Noisy Fan

[Jimmae]

Hiya,

Got a really noisy fan in my PC, did a bit of detective work and worked out that it's the little fan stuck on the mobo, just to right of AGP slot on my abit Kv7.

is this something i can quickly replace? or is it new mobo time? im not generally a pc noob, so if i can get the parts it shouldnt be a problem to change.. i just have no idea what to search for.

tia!

 

[Ardrias]

There should be plenty of passive cooling solutions for the Northbridge, if I'm not totally wrong. Otherwise you'll do fine with just about any small fan I guess.

 

[Jonty]

Hi Jimmae

Don't worry, you won't be needing a new motherboard (providing the fan doesn't pack in altogether). As Ardrias says, it is possible to get so-called passive cooling which disperses heat without the need for a fan. Alternatively, you can get very quiet fans to replace the one you already have. Finally, you can check if your computer's BIOS (usually accessible by pressing 'Delete' or 'F2' at startup) allows you to adjust the fan speed and try lowering it from there (within reason, remember the lower the fan speed the hotter the components get).

I'm not an expert in this area but I believe most cooling solutions are a fixed size so give your existing fan a measure to get the diameter then check online stores (I'm sure people will suggest good shops). I'd also give the BIOS option a whirl first, if your motherboard supports it, as this may help matters without the need to spend money. Again, I'm sure people will be on hand to advise, as this is potentially a fairly advanced area.

Kind Regards

 

[.Wilier.]

Chances are it will be a 40mm fan, maybe a 60 but doubtful.

It will probably be held on with little plastic push pins, these are quite easy to remove but may require you to remove the board, although from memory, they push in from the front, so you might be ok.

You can get a new fan from most retailers, Maplins for example, but personally, I would junk it and fit a silent heatsink.

Remember Kids, less fans = less noise.

EDIT//

Right, well, Ive had a look and it actually looks like its a 50mm fan, quite a nifty one too by all accounts.

You can see in the picture the little white mounting pins, these should come out with a bit of a twisting pull motion. The problem being that the heatsink for the chip is actually part of the fan, so replacing the fan is going to be difficult.

The best bet would be a Zalman ZM-NB47J which will cover a max size of a 47mm chip.

 

[Jimmae]

that's the fella, willier.

i'll get one of the zalman's you linked and try and wang it in this weekend

cheers fella's!

 

[Jonty]

Cheers Wilier, I knew you'd know Hope it all goes smoothly, Jimmae

Kind Regards

 

[Jimmae]

got the heatsink and all installed now.

getting that fan off was not easy by a long shot! bloodie hard to get to the pin near the agp slot and get a good enough grip to get it out.

cheers for the help, my pc is lovely and quiet now, whee!

 

[.Wilier.]

*news flash*

Wilier in "Good advice" shocka'

 

[Jimmae]

indeed

but now my noisy hard drives are annoying me so i need to find a better solution for them too..

this could get addictive :/

 

[Ardrias]

If you want to quiet stuff to be quiet I suggest you take a look over at SPCR, but yes, it does get quite addictive. I know, since I just sleeved my PSU.

 

[Jonty]

... but yes, it does get quite addictive ...

hehe, that's very true My Shuttle has a meshed case which, although great for airflow, isn't so good for noise. I checked out QuietPC et al. a while back but by the time I'd finished I'd found sound dampening case lining, near silent DVD and HDDs, acoustically sensitive fans and PSUs ... hehe. You could spend an awful lot of money vying for a near-silent system

Kind Regards

 

[old.user4556]

My Abit AN7 has a very noisy fan. More quality PC parts .

I should do the right thing

 

[Embattle]

Generally you can get certain HDs, like my Samsung ones, that have acoustic options although this generally results in lowering the spindle speed to make it less noisy, in turn this means the performance drops. You can get dampening cages for HDs but again you have to watch out they don't overheat and that goes the same for the case.

I wouldn't worry about Power Macs, one I saw was making a hell of a racket since one of the fans had seemingly become unbalanced or something thus in the complicated cooling system used in the Power Mac it seemed to exacerbate the sound.