Why is my CPU fan so loud?

Question

I bought an old PC to use as a second PC. Everything is fine, except for one thing. The CPU fan is terribly loud!

I did a lot with PCs but I never did much with CPU fans.

If I want to replace it, what do I have to look for? The fan is 8cm long on each side and 11cm diameter. It is just clipped to the cooler. The PC is a P4 3 GHz.

I don't want to spend much money, as I only paid €50 for the whole PC.

I would prefer to buy a fan for 1-3 dollar or something at eBay but I am not quite sure which one I should buy (which fits). Can you advise?

Solution

I'm assuming that the bearings have failed and that's why your fan is making an abnormal noise.

Looks like a standard 80mm case fan will work as a replacement. They come with two types of power connectors: those that connect to pins on the motherboard (if your motherboard has them) and those that connect to your power supply. Get one with the same type of power connection as the existing fan.

Power supply type looks like this:

Motherboard pin type:

Get generic ones for a few dollars only at a local computer store.

Make sure you install the fan so it blows down onto the heatsink (not sucking air up).

Comments

[Alex]

Duplicate of superuser.com/questions/80683

[Johan]

Do not answer your own question with new questions, update the question and add comments instead... It is not a "forum"

[Admin]

yup, when this baby gets busy it will sure as hell let you know! :)

[Satanicpuppy]

It's probably not, frankly. I have a CPU of that generation, and it sounds like a small vacuum cleaner...And that's clean. If it's dusty?

[stone]

CPU's don't make noise; fans do. satanicpuppy, sounds like you could benefit from Thomas's advice as well. Replace that noisemaker! There are quietish 80mm fans, and truly quiet 120mm fans. For the quietest solution you should replace the CPU heatsink with one that accepts a 120mm fan. Next best is to use a fan adapter that will let you put a 120mm fan onto the 80mm heatsink. Cheapest solution is to replace the 80mm fan with a new, quieter one.

[Lipongo]

Fans are not programmed by the seasons. They react to specific criteria. If the sensor for the component the fan is attached to is getting hot the fan speed increases. If it cools it decreases. You realization of it going faster or slowed during specific seasons is more related to the environment being hotter or colder than programmed to the seasons.