CPU fan going nuts...

[freddies_dad]

Hi all,

I think my CPU fan is on it's way out. It's making a terrible racket and when I go in to my BIOS too look at the stats, the CPU fan speed varies from zero, through 700 up to ~ 2000 rpm. This variation is across 1-2 second intervals - so is fairly random.

Is it, as I suspect, likely that the fan is on it's way out? Is there anything else I should be considering? (what controls the spin-speed of the fan?).

Also, can anyone tell me what fan I'd need. The processor is an "AMD Athlon 64 3000+"... is that a Socket 939 processor?

Cheers,
Phil.

PS: As quiet as possible without costing a fortune would be great. I'm not fussed about "silent" because the case fans would negate any silence "gain".

Edited by freddies_dad on Sunday 6th May 11:33

[ErnestM]

Try one of these...

www.arctic-cooling.com/cpu2.php?idx=80

I have really good luck with Arctic Cool fans. They run very quiet as well.

ErnestM

PS: Fan is controlled by the BIOS. You may have some sort of fan speed controll engaged. However, I doubt it considering that the fan is dropping to zero. Over time dust and contaminants can get in and ruin a fan. This usually happens more with the case fans than CPU fans, but it does happen.

[jimmyjimjim]

Seconded on the fan choice - when I built my pc I was getting very annoyed at the noise; tracked it down to the standard amd cooler (which was vibrating the hell out of the case), replaced it with a freezer 64 pro as in the link above; solved the noise problem and ran cooler. Highly recommended.
As for your issue, as EarnestM says, your existing fan may be a bit screwed; tried oiling it? Peel back the label, run a drop of 3in1 on to the end bearing, put label back on.
You could also try installing/reinstalling the amd cool'n'quiet drivers and cleaning the case out before you spend any money.
Yes, your 3000+ is almost certainly going to be a socket 939 chip.

[freddies_dad]

Thanks gents. The fan is very noisey (and always has been a bit rubbish). I'll give this one a go.

[That Daddy]

Yep Artic cooling fans get my vote i even have one on a camera pc that as run 24/7 for the last 12months whisper quiet too

[NugentS]

jimmyjimjim said:

Seconded on the fan choice - when I built my pc I was getting very annoyed at the noise; tracked it down to the standard amd cooler (which was vibrating the hell out of the case), replaced it with a freezer 64 pro as in the link above; solved the noise problem and ran cooler. Highly recommended.
As for your issue, as EarnestM says, your existing fan may be a bit screwed; tried oiling it? Peel back the label, run a drop of 3in1 on to the end bearing, put label back on.
You could also try installing/reinstalling the amd cool'n'quiet drivers and cleaning the case out before you spend any money.
Yes, your 3000+ is almost certainly going to be a socket 939 chip.

Generally if a fan has got that bad it will go bad again soon enough. Oiling them (even with 3in1) just attracts dirt and it bungs up again rapidly. The best solution is a replacement of either the entire HS or just the fan. A replacement HS will generally be better than the stock anyhow...

Sean

[MickC]

jimmyjimjim said:

Yes, your 3000+ is almost certainly going to be a socket 939 chip.

It could also be a socket 754 chip of course. Not that it matter in this case since the heatsink/fans are the same, but download cpuz to check if you are interested.