Noisy Fan

[mutahir]

Hello All,

I have a dell dimension 5000, PIV 3.0Ghz, 1MB cache, 1GB DDRII, 160GB SATA, 80GB SATA, DVD ROM & Burner.

Question is :

Sometimes, when i am using my pc, suddenly a noise/sound comes frm the machine like "bhoooooooooon" like as if the fan is in action, i am not Knowledgeable about hardware thats why i am confused whether its a problem with my machine - Also I keep my machine always ON, it has never been switched off since 7 months but i have restarted like once in every 3 days or so. I am using windows xp pro sp2.

its like when you start adobe ps2 while other apps are running this noise/sound comes but then goes down and i have noticed that cpu usage goes a bit high as well.

apart frm that machine is smooth and works like a charm.

i hope its not a hardware problem...

would be greatful for all of yours experienced advises.

Thanks and Regards

Mutahir

[LiquidSage]

sounds like you have a variable speed fan w/ a temp. sensor. They are nothing special and you might even consider replacing it with a quieter one regardless since dell doesn't really care much about noise (Sleeved, ceramic are the quietest, dbl ball bearing are the loudest) If the PC is new (P4) then there is probably an air duct going to the cpu which makes the whoosh a bit more audible..

In general those cases are pretty warm so the fan kicks up the speed when you put the cpu under load (like opening up PS).

Open the case, and with a can of compressed air, blow out all the dust bunnies. It wouldn't hurt to grab a plastic zip tie and make sure the cables are against the case or arranged in such a way that makes them less of an obstacle for airflow going from the front to back.

Edited October 30, 2005 by LiquidSage

[ripken204]

yes, definetly use some compressed air.

[Andromeda43]

Most cooling fans are of pretty poor quality. Bronze bushings mostly, with very little lubrication.

Like all personal computer parts they are NOT designed for 100% duty cycle.

So, if you're leaving your PC on all the time you're running it about five times harder than those cheap parts were ever designed for. So it's going to fail five times faster than a system that's run in accordance with design spec's.

If you can trace the noise down to a specific fan.....(just take the left side panel off and listen)

then you can fix it.

The main reasons for a fan to get noisey is, one, dirt and two loss of lubrication.

Even though I run my PC not more than eight hours a day, I tear it down and give it a very thorough cleaning about twice a year.

I have nine fans in my computer and each one of them gets a shot of oil and a very good cleaning on every inspection. I use a small hypodermic syringe to inject a drop or two of oil into the bearing, right through the seal (on the back of the fans) This technique keeps all my fans running quiet and happy.

I've been at this stuff for a very long time, and I've developed a fix for just about everything that can possibly go wrong with any electronics gear. (including PC's)

Good Luck,

Andromeda43 B)

[LiquidSage]

Nine fans!? whoa...even with a moderately OC'd P4 and vid card + 6 fast HD's, I'm only using 4 (not counting the PSU). You must be doing some serious OC'ing.

[Jeremy]

Andromeda, you're freakin' insane. Why don't you just switch to watercooling? I have an Antec midtower with a 350W Smart Power PSU, P4 3.0 GHz Prescott with stock heatsink and AS5 thermal paste, 1 GB DDR PC3200 RAM, an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro with a VGA Silencer attached with stock thermal paste. I have an Antec 120mm ultra silent fan on the back. I can put my ear right up to it and barely hear it. However, the 80mm Panaflo fan on the front is noisy. It was like that to begin with. But NINE fans man, I think you're overdoing it. That is... I can't even describe in words how nuts that sounds. Post some pictures so I can s*** myself, lol.

[mutahir]

Wow So many replies, I am really greatful for your time and experienced advises, i will defintely work around like that, i think its DUST as i just noticed that the front of the pc has alot of dust so this weekend is pc inspection weekend

regards to all of you

Mutahir

[Andromeda43]

Jeremy,

Don't get all wacko on me!

Here's the tally:

two fans each on three HD's. (two-fan coolers attached to the bottom of each drive, with 1/4" brass standoffs)

two fans on my 500w PSU

One fan on my CPU heatsink.

that makes nine.....and I don't use case fans because there are NO side panels on my case.

So no place for hot air to build up. The whole darn'd thing stays at room temperature.

And my FD and CD drives don't get sucked full of dirt either.

Care and maintenance of your PC hardware is as important as proper maintenance of your automobile, pick'em'up truck or motorcycle. All them little fans just love to be cleaned and oiled every once in a while.

I tear my whole system down about twice a year for a good PM (preventive maintenance inspection)

An old hypo needle makes a good oiler for those little fans. The smaller the needle, the better.

I refuse to use any video card or mobo that has one of them little "mickey mouse" fans on it.

They are all, just trouble waiting to happen. A good heat sink works much better and much longer.

I'm running an AMD 3000+ CPU, just slightly over-clocked and it stays nice and cool with the OEM fan that came with it. My old girlfriend ran hotter than my current CPU!

Ok, Wacko, ooooops I mean Jeremy, wadda ya think?

Do your drives all stay at room temperature?

Curious minds want to know,

Andromeda43

[LiquidSage]

Well....if it works for you, I won't knock it, but just a little friendly observation//counter-consideration....

- 1 120mm fan on low speed could probably cool your 3 HD's if positioned correctly (unless you have 15k rpm HD always in use).

- Those 'cheesy' fans do serve a purpose since most newer vid cards really heat up normally, and when given a heavy load (playing a game or doing 3d rendering with normal settings), they literally burn up even w/o a hot spot to contend with. A $200-$600 investment down the tube and is replaced with one of these faces

Even raid/ide chipsets these days need extra cooling or they cook hot enough to cause hangs and other I/O problems ...and it's not easy to get a nice large fan over them for cool and quiet due to mobo layout and secure placement issues.

-Not having side panels can be a blessing and a curse. True overall ambient temp is low and that can help (esp. for hot air pockets that often effect vid card coolers), but having side panels and proper fan placement creates a wind tunnel when done correctly and allows for more efficient cooling, less noise, dust and # of fans needed. Plus having protection from the occasional accident is always a plus.

But all of that comes done to the environment the computer is in, personal preference, budget and other factors (like having it in a case or not) so again I'm not trying to knock your config since the only wrong config is the one which causes hardware issues.

I agree completely with the 'oil in a syringe' method as I am the same way. Good for the fan, great to avoid it getting on anything else and tight spots are not a big problem. Plus...if you put a bit of vinyl tape over a fan sticker...you can inject oil into most fans w/o breaking the airtight inner seal or messing with the sticker since the vinyl will seal up the hole when you take the needle out.

To those who have cases and are interested in different fan layouts that work and don't, take a look at

this article. It has good info and lots of nice big pictures if you just want to skim through it.

[Wicket20519]

As for noise, my chipset fan used to make a weird noise. It turned out the way it was designed, the blades were so low that they were hitting the plastic that held the wires to the heatsink. I've since disconnected the fan because it was so annoying!