God are all AMD cpu coolers so loud?

[RobertPters77]

For the past few months my desktop's cpu fan has been getting louder and louder. As of now it's at 5k rpm. I thought mine was the only one to do this. But no, the other AM3 systems in my house have the same problem. Usually I don't notice it because I have my headphones on. My living room pc has the same problem but it's less noticeable due to the TV drowning it out. I tried lowering the fan speed down but the cpu gets over 80c easily. The airflow in my case isn't bad, infact I have two case fans blowing directly on the cpu. They barely go over 1k. The gpu fan barely breaks 1.5k.

Anyone else have the same problem?

 

[Ancalagon44]

I had the same problem when I bought my Athlon X2 5600+. A few years later, I bought an Athlon II X4 620, and to my dismay it came with the exact same heatsink.

The one I had was a small aluminium block with a fan on top. No heatpipes or anything, dont think it had a copper base either. Is that what you have? I replaced it with an Arctic Cooling 64 v2 and since then its been MUCH quieter. Well worth the few bucks it cost.

 

[frostedflakes]

Stock CPU coolers in general aren't that good. Cleaning all the dust out will probably help. If they're still too loud even after cleaning them, you might consider investing in an aftermarket heatsink. You don't even need to spend a ton of money, something like the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ is very affordable and offers excellent performance.

 

[RobertPters77]

@Ancalagon44
Yes the exact one you are describing.

I had a 939 3800x2. Same damn heatsink as the one I have now.

@frostedflakes
Well my C2D stock heatsink wasn't so bad. Nor was it loud. I bought a CM heatsink too but I returned it because the stock HSF was really damn good.

 

[Ancalagon44]

Yeah I think just buy a cheapo third party heatsink. It makes a helluva difference. Your CPU will run cooler and quieter.

 

[dma0991]

A CM Hyper TX3 will be a cheap and good alternative to your stock cooler as it is silent and not as expensive as its bigger brother the CM Hyper212+.

 

[dawp]

you can get the hyper 212+ for 22.99 after rebate at microcenter.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0315397

if you have one nearby, you can walk out the door with it and save on shipping.

 

[Winston Marmaduke III]

I was going to get an aftermarket heatsink for my year old quad core build, but never got around to it.

I don't notice the fan though, and it's not like my stock Propus needs any more cooling. This thing runs cool for an AMD processor.

 

[infoiltrator]

Sound that reaches you depends on case and rpm required to cool CPU.
Use Speed Fan program to check temperature vs rpm.

 

[aigomorla]

stock sinks are on PWM.

The only way a PWM would be loud is if it was ramped up all the time.

And the only conditions it ramps up all the time is usually if set in bios on heat load.. or activity.

So if your telling us the stock fan is loud, it means u might have a heat issue, which is causing the fan on the sink to be up all the time.

 

[RobertPters77]

stock sinks are on PWM.

The only way a PWM would be loud is if it was ramped up all the time.

And the only conditions it ramps up all the time is usually if set in bios on heat load.. or activity.

So if your telling us the stock fan is loud, it means u might have a heat issue, which is causing the fan on the sink to be up all the time.

No way in hell I have a heat issue. I put a thermometer on the HSF when playing new vegas. It barely got over 50c. Speedfan reports my cpu is at 80c. Bios reports my cpu is at 79c. No fucking way. I had this exact same problem on my foxconn as I do on my gigabyte board. I think the cpu is at fault here. C2 stepping phenom 945. My older X6 didn't have this problem.

 

[Ancalagon44]

No way in hell I have a heat issue. I put a thermometer on the HSF when playing new vegas. It barely got over 50c. Speedfan reports my cpu is at 80c. Bios reports my cpu is at 79c. No fucking way. I had this exact same problem on my foxconn as I do on my gigabyte board. I think the cpu is at fault here. C2 stepping phenom 945. My older X6 didn't have this problem.

If you do have a heat issue, which is not impossible, its because your CPU cooler is so inept at actually cooling. You can get a cheap cooler which will massively reduce tempts while simultaneously reducing noise levels. Even if you dont overclock, its a worthwhile investment for your ears.

I think heat measurements are taken towards the middle of the CPU, ie inside it, which would explain the difference. Your CPU is probably running at 80C which is not healthy.

 

[aigomorla]

No way in hell I have a heat issue. I put a thermometer on the HSF when playing new vegas. It barely got over 50c. Speedfan reports my cpu is at 80c. Bios reports my cpu is at 79c. No fucking way. I had this exact same problem on my foxconn as I do on my gigabyte board. I think the cpu is at fault here. C2 stepping phenom 945. My older X6 didn't have this problem.

to me those values sound like any PWM fan would ramp up 100%.

:X

 

[Gigantopithecus]

One thing I've noticed is that the stock coolers on AM3 chips seem to come with too much thermal interface material and the TIM isn't that good, to boot. I use the stock hsf on AMD builds but replace the TIM with something decent like AS5 which is dirt cheap when bought in bulk. Reduces temps by at least 5-6C, which might be sufficient to keep your PWM hsf from running at 100% 24/7. Then again, if you're already hitting 80C on your CPU, it might not make enough difference. I'd get an aftermarket hsf.

 

[RobertPters77]

I guess it's settled. I need a new cooler or at the very least AS5 thermal paste.

 

[Zap]

I guess it's settled. I need a new cooler or at the very least AS5 thermal paste.

Have you at least tried blowing the dust out of the heatsink and fan blades using compressed air?

80ºC temperatures is telling me that the system thinks the CPU is overheating. Getting noisier over time tells me that it is a problem that takes some time to manifest. Dust is the #1 thing that can make temperatures go up over time. #2 is the actual fans slowly dying, but usually instead of spinning faster, they will get loud (growling or vibrating sound, lower pitched than a speedy fan sound).

 

[RobertPters77]

No dust, I checked.

 

[ExcaliburMM]

AS5 isn't really that good these days. Its an old paste and is definitely showing its age.

I use MX-2 personally, and OCZ FreezeExtreme has been reviewed to be very effective as well.

Go with a copper bottom cooler that uses heatpipes instead of just being a block of fins and some good paste and everything should be just fine.

Probably overkill, but for 30$, its entirely reasonable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233082

 

[RobertPters77]

I just ordered this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-029-_-Product

For 20$ with shipping I don't care. I'm getting rid of this PC as soon as BD comes out.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

IC Diamond is pretty kick a*s too

 

[Joseph F]

IC Diamond is nice but IMO the high-end Shin-Etsu pastes are better.

 

[Fayd]

all the computers in my house use aftermarket heatsinks. none of them are overclocked.

just drop 20-30 on a decent tower heatsink, and you're fine.


BTW, silenX is garbage.

 

[RobertPters77]

all the computers in my house use aftermarket heatsinks. none of them are overclocked.

just drop 20-30 on a decent tower heatsink, and you're fine.


BTW, silenX is garbage.

How bad is silenx? I just need something cheap to last me for the next 3 months.

 

[wirednuts]

50C surface temp on the heatsink, and 80C temp on the cpu chip itself? you DO have a heat problem. im imagining a heatsink that isnt properly seated, or thermal paste was used too little or too much.

 

[Zap]

How bad is silenx?

That particular heatsink is probably not very good, seeing as it has only two heatpipes and an 80mm fan.

This one for $5 more is probably a lot better, having double the heatpipes and using a larger 92mm fan.

Best bang/buck for CPU coolers are usually the medium priced ones.