Desktop fan making loud noise - Computer on it's deathbed?

Howdy folks,

Know very little about PCs. Have a desktop (was actually put together by a boardsie a while back, and he did a great job).

Lately it's been making a very loud noise, once I've been using it for longer than, say, 45 mins or so. Not sure if its over heating or what the craic is, but it's fairly annoying.

It's been doing it for a long time though (well over 6 months). I never passed any remarks at first, as the room was always warm when I noticed it, so I put it down to the heat, but lately it's been making noise and, what can only be described as going into overdrive, even in a cold room, when the desktop has only been on for half an hour or so.


Anyone know what it is or if it's an easy fix? The desktop still does everything I want and need it to. I've certainly not outgrown it, so would like to see if there's something I can do about this.


Here's a video of it. Not sure how loud it is in the video, but in real life, it's fairly loud (and annoying, especially if using the PC at 2am or 3am!).

Cheers to anyone who can help.

Digital Solitude

How old is the PC? It's probably just dusty and the fans have to run faster than normal to keep airflow going so the PC doesn't heat up too much

Cheers for the quick reply, Solitude.

It's about (complete guesswork!) 3 years old. It was fairly caked in dust, but I gave it a quick clean earlier on with a small duster I have that's apparently safe for use on PCs (it didn't blow up, anyway).

I know a can of compressed air is the preferred method, but don't have one handy.

Since cleaning a lot of the sitting dust off it though, and using it for 2-3 days with the side off it (so it's open/exposed, so less heat can generate inside as it's quite airy), it's still making the same noises after using it for a short wihile.

Zaph

I had a similar problem recently so I got the vacuum cleaner and (very carefully) hoovered out all the dust that I could reach. It's amazing the difference it made, the fan is completely silent again.

whizbang

Replace the CPU cooler with something big.
Like this: http://www.coolermaster.com/cooling/cpu-air-cooler/hyper-212-evo/

Riesen_Meal

Could there be a loose wire from the fan getting clipped by the blade of the fan itself?

Could possibly explain why it kicks in after a while?

Failing that go to Dealz or one of the pound shop's and grab a can of compressed air...

Digital Solitude

Installing a new heatsink is more trouble than it's worth IMO, id knock that on the head.

Have you tried it again with the door back on? Giving it a full and thorough clean should be the first step. I'd you're using a Hoover be very careful as they aren't recommended afaik

Can you get compressed air in Dealz or Choice or the likes?! Didn't know that! Must have a look, so.

I'll that tomorrow and let ye know how I get on. Cheers, gents.


EDIT: I just re-watched my Youtube video - unfortunately not an accurate representation of real life, the fan is practically silent in the video VS real life.

ED E

PSU Fan
CPU Fan
GPU Fan(small one)
Case fan?

You need to isolate the culprit.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

When you remove the case door you may disrupt the airflow in the PC. This isn't always the case though. However, the hardware will be exposed to a lot more dust, and it will collect quite fast.

Download a hardware monitor such as Open Hardware Monitor and check the CPU temprature. I suspect it is going to be quite high. If so, then you could try cleaning the old thermal paste from the CPU and heat sync and apply new thermal paste (Artic Silver 5, for instance). There's plenty of videos online which will show you how to apply the paste correctly.

A new, bigger heatsink is not more trouble than it's worth. The fans tend to be bigger on these heatsinks and therefore run quieter.

What are the specs of the computer? Are you running any system heavy programs when the noise starts? How is the PC when idle?