Noisy processor

[confidentincompetent]

Hi. My amd atholon 1500 plus processor has always beeen noisy (bought it 2001) I realise its the fans but get quite jealous of other very quiet computers. Its all working ok (well what do i know). I dont suppose there is any remedy like having quieter fans installed ?.
cheers.
John.

 

[Igorian]

Sounds like the fan is either full of dust, or just had it's day. I would normally replace a processor fan after 3 years. Athlons get very hot, so best to replace it before it stops altogether.

 

[Big_Spark]

I agree with Igorian here. If the Cooler was a cheapy then it probably has ball bearings rather than sleeve bearings, and this will account for the noisier operation, although ball bearings do tend to last longer.

I would pop along to a computer store and get a new cooler, something like a Zalman (Not the "Quiet Cooler" with no fan) or one of the better Coolermaster or GlobalWin units.

They are not expensive and easy to install.

 

[confidentincompetent]

Many Thanks. I did have a peep inside(my first look inside a p/c) and vacumed some dust out. There are actually three small fans in different locations, the noise (bit like a fan heater) is the same as when I got p/c 4yrs ago and being new to p/cs I thought that was normal. Though my wife reckons hers at work is noiser.
I'll take your advice and ask about quieter fans.
The p/c was a present from a dpt store and they dont do p/cs anymore so is pc world ok a good place to check this out?
Thanks again
John

 

[breezer]

try here

 

[Igorian]

or here.

 

[Big_Spark]

Better than them two..

Go HERE for proper CPU coolers..or anything to do with a PC for that matter.

 

[Igorian]

Better than them two..

Extremist! I was going to post the link to the refrigerated cooler. They got the processor down to something like -22 degrees. I bet condensation would be a problem there tho. Oh, and it cost more than a fiver

 

[Big_Spark]

Extremist indeed, just cos my 3.0GHz Prescott is running at 3.75GHz and my 2.8GHz Prescott is at 3.43GHz does not make me an extremist..


This is EXTREME

 

[Igorian]

Nah, that's middle of the road. This is the kind of thing that I was thinking of.

 

[confidentincompetent]

Many thanks to you all again. Brilliant to know that I might be able to quieten (or destroy my pc). Thanks for the link to quietpc.com, I'll read this through first.
Think i'll leave the exteme stuff to you knowits ha ha
cheers
John

 

[AdamW]

Wow, can't believe I missed this one, making PCs quiet is my version of crack cocaine!

Right, as was said fans get louder over time as they get worn and dust gets into the bearings (sleeve or ball). It most certainly can NOT hurt to replace the fan, I had a fan fail once and was lucky that the processor survived (was back in the days of the slot-1 Pentium-2, not too much heat)

You will find that there are quieter fans out there than your current one. Panaflo and Papst are often heralded as the "reference" fans, but there are many other good brands. I can't recommend Zalmann, I had one of their fans and although quiet at the start it was rather loud one year on.

If you replace your noisy fans and are still miffed at the noise, you might want to look at a "fan controller". This is a small unit that controls the speed of the fans via a rotary knob and is often incorrectly referred to as a "rheobus". By slowing the fans you do of course reduce their cooling effect, but this is not a problem provided you don't slow them too much.

Hard-disks can also be surprisingly noisy.

I am in the process of improving my super-silent PC at the moment (Athlon 2200 with only one fan in the whole system!!! ). Wait until I get paid this month, then I will show you what a REAL heatsink is!

 

[Igorian]

Wow, can't believe I missed this one, making PCs quiet is my version of crack cocaine!

Right, as was said fans get louder over time as they get worn and dust gets into the bearings (sleeve or ball). It most certainly can NOT hurt to replace the fan, I had a fan fail once and was lucky that the processor survived (was back in the days of the slot-1 Pentium-2, not too much heat)

You will find that there are quieter fans out there than your current one. Panaflo and Papst are often heralded as the "reference" fans, but there are many other good brands. I can't recommend Zalmann, I had one of their fans and although quiet at the start it was rather loud one year on.

If you replace your noisy fans and are still miffed at the noise, you might want to look at a "fan controller". This is a small unit that controls the speed of the fans via a rotary knob and is often incorrectly referred to as a "rheobus". By slowing the fans you do of course reduce their cooling effect, but this is not a problem provided you don't slow them too much.

Hard-disks can also be surprisingly noisy.

I am in the process of improving my super-silent PC at the moment (Athlon 2200 with only one fan in the whole system!!! ). Wait until I get paid this month, then I will show you what a REAL heatsink is!

Was wondering where you had got to with this one Something like this perhaps

 

[AdamW]

That is actually the one I am getting! There is one Thermaltake make that is even better, but is not suitable for Athlon XP. I need to find a stockist though.

 

[Igorian]

Yes, doesn't seem to be widely available. I've emailed a couple of my suppliers, so will let you know if I turn anything up.