Abnormally loud fans?!

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TomHax

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#66997 26-Aug-2010 16:27

G'day GeekZone!

It has been a while, I'll admit. I'm back though with another question for all you wonderful tech geniuses!

Today, for whatever reason, my PC fan(s) decided they needed to work overtime. They became excessively loud earlier in the day and are now fluctuating. Normally they are near silent.

I can't understand why. I have no scans running, no memory-hogging applications open, nothing. Just the desktop. There are no widgets on the desktop. No eye-candy. Standard default with a few icons.

I have checked task manager and nothing seems out of the ordinary. I have opened my system unit and blown any dust out of the fan. I have let it sit, and I have restarted several times.

I have a graphics card and 4gigs of RAM. What could possibly be causing my fans to act in such a manner?

Is it time for a fan upgrade? I've been advised to do so in the past but haven't had any problems until now, so saw no point.

Anyway, just wondering if you lot might have an idea as to what could be causing the fans to be so noisy all of a sudden.

Appreciate any input. Thanks in advance.

-TomHax

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#373230 26-Aug-2010 17:25

Possibly an insufficient power supply? Have you added any new hardware lately?

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#373236 26-Aug-2010 17:30

Or something is overheating in your system.

Are they controlled fans ? (ie: plug into motherboard or just given power ?)

XPD / Gavin

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TomHax

46 posts

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#373254 26-Aug-2010 17:53

@Dreamy Nope. No hardware added recently.

@xpd Yes, plugged into my motherboard.

Cheers for the replies guys, keep em coming.

tardtasticx

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#373303 26-Aug-2010 19:08

Have you tried just cleaning them out? Could be clogged with dust or something

Jarno

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#373304 26-Aug-2010 19:08

Checked the temperatures? Maybe a temperature sensor acting up, or the fan control malfunctioning?

TomHax

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Geek

#373318 26-Aug-2010 19:39

@tardtasticx Yep, tried that. Didn't solve the problem unfortunately.

@Jarno How would one go about checking the temperatures?

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#373346 26-Aug-2010 20:43

Yeah since theyr eplugged into the mobo, something is most likely overheating and the system is ramping up the RPM trying to compensate - motherboard clean and not covered in dust ? Heatsink on firmly ?

Can check the temp via the BIOS or 3rd party software such as SpeedFan.

XPD / Gavin

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TomHax

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#373349 26-Aug-2010 20:48

I remember downloading SpeedFan a year or so ago and not feeling confident enough to tinker with any of the settings. I still don't. I will however download it so I can let you know the temperatures.

What would you say would be a "normal" temperature?

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#373368 26-Aug-2010 21:20

Hmm good question.... P4, around 40-50 under "normal" use I guess, seen upto 70 on a standard HSF however...

My old FX60 use to creep upto 60-65ish but that was during 3d games with 2x video cards which made the case (and my room) nice and toasty :)

XPD / Gavin

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TomHax

46 posts

Geek

#373732 27-Aug-2010 19:54

Alright, SpeedFan is downloaded. I don't want to sound like a noob but, how do I find the temperature using this program?

Edit: I ticked the "Value" and now I have a graph. Is this fluctuating graph supposedly my temperature?

ShellNZ

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#373758 27-Aug-2010 21:19

When you first open Speedfan it should show something like below

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p112/Toby3_photo/temps.jpg

You will see CPU, thats the temp that should be hopefully around 40-55C.

Its also possible you have gotten yourself some malware/spyware as they can make a computer work overtime, no harm in checking anyways, I recommend Malwarebytes.

Could even be that your PSU is on its way out?

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TomHax

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#374440 30-Aug-2010 10:47

Right, sorry I didn't reply sooner. Been a bit busy.

Here's a screenshot:

What does this mean? Is that the temperature?

Also, would you guys be kind enough to link me to a few PSUs that would be compatible with my PC? My specs are in my signature. I'd really appreciate it. I am keen to upgrade it.

Lias

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#374864 31-Aug-2010 13:16

You have a Dell GX280, a model which is really notorious for being the poster child for bad capacitors. A bit of googling appears to indicate that the fans on this model going batshit are a known sign of bad caps.

I was just discussing these systems with another techie friend yesterday, and he was commenting how its got the point someone walks into the shop with a GX280, he opens the case, looks at it, and tells them to buy a new one.

You can check yourself, open up the case, inspect all the capacitors.
Some more info at this page: http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=5

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#374902 31-Aug-2010 14:45

Abnormally loud fan? Are you sure it's not a miniature one of these:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20014842-47.html

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

TomHax

46 posts

Geek

#375210 1-Sep-2010 10:17

@Lias Thanks so much for that article on caps. It was extremely informative and helped a lot. I'm going to have a look at my capacitors now, and I'll let you know what I find.

@eracode Haha cheers for the laugh mate!

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