Power supply of Fan concern?

geekfreak · #1 Apr 2, 2004, 07:39 AM

Hi there,

I new to this so can anyone help?

A fan on my power supply has recently beening getting noisy. The noise come and goes. Its gets loud somethings and then quiet downs for a while. Like I mentioned above this started to happen recently.

Is this problem cause by my power supply or is it just the fan attached to it?

I guess what I am trying to ask is do I need to replace my power supply fan or power supply soon?

Thanks,

labman · Apr 2, 2004, 08:26 AM

Make sure it is the power supply fan first. Shut the computer down and open the case. Turn it back on, and put your ear as close to the 2 fans as you can. Shut the computer down and disconnect the power cord. Remove which ever fan is noisy, or both, and take it to a computer store. Let them match it, should be about $10 each. Put it back in, and you have eliminated a problem that would have only gotten worse. Sometimes a bad fan can lead to over heating and more crashes.

Always touch the case of the computer, before you touch anything inside to discharge chip killing static charges.

Fanlube · Mar 23, 2008, 01:26 PM

I'm an industrial chemist, so when my laptop fan started sounding like a cement mixer I designed a speciality lubricant for it. It's a blend of high grade silicones that is easy to apply, and which will do a far better job of lubricating your fan bearing than some old sewing machine oil or similar. Just do a search for Fanlube and you'll find our website with explanations of what goes wrong, and instructions and a video to show you how to fix the problem.
(A big problem with laptops is that often you can't buy a replacement fan of the correct spec - the distributors have the supply limited to those who book in for an expensive service...)

tf7426 · Mar 23, 2008, 10:03 PM

as the first one said find out which fan it is (theres one on the CPU, in the Power Supply, and on the graphics card if you have a high-end one)

clever to make fanlube, but if you have a broken fanblade (which is most common cause of noisy fans) it wont help, less hassle to buy new, you can get standard powersupplys from 20 pounds (probably $4o in america if your from there) and cpu fans are cheaper than a pack of cigarettes (in UK anyway)

edit: i definately would NOT recommend making fanlube for your powersupply fan as it would mean taking the power supply apart which you shouldnt do if you dont know how to properly (laptops only have cpu fans as the power supply is external)

Fanlube · Mar 24, 2008, 06:01 AM

Good points. I simply wanted to make the general point that lots of instances of fan noise are poor lubrication of the bearing - especially when a £500 ($1000) laptop has an under spec 10p (20 cent) fan labouring so hard it feels like you're working in a wind tunnel.
Personally, I've never come across a broken fan blade, so I always think first in terms of extra lubrication. Silicones have an excellent ability to 'creep' into the tightest of gaps (even screw threads), that's one of many reasons why I formulated Fanlube using silicones rather than mineral oils. So providing you have some access to the central spindle - often just removing a protective end cap - you can cure the problem of dry bearings in seconds. Why spend even £10, or have to travel to the computer repair shop, if you can do that?
And as I said, you often can't buy replacements for laptops...



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