Hey, so I've had this router for a minute now and it's always been quite flakey. Only lately have I figured out the problem: it overheats.

So I'm looking to add a fan to it over the break along with a variable resistor of some sort. (A knob?) I was going to cut a whole in the top to screw the fan onto and then add a grill just for good measure.

So I thought I'd see what you all thought about what fan size I should use (120 vs 80 mm) and whether or not it would be safe to just solder the fan to the main power contacts on the mobo.

My main concern is quiet, as I it is a router and will be in my room and will be running 24/7.

Have you considered other options like moving the router to a lower spot, maybe below you're desk? Back at university I remember getting around 3-4*C lower tempertures from my case when moving it from on top of my desk to the floor.

Also, you could try cutting additional ventilation hols in the router casing if moving it was not enough on it's own.

Having a fan modded router sounds kind of neat but if you don't really want the noise or the hassle one of the above options may be enough for it.

Didn't someone on the old forums slap a P4 heatsink on a Dlink router.

I don't remember that but I wouldn't be surprised if it was true Dr.

But that's another options as well though - have a heatsink (may not even need the fan) attached to the main chip with some thermal epoxy. Unfortunately this won't help if it's another component(s) that's actually overheating (I'm thinking the power circutry) but it might be worth a shot.

that was ODB with a di-604 i do believe.

I guess I was kinda set on using a fan, I just thought I could get one to run pretty silently if I decreased the RPM. A 120mm at pretty low RPM should be more effective than extra ventilation holes right?

I was hoping more for advice on the best brand/model of fan to go with if I was looking for silence. Any suggestions there?

As far as a heatsink goes, I know there's already one on the board's main proc and it gets pretty hot. It's pretty small though, but I think it needs to be for the case to close. I could get a taller one and cut a hole in the top for it, but I don't think that would look as a nice as a fan, or be effective if other stuff starting overheating like Flama mentioned.

i've been doing pretty good with coolermaster fans for silence when turned down to a low rpm.

Alright finished.

I ended up just stripping a fan from a fried power supply. Here's some pictures. Only time will tell how effective the fan is at keeping it cool.

Here's some pictures:
http://tmp.emeka.ca/dlink624_mod/