How to repair a loud fan

nitro

nitro

If you are like me, you have lots of computers, and probably lots of CPU and case fans. I spend somthing like $100 a year on replacing fans, but this may be cheaper if the problem is not too serious:

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000091,2135514,00.htm

Americans love to throw things out and replace them. But a little ingenuity can save a perfectly good piece of equipment.

Note well, don't use WD40.

nitro
 
Try a 120mm fan if your case supports it. Those fans turn at 1500-1800RPM and move 45-50CFM of air. Compare to a traditional 80mm fan which turns at 2500-3000RPM but only moves 30-35CFM of air. You might be able to replace two 80mm fans with one 120mm fan and get the same cooling effect. 80mm fans can run closer to 30 decibels while 120mm fans can run closer to 20 decibels. But be careful, they do make some "high output" 120mm fans for high heat/server solutions that are loud (40 decibels) but move 100+ CFM of air.

I have a 120mm fan in my machine. The only other fan is the 80mm cooling fan on the CPU itself, which I have throttled to run at lower RPM when not under load. It is so quiet that a couple times I have had to check and see if the power light is illuminated on the machine because I am not sure if it has shut down or not. Very nice.

Video cards are usually the main noise culprit in a system. Those little cooling fans on the GPU are pretty whiney. The smaller the fan, the higher the RPM it has to run, and the more noise it generates. Try a video card with a passive heat sink cooling solution. Or try an aftermarket video card cooling fan with a larger diameter fan and adjustable RPM (zalman is a good source of these).

Best bet is to find a website that specializes on gaming computers and check out their fans and look for a "low noise" one.

I don't have experience with the product, but there is a company called "enermax" that makes an "enlobal bearing" fan. Basically instead of riding on a bearing, the fan floats on a magnetic field. These run about 17 decibels for the 120mm version.

Another company makes a "golf ball" fan, so called because the fan blade has little dimples like a golf ball, design of which is also supposed to reduce turbulence and keep fan noise below 20dbA. Anything around 20dbA or lower generally seems to be "inaudible" to me beyond 4-5 feet away.
 
Quote from gnome:

Seems like a better idea to have video cards without fans for all-day long traders...
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Absolutely.

New Fan (ball bearing best ) + motor oil (10w40)
 
Putting a drop of oil on a fan is typically only a short term fix that will last a few weeks. When the fan starts making excessive noise, the damage is already done and oil will only give you a temporary fix. Plus, in order to oil the fan, you typically have to spend the time to take it all apart. If you're going to spend that time, you may as well suck it up for a few bucks and get a replacement fan.
 
just in time nitro! i have bunch of HD fans and they are getting louder and louder.
for all fanless people-i love quiet computers, but, you do need a fan,specially for HD,if you are processing lot of data. HD temp must be below 45C
 
It depends on the kind of fan. If it's a loud Cubs fan, normally just laughing at him will shut him up. However, if it's a loud Yankees fan, you normally have to give him a good hard kick in the balls to shut him up.
 
Quote from Bob111:

just in time nitro! i have bunch of HD fans and they are getting louder and louder.
for all fanless people-i love quiet computers, but, you do need a fan,specially for HD,if you are processing lot of data. HD temp must be below 45C
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C2Ds run cool... my cores are 23C and 20C. HD is 31C.
 
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