact replacement fan it would be quiet again.