Zyxel GS1910 Fan Replacement

Not too long ago I purchased a Zyxel GS1910-24HP for my home network. It suited my requirements well (12-24 ports, PoE, Gigabit, Rack-mountable and manageable). Unfortunately once I got it powered up I noticed how loud it was. Even though it sits in a small rack in my loft, it was still too loud. The Zyxel website has an FAQ article which states the noise could range from 28dB to 48dB!

Thankfully the GS1910 comes with some fairly standard fans, my model shipped with two 3-pin SUNON 80mm fans (model number KDE1205PHV3). Replacing these turned out to be fairly straightforward and in my case resulted in only a marginal increase in temperature. Before replacement, temperatures were as follows:

Temperature (°C)	Current	Threshold	Status
MAC Temperature		32	85		Normal
Board Temperature	30	85		Normal
PHY Temperature		28	85		Normal

FAN	Speed (RPM)	Current	Threshold	Status
FAN1	8640		500			Normal
FAN2	5040		500			Normal

After shopping around I settled on two Fractal Design Silent Series R2 40mm Case Fan as reasonable noise to airflow compromise. The one thing the original SUNON fans had going for them was their CFM, 13CFM compared to just 4.5CFM on the Fractal fan’s.

To replace simply open the case by removing what feels like an endless amount of screws and unscrew the two 80mm fans. The connector is a standard 3-pin making replacement straightforward. One thing I found is that the fans get mounted in reverse, meaning it can be difficult to drive the screws into them, so be careful not to damage the heads of the screws.

Once replaced, racked and left to run for an hour or two in similar conditions the new temperatures are as follows:

Temperature (°C)	Current	Threshold	Status
MAC Temperature		38	85		Normal
Board Temperature	35	85		Normal
PHY Temperature		35	85		Normal

FAN	Speed (RPM)	Current	Threshold	Status
FAN1	4740		500			Normal
FAN2	2580		500			Normal

Given the high thresholds, I’m not too concerned though it’s something I’ll keep an eye on through the summer.