CPU fan LOUD. Help please.

[aydrew]

I am running a P4 2.4AGHz (533 FSB) with Intel heatsink and fan that came with the cpu, on an ECS 848P-A motherboard. On a hot day, the CPU fan speeds up and gets REALLY loud. I've already gone into the bios settings and disabled the target temperature and shutdown temperature features under pc health status.

What can I do to stop the fan from speeding up (and getting really loud) whenever the temperature rises? Would a more quiet CPU fan be the only solution? Is this a motherboard issue? All responses will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Bluefront]

That's the way they're supposed to work......they speed up when the temp rises. It could be your particular CPU fan is noiser than normal. Maybe the fan blades are out of balance.

There are tons of CPU heatsink/fans that are quieter/better performing than an Intel model......

 

[Mucker]

I use one of these to control my CPU fan, it works very well with fine control: http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=35-118-217&depa=0
It just plugs in between the 3 pin MB CPU fan header and the CPU fan. You can find it for $5 shipped from bestbyteinc.com. I can't get to it tonite, their server must be down. Blue is right, the fan is meant to speed up when the temp rises. You can disable the throttling in the bios and use the fan mate to control the speed manually, but you need to get a feel for what temps and speeds are acceptable for you. If you live in a hot climate, it may be best to get a copper heat sink or at least one with alot of surface area, and use some good thermal compound such a Arctic Silver 5. Doing so will considerably drop your temps and noise levels. The stock intel sinks are ok for non-overclocking and cool climates but other than that, it is best to consider a new sink/fan combo. Your ears will thank you! There are alot of knowledgeable people here who will be glad to help...Welcome to AT

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[Aries64]

I am running a P4 2.4AGHz (533 FSB) with Intel heatsink and fan that came with the cpu, on an ECS 848P-A motherboard. On a hot day, the CPU fan speeds up and gets REALLY loud. I've already gone into the bios settings and disabled the target temperature and shutdown temperature features under pc health status.

As the two previous posters stated, the CPU fan is supposed to speed up when the CPU is hot. Disabling this feature is not a great idea for CPU longevity or performance. If your CPU get too hot you could get errors. Worst case is your CPU frys. Ooops.

If I were you I would re-enable the fan temp monitor in PC Health status and live with the noise until I could get a better CPU cooling solution. A more efficient heatsink and fan combo will keep your CPU temps lower at a lower noise level. When properly designed, larger diameter fans can move the same volume of air (or greater) at lower rotational speed and with lower noise than smaller diameter fans, which need to spin faster to move an equivalent volume of air.

Also, because your new, more efficient HSF combo will allow the CPU to run cooler, you should be able to keep the PC Health Monitor enabled, helping to protect your CPU from overheating and running within thermal specs.

If case and motherboard component clearance alllows I suggest the Thermalright XP-90 mated to a corresponding 92mm fan. The XP-120 with a 120mm fan is even better, but fitting is often problematic due to the clearances required in the case and on the motherboard.

 

[Operandi]

Don't put the fanmate on the stock heatsink. If you want more control over what your CPU fan is doing check outSpeedfan. I would also get a better HSF, Zalman 7000/7700 or Thermalright XP-90/120 + Panaflow would be my first choice.

 

[aydrew]

You guys are awesome. Thanks! Any other recommended fans? I also plan to change my case to a higher quality, more quiet Antec Sonota. I take it that will help the situation as well?

 

[Mucker]

Originally posted by: Operandi
Don't put the fanmate on the stock heatsink. If you want more control over what your CPU fan is doing check outSpeedfan. I would also get a better HSF, Zalman 7000/7700 or Thermalright XP-90/120 + Panaflow would be my first choice.

With the thermal disabled in the bios, there is nothing wrong with running the fanmate. The fan will just start out at full speed and it's up to you to adjust it down. If you're keeping an eye on temps you will have no problem. I also agree, that it's not the best method, but it is the one of the cheapest and it's hardware based, which I'll take over software any day. I use speedfan to control my NB fan on my IC7 but not my CPU, I am new to speedfan and don't quite trust it yet. I probably will try it eventually but the fanmate works great.

There is alot of good info on HSF's here: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article30-page1.html

You shouldn't need a very expensive HSF for a non overclocked 2.53 Pentium. Something like this should work very well: http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=35-150-033&depa=0

This is probably one of the best deals going and includes a fanmate2: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obi...s=electronics&n=507846

m

 

[BonzaiDuck]

In the course of building several computers, my inclination has ranged from running the stock HSF off the mobo CPU fan-header (Pentium 2, socket 1) to using manually controlled (infrequently changed) switches (ThermalTake Volcano (x)), to front-panel (manual) fan controllers, to "programmable" thermally-driven fan-controllers, and back to the use of the CPU_FAN header -- this time using SpeedFan.

There are a range of solutions that include adequate cooling that may be quieter (the Speeze Masscool), to even cooler and quieter (XP90 or XP120 with a carefully chosen fan). One solution I used for a while was a ThermalTake PIPE101 heatpipe-heatsink with a 120mm-to-92mm fan adapter and a high-volume, low(er)-speed 120mm fan.

Yet, with many 800-FSB motherboards, even these solutions can be driven from the CPU_FAN header on the motherboard. It then becomes a question as to how much you want to spend (varying $10, $20, $30 etc. either way) with some combo solutions costing between $40 and $70. Thus you might find an XP120 for as little as $45; you'll probably have to buy some Arctic Silver 5 thermal grease for maybe $5; and the fan may cost you as little as $8 and as much as $20 depending on its quality and "extra" features. The Speeze cooler already mentioned is only about $13.

It's too easy to recommend a single solution, although you may not have time to investigate and then decide which is for you. Already, there are some good recommendations previously posted. If there isn't a problem with your CPU fan -- an imbalance in the blade or motor or some damage to the bearings (whatever might cause undue noise) -- you might just want to find a way to muffle the sound. Materials like PaxMate help, but may not be completely or perfectly adequate given your "noise-tolerance preferences".

 

[Mucker]

Well said Bozai. Another thing I forgot to mention is to clean all of your existing heatsinks and fans. I built a machine for my brother and he called me after 6 months saying it was making alot of noise. What happened was the rear 120mm cooling fan had stopped from dust build up and the stock Intel CPU fan was roaring like mad. Once he cleaned the fan, things quieted back to normal. It my be that all you need is more airflow through your case........you mentioned buying a Sonata, that may very well be your ticket with that 120mm rear fan...

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[aydrew]

mucker, that deal from amazon looks great. I think i might just go for that, coupled with a sonata case. thanks for all the help guys.

 

[Mucker]

A couple of great choices aydrew, you will be very happy. You may want to visit Zalmans site to make sure your MB is compatible with the 7000....

Edit: Just checked there, you should be ok, scroll down to the ECS section, your board is not on the blacklist: http://www.zalmanusa.com/produ...(AB)_478MBlist_eng.htm

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