firefly2442 Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 I was trying to help a friend out this evening and she has a Thermaltake M.I.T. Volcano 6 Cu+ CPU cooler that is incredibly loud. When she initially described it I thought there was a wire contacting the fan or something that was making it so loud. However, when I took a look at the computer, there's nothing really wrong with it. We got a can of compressed air and de-dusted the machine but it's still very loud. I'm certain it's the CPU fan because I unplugged it just for a moment and the sound disappeared. I went into the BIOS and the temp on the CPU was fine and the fan speed was around 7000 RPM. Is this too high an RPM? Barring buying another CPU fan, is there anything else I could try? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CR6 Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 I'm certain it's the CPU fan because I unplugged it just for a moment and the sound disappeared. Then you're right, it is the CPU fan What to do depends on what CPU she is running. Is it a higher-end Pentium 4 or Athlon XP? Those ran really hot and the stock coolers are even noisy. If she's got a Core 2, then the stock fan even sometimes stops running cuz the cpu runs so cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROCO*AFZ* Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Check the bios. look for fan speed ratios or optimal. Also check with the mainboard manufacture. I have see more then enough times in the past where a bios fix was released for incorrect temps or fan speeds. 7000 is way to high for non overclockers. Also give it a new coat of thermal paste. you may have baked yours and it's not transferring heat correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoQuarter Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/2005/coolers...no/si/a1138.htm This it? 7000RPM looks to be correct for this type/size cooler...did she mention whether it has gotten louder just recently, over time, or has always been at the same level? It's an older item...perhaps the bearing might be going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrowmanUK Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 If you've got some more 60mm fans in the case you could try swapping them over, if the cpu fan is on the way out its better to replace it now rather than wait for it to fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefly2442 Posted March 26, 2008 Author Share Posted March 26, 2008 (edited) http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/2005/coolers...no/si/a1138.htm This it? 7000RPM looks to be correct for this type/size cooler...did she mention whether it has gotten louder just recently, over time, or has always been at the same level? It's an older item...perhaps the bearing might be going? Yep, that's it. If the ball bearing is about to go, would that possibly make a lot of noise? I've heard some loud computers but this one is really loud. I'll try to find out some more details as well as look at the BIOS some more. Maybe there's a fan speed control there that I missed. Would it be possible to just buy another fan (not the entire fan+heatsink combo) and just replace the fan on top? Edited March 26, 2008 by firefly2442 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrowmanUK Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 If the bearings are on the way out they will make a lot of noise and yes you can buy just the fan on its own, few in here should do the trick, just make sure its got the right connection to go in the motherboard, be careful too of the ones that have a really high cfm rate, they can be noisy, I put one in the kids PC and it sounds like there is a hairdryer in there http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....amp;x=0&y=0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruin Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Would it be possible to just buy another fan (not the entire fan+heatsink combo) and just replace the fan on top? Go with Scythe. Super-quiet. I'm running 2 120mm fans side by side and they're practically silent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefly2442 Posted March 29, 2008 Author Share Posted March 29, 2008 (edited) Well, just checked the BIOS and temps and they're fairly standard. There was no option to change the fan speed either. Guess I'll be grabbing a new fan. If I need to remove the CPU and re-apply thermal paste, what's the best way to do that safely? Edited March 29, 2008 by firefly2442 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruin Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 You shouldn't need to remove the CPU. Maybe the heatsink. Check the mount first, try to avoid it. The CPU should stay mounted in the MOBO and be entirely separate from the HS/Fan. But, if you have to take the HS off the CPU, be sure the PC is off (duh, I know... but you'd be amazed...), and be certain you're grounded (no sense in making a $150 repair because of a $4 one). Unplug the fan, yank the HS off - if it won't come off easily, look and be 100% certain you don't have to remove it from the back of the mobo. The old thermal paste is going to give you a hard time, so expect that, but, be certain all the screws and mounting hardware is off. If it's good to go, take it off, and replace the fan. Clean off the HS's base with some kind of solvent - I use isopropyl alcohol. Some do, some don't, works fine for me. Make sure all the old paste is off and it's clean. Also clean off the top of the CPU. Use a lint/static free cloth. I use lens cleaning cloths from a camera store - again, some do, some don't, works great for me. Once both surfaces are clean, reapply the new thermal paste - oh, you did buy some right? as per it's instructions. Usually a small dab in the middle, but some like you to spread it around. Then, reseat the HS, mount it up, plug in the fan, and away you go. On the first run, I keep one hand on the plug... just incase the fan doesn't spin. Turn that bad boy off ASAP. Again, no need for a $150 repair. Sorry to break that down Barney style for you FF, but I wanted to make sure I gave the answer you wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrowmanUK Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 If you're just changing the fan you wont need to take the heatsink off, the 60mm fans just screw onto the heatsink with 4 screws in the corners, take the old one off, put the new one on and bobs your uncle. The 120mm fans run a lot quieter than the 60mm ones too because they dont have to go so fast to move more air, if you want to go 120mm ones though you will need a new heatsink fan combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefly2442 Posted March 29, 2008 Author Share Posted March 29, 2008 Yeah, I'm not going to take off the heatsink I just wanted to know in case the CPU temps were too high after this fan is installed. There's really no way to check the thermal paste without removing the CPU so I guess I'll just leave it. I was curious about the solvent used (isopropyl alcohol was what I needed to know). Thanks all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrowmanUK Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 I use this stuff when I reseat the heatsink mate, one bottle emulsifies the old thermal paste, the other cleans the heatsink and cpu, I know you're not doing it this time, just a heads up for next time http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct....7&subcat=27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefly2442 Posted April 4, 2008 Author Share Posted April 4, 2008 Well, turns out I doubt I'll have to replace the thermal paste. The fan was a breeze to install (hehe.... a pun) and it's much quieter now. I had a bit of trouble finding a program that had motherboard + CPU support in order to look at the temps inside Windows but I found one. Basically, I told her if it got above about 65 C she should call me. It was idling between about 35-40. Thanks for all the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrowmanUK Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 Yay success well done mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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