CPU Fan - Driving Me Crazy!

FelixDeSouzeFelixDeSouze UK New
edited January 2008 in Hardware
Hey all,

I've got a Dell Dimension 5150 which I have had for about 2 years now.

The Case fan is the CPU fan and lately it's really loud even when I'm not doing much and my PC is in my living room so it gets really annoying.

I tried unplugging the fan as I thought it was only a case fan and I thought I still had another fan for the CPU BUT again as I said the fan turned out to be the CPU fan (so I didn't fancy turning it off).

I have checked the BIOS and I can't see anything to do with the fan speed in there.

It has 4 wires (red, blue, white & black), I'm not sure which one is the rev counter so I don't fancy cutting any wires.

Can anyone help me in finding a solution to either keeping the fan speed at 1 set speed so it keeps the air flowing but it does not speed up. If there is no way to set the fan to stay at 1 speed by using software and settings, is there a way to stop it via cutting one of the wires?

HELP!!!

Thanks!

Comments

  • TBonZTBonZ Ottawa, ON Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    Unless you can get yourself a variable speed control to turn the fan down, you should just invest in a silent fan of the same dimensions as your existing fan and replace it altogether.
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    There have been several cases with Dell's heat sinks not being the greatest quality. My facility bought 30 Dell Optiplex GX280's about 3 years ago and 20% of them had problems had poorly milled heat sinks. The fan would slowly ramp up until they sounded like jet engines. The CPU was reporting it was getting hot, the fan would speed up to draw more air but since the heat sink was not milled correctly it wasn't fully contacting the cpu. Since our Dell's were under warranty, they replaced the heat sinks after fighting with them a bit. So.. it may not be the fan but actually the heat sink.

    So... in your case, you're gonna need to remove the heat sink and gently remove the crappy thermal pad. Use razor blade to remove the bulk of the thermal pad then use WD40 to remove the remaining goop. Then use isopropyl alcohol (90% preferred) to remove the WD40 residue. The CPU usually does not need to be cleaned much, just use the alcohol. You'll need a premium thermal compound like Arctic Silver and apply a drop of in on your CPU and then re-attach the heat sink.

    Try that. If that doesn't work then you'll need to "lap" the heat sink. It's a pain but it can drastically improve the heat sink's performance. Try this thread for information on lapping.

    OK... let us know how things work out!!! ;)
  • FelixDeSouzeFelixDeSouze UK New
    edited January 2008
    Righty, Cool.. I opened up the case and the heatsink didn't seem to be securely on the cpu.

    I tightened it up and so far so good, it's pretty quiet. Time will tell though!!! :)
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    If it wasn't tight on the CPU, it's good you spotted it and fixed it now!
  • FelixDeSouzeFelixDeSouze UK New
    edited January 2008
    Yeah, I'm glad I did find it. Not good if CPU getting overheated.

    Been quiet for about 12 hours now, so far so good!
  • erichblas2005erichblas2005 Your Native Texan Houston,Texas Member
    edited January 2008
    If I were you I would just buy another HSF. Gigabyte, and Zalman are nice.
  • FelixDeSouzeFelixDeSouze UK New
    edited January 2008
    erichblas2005 wrote:
    If I were you I would just buy another HSF. Gigabyte, and Zalman are nice.

    I wish I could, bit of a stuggle with cash this time of year.. It is completely quiet now which is good, must have just been the heat sink connection.
  • manulekamanuleka
    edited January 2008
    man thats lucky you spot it before your CPU gets the fry lol... hope it will last...
  • FelixDeSouzeFelixDeSouze UK New
    edited January 2008
    Yeah, DAMN lucky! Still going quiet, it just spead up a little then but it's still really quiet.. Woohoo!
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    If your system runs cool enough, you don't need a new heatsink. Now that you know how it is to be installed correctly, I don't see a problem for you.
  • FelixDeSouzeFelixDeSouze UK New
    edited January 2008
    You got that right Leo! Thanks for all the help, I think this thread can now be closed :)
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    We don't generally close threads. After all, this wasn't a service order and no one signed for anything! Hardware threads can a have very long life, sometimes years.

    Glad everything is working well now.
  • FelixDeSouzeFelixDeSouze UK New
    edited January 2008
    Leonardo wrote:
    We don't generally close threads. After all, this wasn't a service order and no one signed for anything! Hardware threads can a have very long life, sometimes years.

    Glad everything is working well now.


    Oh I see, it's all good then! :D
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