Computer too noisy, can I turn the fans off?

M

Mr Happy

Weaksauce
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Jul 19, 2013
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Hello

I use a Dell XPS 8500 desktop.

It has a fan (or fans?) inside, the sound of them sometimes irritates me depending on what I am doing. The fans never stop, they start spinning when the computer is switched on until its turned off.

Are all computers like this? (as far as I know, many laptops/apple computers dont have any fans, am I right?)

Can I turn the fans off?

Is it safe do do so?

How would I do it?

Thanks if anyone knows
 
If this happens to be a serious post then read on...

It sounds like you just need to pop the case open and clean it out. The best method is to use compressed air from either an air compressor or canned air. Here is a link showing how to pop the case open. Blow the air everywhere possible to get any dust bunnies that may be hiding out. Focus on the mainboard and heatsink area as they are most important to stay cool.

30moojl.jpg
 
it is a serious post, what suggests that its not?

removing the dust will solve the problem???

when it first got the computer (no dust was inside it) it still made this fan noise which could potentially be irritating
 
Because your questions are the kind of questions any person who's ever worked with or built a PC shouldn't have to ask.

But again, assuming that you're serious: removing the dust will only alleviate the problem. It will make it slightly less noisier but the noise is still there.

No, you should not turn off the fans since that Dell and the included parts inside were not made to run passively without a fan. Most laptops actually have fans but because the parts inside a laptop are significantly slower than many desktops, they run cooler and therefore don't need the fan running at high speeds all the time unless you're doing something intensive with the laptop.

If you want a near silent PC, you have to change the case and the HSF.
 
You could also try using motor oil for a car, there's another thread on the front page that is dedicated to discussing just that. I'm going to try that myself as I have a few noisy fans.
 
sure, but it is very important that you load the computer 100% with a program like prime95 or IBT at all times while the fans are disconnected
 
removing the dust will solve the problem???
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Removing the dust may solve the problem. Most likely the CPU fan has a dynamic speed control such that if the CPU temp goes over some threshold the fan will run at full speed. If there is a lot of dust blocking the fan's ability to cool the heatsink the CPU may hit this threshold very easily. So blowing out the heatsink should be the first thing to try. I have seen heatsinks that were totally clogged such that there was almost no airflow going through the heatsink. In this case the temps got so hot the BIOS shutdown the PC completely under high load.


Can I turn the fans off?
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Possibly some of the fans but not the CPU fan and not the GPU fan. Although if you have GPU like the picture I say you can not turn off the case fan either.

when it first got the computer (no dust was inside it) it still made this fan noise which could potentially be irritating
Click to expand...

Put your PC on the floor. This should reduce the noise you hear a little.
 
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I would not recommend you to turn your fans off - it may damage you CPU/GPU under load. You must use such programs like Speedfan to monitor your temperatures all the time
 
Zoomov said:
I would not recommend you to turn your fans off - it may damage you CPU/GPU under load. You must use such programs like Speedfan to monitor your temperatures all the time
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No one said anything about turning off fans during load, herp derp. The time when fans should be switched off is when temperatures are good. OP, not only is it possible, but that's how my sig rig runs. At idle its got 0 moving parts.
 
Zoomov said:
and what about power supply fan?
Click to expand...

FSP makes (or made?) a 400W fanless unit called the Xilenser. That's probably what he has.

I have a Seasonic 520W fanless in one of my boxes and it's pretty great.
 
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