Mobo fan whining, going bad

[meckeard]

Hi all,

I have an MSI motherboard and it appears that another fan is going bad.

It's the fan in the lower-right part of the mobo and I believe it cools the nvidia onboard video. However, I don't use it since I have a card in my pci slot.

With this said, can I simply unplug the fan or do I have to still cool it? No local shop has a replacement and ordering it online would probably take a week but the whining drives me crazy.

TIA.

 

[goombawaho]

That fan is likely the Northbridge chipset fan and if that's the case, NO you cannot just unplug it. It handles more than just the video function. What is you exact motherboard - that or a picture of you board with the noisy fan circled would be helpful or both.

 

[wahnula]

Replacing that fan (likely a 40mm thin) will be incredibly cheap, you might be able to salvage one from an old GFX card or mobo. You will probably pay more for shipping than for the fan, so you might as well go with a quality unit like this:

http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/sku=40mmpapst.html

I also do not recommend doing away with the fan altogether, it is part of the factory cooling solution. When components get too hot, they can damage adjacent components.



Tony

"Buy what you like, or you'll be forced to like what you buy"...me

 

[TomCologne]

Yep, it's probably the chipset fan and cooling is a must. If you want to go with an active (=fan) solution I second Tony's Papst recommendation.
You might also want to consider passive cooling (=larger heatsink, no fan). I've had no problems with it. Available eg at CompUSA or here:

http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/category=Motherboard_Heatsinks.html

TomCologne

 

[meckeard]

Yes, it is a low profile fan and appears to be a 40MM from what I can make out.

Shipping is more than the fan. Tigerdirect had a generic replacement for $1.99 with $4.99 shipping. Although it's still pretty cheap, I hate the thought of paying so much more for the shipping than the fan itself.

Since I can't unplug it, I'll replace it.

Thanks for the info!

 

[LawnBoy]

Any local pc shop should be able to sell you a decent fan... They're very common, and fail regularly.


"We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Sherlock Holmes

 

[meckeard]

Is it a 40MM fan that I should be asking for?

I believe this is my mobo:

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=K8N_Neo4-F&class=mb

 

[wahnula]

Best way is to measure the fan, and not necessarily the fan diameter but the mounting system and distance between mounting points. Also, before replacement note the rotation of the blades, i.e. air being pushed or air being pulled. These things make a difference.

Tony

"Buy what you like, or you'll be forced to like what you buy"...me

 

[paparazi]

As with most newer motherboards, they simply don't use standard (caged type) fans any more.
This MSI moby has a heatsink with resessed free standing fan where the heatsink is circular and will have to be replaced as a whole unit.
The heatsink on it's own isn't good enough to cool the Northbridge chip so will need replacing.
There are after market alternatives, either passive (much bigger heatsink) or another active fan type.
for example:

http://www.zalman.co.kr/usa/product/view.asp?idx=180&code=014

or something like:
Blue ice?

http://www.coolermaster.com/product...category&finalflag=Y&tbcate=152&cateid=000014

There are many similar after market solutions, the Zalman flower type looks good and doesn't have the unreliability of a fan.
But as others have said, it does need replacing.
Martin



We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[MaxEd]

Get some 3 in one oil from home depot and oil the fan. Just remove the sticker from the bottom of the fan and put a drop of it in there, turn it a few times and you are set. I've managed to fix my video card fan this way as well as any fan.

-Laughter works miracles.

 

[paparazi]

Agreed, sometimes this can be done and offers a temporary repair solution.
Unfortunately though, these more specialized recessed fans are often sealed and don't have a sticker to remove.
My own personnal experience with this particular motherboard and Northbridge fan tells me, when you remove the fan you will find that it is badly cracked through heat and needs a total replacement solution as earlier discussed.
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[goombawaho]

I wouldn't risk leaking oil onto the motherboard components. Replace the fan or get a heatsink. I just installed my replacement Northbridge cooling solution. I got one of these.

Zalman ZM-NB47J

No problems installing and it's a nice product.

 

[gbaughma]

I agree. A drop of 3-in-1 is a *temporary* replacement, and I wouldn't use oil on anything on the mobo...

Unfortunately, most of the fans today don't use bearings... they use a bushing; either plastic or sometimes brass.

When the bushing starts to wear, the shaft starts to wobble, the fan (which isn't balanced well to begin with) starts to vibrate, etc. etc.

3-in-1 oil on a bushing fan is a *VERY* temporary fix, since the increased space around the fan shaft from bushing wear will be a place for dust to infiltrate, which will mix with the oil, which will turn into sludge....

Unless a fan *specifically* says it has bearings, it doesn't. Buy bearing fans for the longest life.



Just my 2¢
-Cole's Law: Shredded cabbage

--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[kmcferrin]

And make sure it says "ball bearing" instead of "sleeve bearing." If I'm not mistaken, "sleeve bearing" is a euphemism for "bushing".

 

[LawnBoy]

Yes, sleve bearing = bushing.


"We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Sherlock Holmes

 

[meckeard]

I've checked out some of the cooler products linked above and would love to get one but I don't have the clearance. My PCI video card overlaps the top-left coner for the current low profile fan and it appears that I'll have to replace it with a similar one to avoid any clearance issues.