my CPU fan sounds like roadworks

HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
edited December 2006 in Hardware
Any silencing tips? My CPU fan sounds like a pneumatic drill from vibrating against the case :doh:

Comments

  • TimTim Southwest PA Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    Change it. The bearings are shot.
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    bearings? O.o it's been making that noise since I bough the PC, it's got a cone on springs that presses against a grid in the case and when the fan goes into overdrive it vibrates :P (techno-noob=me) :)
  • ez1ez1
    edited December 2006
    check if its snapped in tight to the case or if it has screws tighten em
  • nonstop301nonstop301 51° 27' 24.87" N // 0° 11' 38.91" W Member
    edited December 2006
    Hi there Harudath,

    I had a similar issue with my fan :) Only I nicknamed mine the "Chinook" :) But "roadworks" is a good one too :)

    There's a nice way of silencing it and I do this with all the fans in my case now. You'll need a fan speed limiter cable that reduces the voltage the fan receives from the default 12V to a lower 9V or 7V depending on which one you get.

    When the fan runs at 9V or 7V it will be quieter but still provide adequate cooling for the CPU. It will be running longer but a lot quieter than the "roadworks" :)

    The cable from your CPU fan will not go directly to the motherboard adpapter. It will be connected to the 3-pin connector of the speed limiter cable and the other end of the speed limiter cable then connects to the motherboard.

    Here's an example of one I use
    a45aa.jpg


    Such cables cost under $5 and it takes less than 5 minutes to make the adjustment :)
  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    i suggest purchasing another HSF combo, that stands for heatsink and fan...its simple to do..just remember to apply thermal grease/paste onto the chip before you put the heatsink on
    www.frozencpu.com
    www.coolerguys.com
    and i know there are others which these guys can reccommend you...
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    Erm, I didn't assemble my own PC and the most i've ever done is insert some RAM, remove the CPU fan (just to clean out the crust of dust :doh:) and change the graphics card so I don't know anything about pins etc and I have no idea if I have a speed limiter cable and just from memory the fan only has one thing plugged in and that's straight into the motherboard :S
  • nonstop301nonstop301 51° 27' 24.87" N // 0° 11' 38.91" W Member
    edited December 2006
    Harudath you have to buy the speed limiter cable. It doesn't come with the PC. If you can see the CPU fan cable going from the fan to the motherboard, you will notice that the end that is plugged into the motherboard can be unplugged. The other end must not be removed from the CPU fan. The only thing you need to do is to plug the speed limiter cable to the end of CPU fan cable you disconnected from the motherboard and then the other end of the speed limiter cable goes into the same place where the CPU fan cable was originally connected onto the motherboard.
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    blah, i'll just get liquid cooling...
    By the way this is a minor post, I have a more serious problem in the http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53044 forum where my GFX card has fudged my DVD sound and I can't change the IRQ channels as they are confilcting etc..HELP! P
  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    hey man...liquid cooling is A LOT trickier to install than a HSF
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    Really? gah i'll just pour a bucket of water on my PC, good idea right?
  • ez1ez1
    edited December 2006
    also with the computer off - spin the fan blade with your finger just to see if its spinning freely and not hitting anything.also is your computer on a level surface.
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    Erm I can't spin the fan because it's in a metal grid :S it's a weird fan, enormous really :P
  • ez1ez1
    edited December 2006
    must be able to spin it with something
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    the gaps are tiny :P half a cm at widest
  • ez1ez1
    edited December 2006
    im starting to think the fan blade or case for the fan is warped from heat
    or its not tight against the case
    would it be a big job 4 you to remove the fan and hold it while it's running
    to see how bad it vibrates ?
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    lol yea, it was pretty nerve wracking just chaning the RAM :P it's not tight against the case, there is cone on springs comming out from the cooling part to the fan does not take in hot air from inside the case "supposedly" so the springs are causing the cone to vibrate against the case. Shall I just put some cotton wool between the rim of the "cone" and the case or is that a bit too...combustible? :P
  • ez1ez1
    edited December 2006
    find some thin plastic and use em as a shim till tight and you lose the bad vibs
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    k, thanks.lol
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    Argh, sorry about the "k, thanks.lol" my friend was using my PC and started answering help requests :doh: Thanks for the tip, i'll try that
  • ez1ez1
    edited December 2006
    np
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