"SlickRCBD" <slickrcbd@hotmail.com> wrote in message
p-idncOrPprQqt_enZ2dnUVZ_smdnZ2d@comcast.com">news:p-idncOrPprQqt_enZ2dnUVZ_smdnZ2d@comcast.com...
If the fan is worthless, why did it fix the overheating problems?
The fan isn't worthless, just not tbe best cooling option.
Let's clear up some myth-conceptions. Speaking in the context of the GS
only, nearly any fan will be an improvement, even if it circulates warm
air - because the GS case is designed to "breathe". Like the Apple IIc,
Apple engineers built the GS for passive cooling by convection, because they
assumed that because they designed a machine with so many built-in ports,
users wouldn't need or desire to add more than a couple extra cards.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in education, where Apple primarilly
targeted schools with the IIGS. The majority of those machines have nothing
in them except an Apple RAM card because generally, they were used as
nothing more than fast //e replacements. They ran fine, day in day out, with
no cooling fan.
You have to understand Apple's thinking at the time: they didn't expect
users to fill up all the slots. The main reason the slots existed were for
flexibility and backwards compatibility to create marketing leverage. Apple
wanted to make it easier for users to migrate and preserve their expensive
peripheral investments. Apple really did anticipate all those II Plus and
//e users to want to upgrade to the GS. There was also the huuuge peripheral
aftermarket to take into account - getting rid of slots would have
fundamentally changed the peripheral market and made a lot of
people/companies mad. Anyway, back to the point, Apple engineers expected
most users to rely on the built-in ports.
You can see this line of thinking finally culminating in the Mark Twain (ROM
04) GS, a machine with slot 5 and 7 being physically removed because those
slots were mapped to the smartport and built-in SCSI controller. Never mind
that the HS SCSI option would come later, or better peripherals - the slot
wasn't going to be there anymore.
It's true, the internal fan placement wasn't very well conceived mostly
because it was an afterthought and a shortsighted one at that. The
Apple-branded fan wasn't the best solution because it was big, noisy and
(according to some) blew in the wrong direction. It also sucked power off
the mainboard that the GS could have been using instead, and in some
instances, introduced signal noise to the system.
Apple became accutely aware of the cooling situation early on - people were
adding 2 or 3 cards to their systems and power supplies began stroking.
Apple eventually announced that if you added (I forget the number, I think
more than) 2 cards, you had to install their fan if you wanted to be covered
under warranty.
Peripheral manufacturers continued designing innovative cards capable of
pushing the GS far past it's Apple's expectations and specifications. Cards
out-performed the built-in ports. BTW, this is one reasons why Apple began
to slowly kill the GS; because it was gaining functionality features that
threatend the Mac LC. The Mac LC may have been technologically superior but
an upgraded GS was cheaper, and would only slow adoption of the Mac
platform.
I'm short on time but I could go on about this... but in a nutshell, your
internal fan isn't worthless, it's just not the best option available. Not
when you can still get a Kensington System Saver somewhat easily on eBay.
The KSS is probably the best, most available cooling option for the GS -
it's definately better than the MDIdeas/AE Conservor.
I know several people that still use an internal fan WITH the KSS, for
airflow assist. Unlike the Apple fan that pulls air out of the power supply,
and then blows onto the cards - these people flip the fan around, pulling
air off their cards (mainly the accelerator) and the KSS clears the air from
the power supply. That actually works really well. That brings up another
issue - the KSS was initially designed to only lift warm air off the power
supply. The marketing info you may see on their packaging and in magazine
ads where they illustrate air circulating in the case is a bit of a fib. The
truth is, Kensington also didn't expect users to add bunches of cards, and
they were a bit surprised when TranswarpGS arrived. Later revs of the KSS
had improved bearings in the fans (early units burned out too early - from
heat), had higher RPMs (to compensate for accelerators) to move more air.
There are also how-to's circulating on how to beef up the KSS fan with the
better fan that shipped in the KSS //e model (better bearings), and you
could add a rheostat to make the fan variable speed - faster (louder)
maximum cooling, slower (quieter) for normal operation.