Noisy CPU Fan Help Needed

My CPU fan has just started to become really noisy. Does this mean that it`s on the way out or should a drop of oil cure it? What sort should I use?

Not sure how exactly to remove the fan either so any advice would be most helpful.

Cheers,
Jason.

Depends on the socket/heatsink type. Some (like this) are just attached to the top of the heatsink with four screws.

Don't put oil anywhere near it! If you must try to salvage it rather than replace it, use servisol switch/contact cleaner. Although its most likely the bearing that's on its way out, and nothing will fix that.

..ill recommend removal...its not expensive and its sitting on your CPU...if finally fail, it may end up way more expensive than some cheap fan..

aye there is no point trying to save a £5 part who's job it is to protect a more expensive part, that's like trying to repair a blown fuse.

On a side note- make sure it's not your graphics card fan (if you have one) or a case fan making the noise before playing with your cpu fan. Sometimes it sounds like it's the cpu fan when it isn't... and graphics card fans tend to die easily.

It`s definitely the CPU fan. I`ll just buy a new one then. One last thought, could dust be causing the problem?

Jason.

Possibly. They get incredibly dirty/dusty over time. Give it a proper clean (use a clean paint brush or similar to clean the more inaccessible parts). If that doesn't fix it, buy a new one.

Dust wouldn't make the fan noisy, unless there were huge quantities of it to the point that the fan was having trouble turning, but I wouldn't think that's the case. Dust is more of a problem for clogging up the heatsink, so while you've got the fan off you should give that a good clean as well.

On the fan there are two parts that push in (springy) one at each corner, top left and bottom right. Pressing these in and pulling doesn`t seem to remove the fan. There are also two tiny screws. Not sure how to get this thing off. I do not want to force it.

Jason.

You need access to the underside of the motherboard to get those off. Squeeze the end together and push it through.

I don't think you do, Try turning them a quater turn anti-clockwise.

It doesn't sound like your typical core-2-duo cooler to me- i can remove my current (but out of use till I can afford a new motherboard) fan by turning the heads 90 degrees anti-clockwise as above, but there are four of them, not two.

Not quite sure what it is there Quicksilva :-)

I'd go get a new silent cooling solution, depending on your CPU and case size etc. You can get large heavy heatsinks that require no fan at all. Or medium size ones that have a backup but are mostly passive. Depends how quiet you want it.

The fans that come with CPU's are usualy rubbish and even a cheap cooler will often be quieter. Usually the video card is the noisy part thats hard to quieten.

It depends on the model -- some of them just click/turn on, others are attached with screws to the bottom of the motherboard which would require you to remove your entire motherboard from the computer in order to access it. Keep in mind that the fan/heatsink is a single combo device. Typically you're not just trying to remove the fan, but the entire fan + heatsink combination unit.

There may be a make/model printed on your fan, try googling that to look for the installation instructions.

But like the others say: fans a cheap, CPU's are not. when in doubt, replace the fan. Especially if it's on its way out, you don't want it to go worse and completely grind to a halt. Without a fan, your computers has only minutes to live. (And without a heatsink, we're talking seconds. so whatever you do, after you remove the heatsink, do NOT turn on your computer. Your CPU will go up in smoke before its past the BIOS screen. (Even though most CPU's have thermal protection these days, without a heatsink the temperature can rise too fast for the protection to even kick in and throttle things back)

Finally: When you replace the fan + heatsink, keep in mind that you'll either need a heatsink that comes with a thermal pad pre-applied, or you'll also need to get some thermal goop like arctic silvergoop like arctic silver

The top of a CPU has microscopic hills and valleys, and for optimal heat transfer it needs the best contact with the heatsink that you can get. The thermal stuff will fill these tiny uneven spots and make sure there are no gaps or air bubbles.




Note that the fanless systems are not suitable for top-of-the-line CPU's thanks to the extra heat, AND that you need to have sufficient airflow in your case itself to make them work properly.
Rather than going fanless, personally I just looked for a fan that had a low noise level (most fans list their dB, lower is quieter). I also got a fan that worked with my motherboards temperature control feature, so the motherboard could throttle down the speed if the temperatures were low enough. Most of the time mine spins at 300 RPM, and still keeps the temperature below 45C. It's next to inaudiable.

Including the CPU and HD, there's ten fans in my desktop PC. Sounds like Heathrow airport on a bank holiday weekend.

Fortunately I'm a bit mutton, so I don't notice it too much.

this place is pretty good for quiet PC stuff, they test the noise of everthing properly so you can figure out which fans, PSU, and coolers to get. Tend to be a little behind on reviewing the latest stuff though.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/

You could always try running something like SpeedFan to check on temperatures and throttle the fan down. Might be too late for this fan, but could reduce the noise on a new one.

There's 5 in mine: one exhaust fan in the rear of the case, two front case fans that blow air over my HD's, one powersupply fan, and one CPU fan -- but I picked them all specifically for their low noise. The case fans are all Antec tri-speed fans locked at low speed, the CPU fan is auto-speed controlled by the motherboard, and the power supply has its own temperature sensor to adjust the speed.
I have an X1650XT video card, which was the fastest card on the market when I bought it that used just passive cooling. (Big heatsink + heatpipes, instead of a fan)

(The case itself is an Antec Solo, which has sound-dampening side panels, and has a suspension harddrive mount which gets rid of drive vibration noises.)

It's right next to my desk, but unless I'm doing something CPU intensive you can't hear it at all. I have to look at the power light to see if it's even on or not. It was worth spending a little extra to cut out all the noise -- my old PC was pretty loud, and it's amazing to get rid of all that crap, especially if you use your computer a lot.

Forgot about that. Make it 13 instead of 10 (cos I forgot about the GPU as well):

2 x PSU
1 x CPU
1 x GPU
2 x HD
4 x front intake
1 x side intake
2 x rear exhaust

Bit mental, really.

heh, only have 2 120mm case fans on the slowest 1st of 3 settings, and a quiet CPU fan, the video card is passively cooled in normal non 3D desktop use, it's quieter than my wifes notebook. Almost spooky seeing the monitor with something running sometimes because when Innas desktop is turned off and I'm just browsing the web or photoshopping its silent.

I just got the photoshop CS4 trial today which now uses the GPU for quite a bit for 2D work, so not silent for much longer.

It does seem like overkill... Unless you overclock the snot out of your PC, perhaps?

Thanks for the helpful advice everyone, much appreciated.

Jason.

13 Fans? Crikey!

Indeed. I'm surprised it doesnt hover a foot above the ground. :P

My housemate's PC has got some very noisy fans in it. As I share an 'office' with him, and he refuses to move his PC from the top of the desk onto the floor, I get irritable if I spend too long in there.

Oh, and his idea of 'system standby' is some crap suspend-to-RAM mode which keeps all the fans running.

Turn it off everytime he leaves the room.

Or, do what I did to somebody's PC (somebody I didn't like very much).

Take the side off, and pull things off the motherboard - anything crucial-looking is good. I also nabbed the hard drive while I was in there.

Have him check the BIOS, and see if he can switch standby mode from S1 to S3 -- In S3 mode, the RAM remains powered, but all other components including the fans shut off. Still near instantanous wakeup, without all the noise.

Anyway, I feel your pain. :-?