# Very noisy heatsink and fan- help!



## Mintyline

Hi Guys and Gals,

I'm running a 3.2 ghz P4 on a Elite motherboard.

The heatsink and fan assembly is a common:

Intel D13179-001 Socket-775 Copper Core Cooler, Nidec P/N: F09A-12B4S1

My problem is that it is very noisy, so much so that we have to turn the PC off from time to time as the sound bores into ones brain!

It has a decibel rating of 40+, runs at 4800 RPM. The CPU temp is around 50 degrees centigrade.

1. Can the fan be tweaked to run quieter?
2. Can the fan be replaced with another leaving the original heatsink in place?
3. If the whole thing needs replacing for a quieter one what are your recommendations. I don't want to spend a fortune please.
4. What speed of fan would suffice and still keep the CPU cool enough?

If you have any other pointers I would be very grateful.

Thanks,

Mintyline


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## Commander Data

I have a virtually silent rig

My CPU cooler and video card are passive, they have no fan. The 6 120mm fans in my case move air through slowly but enough to keep things cool.

You can buy a CPU heatsink with big fins, and\or a large 90mm - 120mm fan that move slowly and doesn't sound like a Comanche helicoper. This depends on how large your PC case is, how much room you have in there. Please reply with the model if possible.

1. Can the fan be tweaked to run quieter? Some MB will control the fan speed with a setting in the BIOS, but stock fans will never be that quiet.

2. Can the fan be replaced with another leaving the original heatsink in place? Yes, but wouldn't solve your problem. I would buy a new heatsink and fan and change it out.

3. If the whole thing needs replacing for a quieter one what are your recommendations. I don't want to spend a fortune please. Folks here will tell you examples that you can buy from newegg for under $30.

4. What speed of fan would suffice and still keep the CPU cool enough?
If you buy one of the large ones the fan speed will either be lower, OR may also be controlled by your BIOS, so that if your system is cool enough, the fan just doesn't spin up at all.

You might also buy a can of compressed air and blow all the dust off the fans in your system, sometimes that helps a bit.


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## McNinja

you're going to have to make sure you mount it right or it'll block your ram slots

otherwise this runs at around 19 dBA

COOLER MASTER RR-CCH-LB12-GP 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler
$39
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103040


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## thedarkwolf25

Noise from fans can be caused by a few things. The first thing to do is try cleaning the computer really well with a can of compressed air. You will be amazed how much dust can increase the noise.

Another is the fan's speed, the faster it spins the higher the volume. With this in mind it's always a good idea to go for larger fans (make sure they will fit though) as a larger fan can move air well and still be very quiet.

The easiest solution is to replace the whole heatsink/fan setup with an after market one. They can run as ceap as $30 and there are tons of them on newegg. 

And when looking at the metal they are made of always try and get copper as it's a better conductor of heat than aluminum.


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## WereBo

Alternatively, if money is in short supply, you can (usually) remove the stock-fan from the heatsink and oil it.

1} - Unplug the PC from the mains power, then open the case.

2} - If you look carefully at the fan, you should see 4 screws, 1 in each corner. Follow the fan-wires to the mobo and unplug it. Remove the screws without dropping them onto the mobo and lift off, WITHOUT removing the heatsink from the CPU.

3} - While the fan is off, clean out any dust-bunnies from between the heatsink fins, and clean the fan-blades with a small stiff(ish) brush.

4} - On 1 side of the fan is a label in the centre, very carefully remove this. Some fans just have an open hole underneath the label, some have a plastic/rubber disc covering the hole - Carefully prise it out with a pin, fine-bladed knife or something.

5} - Apply 1 small drip of light oil (sewing-machine oil is great) to the fan-bearings in the centre of the hole.

6} - Re-assemble - Same as removal but in reverse - Oh, and without replacing the dust-bunnies :grin: If the label tore during removal, cover the hole with a small piece of vinyl tape or cellotape, just big enough to cover the hole but not extending beyond the blades-hub.

Your fan should be quieter and you'll have saved some money. If it's still noisy, then I'm afraid it'll be the options listed above, it's worth a try though - My 1st home-built PC's fan lasted approx another 12 months, using this cure.


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## Mintyline

Hi all who replied,

Many thanks for the very sound advice on my noisy CPU fan problem. I have done the basics first and removed and cleaned throroughly the CPU fan and heatsink fins. The fins in particular were very dusty. This remedial work has made quite a difference. No suprise there really as it was very encrusted!

If it gets particularly noisy again quite soon, Ill take the extra advice given and just buy a much lower decibel CPU nd fan.

Anyway thanks again, 

best regards,

Mintyline


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## McNinja

glad you got it sorted


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