CPU cooling fans

[DJ111S]

My cooling fan is giving up the ghost I think. It's only a £3 jobbie, are these generic in terms of size, fittings, speed and airflow or do I need to look for a specific type?

Ta

[beano500]

No the fittings are not necessarily the same.

I can't remember what I ended up with but I know I bought some great-big-f***-off-cooling jobbie only to find it wouldn't fit on the newest Pentium! (When the blurb clearly stated that it fitted everything but, of course, had been overtaken by the new size/format.)

What CPU have you got?

[DJ111S]

It's an AMD Athlon.

The heatsink and cooling fan look pretty much like every other on the shelf at PC world!

[pdV6]

DJ111S said:

It's an AMD Athlon. The heatsink and cooling fan look pretty much like every other on the shelf at PC world!

They all do look quite similar. However, the attachment will be different for various processors.

You'll probably need one to fit a "Socket A" motherboard, but don't forget that you'll need some thermal paste (e.g. Arctic Silver) to make the join between the CPU and the new heatsink. Oh, and even if you get the right attachment, depending on your case/board layout it still might not fit if the heatsink/fan combination is a different size/shape to your existing one.

[rsvmilly]

If you only want to change the fan and not the heatsink then you'll probably find it is a bog standard 60 or 80mm fan. (80mm most likely)

[DJ111S]

fan is only 50mm, looks like the bearing has gone.

[rsvmilly]

DJ111S said:

fan is only 50mm, looks like the bearing has gone.

Check the diagonal dimensions of the fixings. It is probably 60mm.

Bigger fans are better in that they can turn slower (quieter) for the same airflow.

[lockstock2sb]

I've had fun buying fans that look the right dimensions but the holes didnt line up etc - your best bet is to remove the thing and take it down and put it up against them. I've found PC world is crap for fans and overpriced - maplins isnt too bad if you can get to one.

There are some really efficient cpu radiator type units out now that might be worth investigating if you are into clocking etc - whack one on instead and run a big fan in the case across it ?

Or if you arent a pc geek like me - just do a straight swap !!