0

Yesterday, my computer started to make an annoying whining noise. Knowing that this is likely a fan issue, I opened the case and proceeded to determine which fan was causing the issue. I got some compressed air and tried cleaning out the dust around it (and the rest of the computer while I was at it). This hasn't seemed to fix the issue.

Now, if it were just any fan, I would probably just replace the fan - they're relatively cheap after all. However, this is a special fan.

ChipsetFan

Aside: For what its worth, I feel bad that the graphics card blocks part of the fan, but it is the only slot the graphics card fits, so I had no choice.

After pulling out my motherboard user guide, it looks like this is a fan placed directly on top of the chipset. To be perfectly honest, I have no clue what the purpose of the chipset is - but it sounds important. After some quick research, I see that it is responsible for providing the bridge between my CPU, RAM and graphics, among other things.

Just a quick search at Newegg tells me that chipset fans can be purchased at pretty reasonable prices (< 20 dollars).

Is it practical to replace this fan? It is an old computer as computers go and I wouldn't be terribly upset to upgrade the motherboard and processor, so perhaps this is a sign.

Hardware Specs:

  • Motherboard: Asus A8N-E
  • Chipset: NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra
4
  • 2
    What's the actual motherboard model? Have you disconnected the fan to look at it and take some measurements? Nov 18, 2012 at 16:05
  • @techie007 I knew I forgot something, added specs.
    – Anthony
    Nov 18, 2012 at 21:54
  • 1
    There's probably nothing that can be done to fix the fan -- the bearings eventually wear out and they start squealing, and when that happens RPM falls off significantly and hence cooling is impacted. So you need a new fan. Nov 18, 2012 at 22:21
  • 1
    If you can get it off without breaking it, you should be able to take it apart and clean and oil it to get it back to good as new for some time. Then you can repeat if/when it happens again until it is just too worn out. Also, make sure you keep the dust out as much as possible to prevent putting undue stress on the fans.
    – Synetech
    Nov 19, 2012 at 1:37

1 Answer 1

2

Is it practical to replace the fan when you can easily get them from Asus?

Yes

1
  • Thanks for the answer. I was having a heck of a time finding the part online, partly due to not knowing exactly what to call it. I ordered the part and once I have it installed and working, will likely come back to add more details to my question for future googlers.
    – Anthony
    Nov 19, 2012 at 13:02

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .