To tidy up the desk a bit, raise the laptop, and potentially help cool it during our famous Australian summers, I bought (with my boundless wisdom), this:
The fan spins. Annoying droning noise.
Disassembly’s pretty straightforward. Fan, when run held in my hand, is source of the droning noise - probably either a dodgy bearing or a very slight misalignment. It’s rated to 30db. I’m no audio engineer, but it’s probably within spec. Just annoying. Applying pressure to the centre reduces noise. I tried screwing padding in to muffle it, negligible effect. Removed and reassembled, it runs as before of course, so I’m just leaving it off and using as a stand - but not really satisfied.
Warranty? Meh. You’d have to compare it with others in the shop to tell if they can even be any quieter and it’s not like there’s that much range to choose from.
It runs a 200mm fan off a 2-wire connector onto a simple control board that’s good for on/off and 2-position slow/fast mode.
I’m considering getting a really quiet 200mm fan, like a Noctua, but would have to come up with a control solution - either cut the wires, join them, and cludge it into this chassis, or buy a USB powered fan controller that accepts the 4-pin connectors case fans typically use. Total cost of that exercise is more than these stands retail for. Pity there aren’t better options!
Ideas? I’ve googled around a bit and haven’t found such a board.
I do have an old Thermaltake case lying around with a 200mm fan in it’s side panel, so I might experiment with that. No guarantee it’ll be any quieter but maybe a worthwhile sacrifice just to try cutting & joining the wires with.
*Edit: found 4-pin to USB adapters online… well, those are easy. Just got some dimensions to think about. This should work!