Dreamcast different fan loudness

[aaron]

i think this is the loudest dreamcast fan i've ever encountered:

[Fragems]

Pretty sure the fan was changed in a later revision.

okay found the page I read it on. It's just a forum posting but the guy seems to know what he is talking about.

On most Dreamcasts, it's a simple fan in a plastic housing. In a later revision, the fan is in a metal casing that is attached to a heat pipe / sink combination for better heat transfer.

Full Quote

http://dreamcast.onlineconsoles.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9469&sid=209c0f7bac4f696575b6411564627ad1

There are three design changes to the Dreamcast's physical hardware that I am aware of:

The first is the fan. On most Dreamcasts, it's a simple fan in a plastic housing. In a later revision, the fan is in a metal casing that is attached to a heat pipe / sink combination for better heat transfer.

The second is the way the GD-ROM is connected. On some models, it's two ribbon cables that plug into the side of the motherboard. Later versions have a single connector on the bottom of the unit that plugs into the main board as the GD-ROM is installed.

The third is the modem. There are two versions - models 'a' and 'b' - which can be found on the label on the modem. Determining the other two changes are a bit harder. The fan change, if I remember correctly, appears more frequently on either the SA or SD versions and the older GD-ROM connector is found in WK models.

[Hobie-wan]

Pretty sure the fan was changed in a later revision.

okay found the page I read it on. It's just a forum posting but the guy seems to know what he is talking about.

On most Dreamcasts, it's a simple fan in a plastic housing. In a later revision, the fan is in a metal casing that is attached to a heat pipe / sink combination for better heat transfer.

That's not correct either. I've dealt with about 10 US model HKT-3020s from revision 0, 1, and 2. They all had plastic fans and no heat pipes. I have 2 Japanese HKT-3010 and they both have the heat pipe and metal fan shroud. It is easy to tell systems that have the heat pipe because the fan is right up against the vent and you can see the top of the metal shroud. On the ones with the plastic fan, it will be recessed in the system. Though there might be different plastic fans. I haven't had a bunch of US systems open at the same time to compare.

[CD AGES]

Both are wrong. Metal fan can only be found in earliest model Dreamcasts (rev 0). Rev 1 and 2 models usually have a plastic fan.