[kasperl]

Well, my desktop's computer processor fan is making odd, ticking noises. The frequency of the ticking depends on the fan speed, and it's a really fast ticking. I think 50 a second, but that's only by ear. The entire computer is about 4,5- 5 years old. The processor is a P3 800 Mhz. The entire comp is meant to live another couple of years, first with me, then with my little brother. The thing stilll runs perfectly, I just don't want to damage anything. I tried to aim the vacuum cleaner at the (very, very dusty) fan, but that didn't remove any dust, even at full power. The fan is about 2-2,5 CM in diameter.

How do I fix this? Replacing the fan is an option, but I'd rather just fix this by something simple. If I do have to replace this, what's the most silent fan under 25 Euro/30 USD?

[Cyker]

My first reaction is that the bearings are going. You could try peeling the top-sticker back to expose the insides and put a drop or two of some sort of lubricant in there, but at this point the fan is probably on it's way out...
As for the dust, at least try and de-chunk the big slabs of dust and suck them up (With the vacuum cleaner!! ) - You wont be able to get the surface layers off without a damp cloth, but as long as you can get the giant compacted slabs of crap out from the fins and fan then you'll be a bit better off

[kasperl]

Bearings going = dead fan?

How much am I looking at for a generic, non-couloured, non radioactive-glow, replacement?

[kasperl]

The cleaning isn't working, I'm off to the store to try and track down a Socket 370 fan. Annyone have on spare he'd like to donate?

[Darkage]

Originally posted by kasperl
Bearings going = dead fan?

How much am I looking at for a generic, non-couloured, non radioactive-glow, replacement?

If the bearings are gone then your fan would just stop to function as it should do. It proberly wil keep spining very fast but nothing happens to cool the cpu.

[Falcon]

Why don't you just use a blower go outside and blow all the dust off. It works better than sucking.

[kasperl]

Replaced the fan.

God that was scary.

Anyway, new fan on, the thing is a ****lot louder, and the SiSoft Sandra Util I use for checking the temp went from 25C to 38,5. I never even new that I had a CPU temp thingy, or that it worked, but before I changed the fan it said 25, and now it says 38,5. Concerning?

Edit: up to 42 right now (according to the BIOS), and with a record of 43,8.

[kasperl]

Originally posted by Falcon
Why don't you just use a blower go outside and blow all the dust off. It works better than sucking.

Took the old fan off, and tried to clean it, no dice, all the dust stuck to it.

[Kazan]

get a better fan

get a copper heatsink too if possible

[kasperl]

What kind of fan do you recomend for a Socket 370?

The next one in line was a Zalman for 50 euro's, but since this PC is only mine for another 3 months, tops. I don't intend to spend that kind of cash on a CPU fan.

BTW, after killing SETI@Home the temp dropped to 35,6, which can't be far off the outside temp.

[ChronoReverse]

35 degrees is fine for a P3 800.  Nothing to worry about.  Although I'm wondering why the fan is loud though.  What fan did you get?

[kasperl]

8 euro, that's about a tenner in USD, generic POS fan. Calll it 2 cm in diameter, and those are 2 big centimeters.

[ChronoReverse]

A 2cm (I'll assume it's radius) fan?  No wonder it's loud.  Can't say much except maybe spend 20USD instead an get a switch mcx or something quiet.

But you don't really have to do anything since it's not like your cpu is overheating.


BTW, by the time you hear noises from your fan, it's too late to try cleaning and greasing it up.

[vyper]

On a similar vain, is 52^ (peak) normal for an Athlon XP?

[ChronoReverse]

Depends on which one you have, but in general, if that's your peak temperature, it's fine.

[Nuke]

i dont know if you can find one but get one of those xeon cooling units. its essintially a wind tunnel and an ultra fine copper heatsink. those things are awesome at keeping your chip cold. though i dout it would fit your socket or in your case for that mater.

when you buy a 3rd party fan you have to make sure you dont get ripped off. they tend to not be as good as the fans that come with the intel processors. also they are overpriced to hell. what you pay $50 for you could order out of an asian components catalogue for $2+shipping. you want to look at 2 things, fan speed, and heatsink quality. a good heatsink will have much more surface area than a bad one. the fan is trickey, just cause it has the rpm you want does not mean that the blades are effieciently designed to displace as much air as possible. ive seen server fans with enough power to get themselves off the ground, also metal fans (you dont see theese much anymore) will last forever. but what you got should make your computer last for a couple more years.

this thread is beginning to sound like the lightbulb thread. quick, somone accuse kazan of being analy retenitave

[CP5670]

I had several problems with my computer's stability recently and one of the issues turned out to be dust. I couldn't even see the dust with the fan on the heatsink, but when I took it off the dust was so thick and solid that I first thought it was some sort of rubber padding. Upon removing that stuff, temperatures dropped by an amazing 20C/68F. This is one of the 60mm delta 7000rpm fans, I didn't have a filter on it and had not cleaned it for years so I guess it's no surprise, but man, I have never before seen dust that thick.

The 92mm tornado I am thinking about for a new processor is $10, so I think you should be able get a decent fan (by itself) for pretty cheap if you want to stick with you existing heatsink.

[Grey Wolf]

If you get a Tornado, get some sort of fan control method. You'll need it.

[Liberator]

Why do you people forget to clean your computers out once a month.  All it takes is a can of compressed air, that you can get at any decent computer shop for $4.00 usd. ...that reminds me...

[Nuke]

last time i did that the dust bunnies tried to take over the building.