So I wanted to create a follow up post to this discussion here:
If you scroll half way down the page, there are some rather great photos of a WD player that has been modded with a case fan. However what the poster neglected to do, was show a photo of where the fan was hooked up to. Some may scoff and say it is obvious, but for those of us who are less illuminated I thought I would add those missing photos. I also wanted to point out some not so obvious things for folks as well.
FYI, don’t mod this thing until your warranty expires…just makes sense.
So here we go:
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The top does pop off, but before you can do so, you need to release the the screw that is under the warranty sticker on the bottom. It is a star nut screw, however a small enough allen wrench will loosen it for you.
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Popping the top off is a bit of pain, and can add some small visual damage to the the edges, you use a very slim shim, plastic if possible, metal otherwise. If you don’t have either, and really don’t care, a reasonably thin flat plate screwdriver will work just fine.
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After you remove the other 3, internally mounted, circuit board screws. The circuit board does not make itself immediately ready to be removed. Its kind of a friction fit. So you kind of have to pull on one end, gently, and slowly massage one end out. Typically you want to pull up the circuit board from the side where there is fewest ports. Just take you time and it will come out.
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You wont be able to place your fan directly over the CPU, it will have to be offset from the edge, about an 1". Pay attention to this, or you will find yourself, have to band aid your current hole. ( Trust me on this ). Be sure the fan is not hitting anything directly, before you place it permanantly to the case top. Make sure to sand or grind down any rough edges you make while make holes. A dremel is a godsend for stuff like this.
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Not all case fans are two pin, some are three, as was mine. With three pin fans, the Black and Red wires are your power, and the third Wire ( yellow in my case ) was for contrlloing the speed of the fan. Clearly you wont have this ability with the direct power hookup.
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Add a few extra small holes, to allow for air to be pulled through. The majority of the the air is comes from the base of the unit, but it will make the fan work a little than it needs to.
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When you finally have everything located, take your time and make the drill holes the correct size. Though many case fan screws are self tapping, the plastic is so brittle and thin, you stand the chance of breaking it when you begin mounting the unit. Believe me, you will not have much space from the hole cut out and the mounting holes.
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Lastly, just take your time closing it up, try to prevent the wires from touching anything that might get hot, capacitors and such. It should close up nice and snug. Plug it in and voila, its should work immediately.
See photos below to see where to hook up your fan power.
There are several other solutions to this problem. I just chose to go all out. If you are looking for a less intrusive answer, I suggest going here:
http://community.wd.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Streaming/Abnormally-warm/m-p/597195#M23369
Good luck!!
Cheers,
-Jhop
