Noisy graphics card fan

[Brenda Irwin]

My sons computer has a noisy graphics card fan.
Sometimes when he turns the computer on there is this loud whirring sound and he turns it off and tries again later.
Eventually it starts without the whirring.
He has thoroughly cleaned all dust from the computer and the card's fan but it still persists in making this sound from time to time.
Any suggestions?

 

[Twitch]

My suggestion is to replace the fan; either with a new fan (eg Zalman) or passive cooler appropriate for your model of GPU. Most OEM CPU & GPU fans are cheap and noisey. I'm assuming the GPU is less than say 18 months old otherwise replacing the whole thing may be a better option.

 

[ggumpshots]

I had the same thing for a few months then finally total failure

 

[aaarghhh]

Hello Brenda

I had a similar problem with a Northbridge chip fan - noisy/buzzing.

I removed fan and sprayed wd40 on the bearing, let it drip dry for an hour and reassembled to MB.

This got me another 12 months life out of it and no more squeaks.

Fan speeds in the BIOS showed the NB fan reading was 50% slower than normal before wd40 treatment and I got around 95%-98% after.

Take this as a sign it's on the way out. I eventually had to replace NB fan.

The graphics card might need to be replaced as a worst case scenario.

Just as an afterthought. Tell you son to read a book more often. Less moving parts to break down.

Aaron

 

[Twitch]

Hello Brenda

I had a similar problem with a Northbridge chip fan - noisy/buzzing.

I removed fan and sprayed wd40 on the bearing, let it drip dry for an hour and reassembled to MB.

This got me another 12 months life out of it and no more squeaks.

Fan speeds in the BIOS showed the NB fan reading was 50% slower than normal before wd40 treatment and I got around 95%-98% after.

Take this as a sign it's on the way out. I eventually had to replace NB fan.

The graphics card might need to be replaced as a worst case scenario.

Just as an afterthought. Tell you son to read a book more often. Less moving parts to break down.

Aaron

That's a great tip. However I might be more inclined to use something like bike chain lube (about $10 from a bicycle shop) than WD-40 as WD is a water displacer not really a lubricant, but if you have wd40 lying around may as well try it.

 

[The Y-man]

That's a great tip. However I might be more inclined to use something like bike chain lube (about $10 from a bicycle shop) than WD-40 as WD is a water displacer not really a lubricant, but if you have wd40 lying around may as well try it.

But... their website claims:

WD-40 protects metal from rust and corrosion, penetrates stuck parts, displaces moisture, and lubricates just about anything...

http://wd40.com/Brands/wd40.cfm

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[Brenda Irwin]

I should have made this post earlier. Since I posted, not a sound out of the fan. Go figure.

 

[RichardK]

no sound from fan at all, often means that fan has failed totally and is jammed stopped.

Remove side cover and look at fan - is it spinning or not ?

Or you could just keep using the computer and wait for the video card to overheat and usually cause the PC to crash or reboot.

It's always the 30mm or 40mm fans that die first. The big 80mm, 92mm or 120mm case fans just keep spinning way longer.

 

[Sim]

Another vote here for Zalman fans - I had a graphics card fan in one computer and a CPU fan in another die within days of each other - replaced them both with Zalman fans - still going strong years later - and they seem less noisy to me.

The machine with the CPU fan had regular problems with overheating until I put the new fan on it - not a problem since.

... and they look good too

 

[RichardK]

and a 3rd vote for Zalman fans from me.

I always add 2 to each PC - one at the back pushing air out, one at the front pushing air in, installed in front of the hard drive(s), and I use the dropping resistor to run them slightly slower so less noise.

For older mbds with onboard chipset fan, replaced it with a Zalman heatsink.
Newer mbds tend not to have chipset fan, but have heatsink/heatpipe already.

I've fixed a few video card fan problems - the easiest solution is to buy a new video card ( if it's a plain & simple card, appr. $50 ). Replacing the video card fan is a pain - gotta find a matching size fan with aligned bolts, and with matching connector.

For servers and other computers where a user isn't going to hear the fan failing, I use either onboard video or install a fanless video card ( has a chunky heatsink instead ).

 

[Brenda Irwin]

I don't have to take the side off the case to see inside as this case has a see through side on it. The computor tech was going crook when he first set it up as he had to be neat with all the wires on installing. Its a pride thing.

The fan appears to be spinning fine. Perhaps it had lint under the fan which eventually wore off?

 

[RichardK]

Hi Brenda,

I'm not trying to be difficult ( nah, I'm naturally difficult !!! ) but it's really hard to see the video card fan through the clear side panel, so I just want to make sure that you are looking at the right fan.

The video card is a separate card that plugs into a slot on the motherboard. The orientation results in the fan facing down - you have to put your head on the floor and look up into the case from below - very awkward if PC is on the floor, but sort of OK if PC on the desk.

If you're just looking into the case from above/side- you might be seeing the motherboard chipset fan instead of the video fan.

How old is the PC ? - most small fan failures I've seen occur at about 3 years old.

 

[Brenda Irwin]

Yes I can see the video card and the fan underneath. The motherboard sits vertically along one side of the case. There are also several other fans in there of varying sizes. Guaranteed never to overheat was the slogan when I bought the case.

 

[RichardK]

So it's all cool ! ( sorry, bad pun, couldn't resist ! ).