CPU Fan woes

MistakenID

Weaksauce
Joined
Jul 18, 2007
Messages
124
I went to play some S.T.A.L.K.E.R. this morning and I noticed the CPU fan was twitching like it wanted to start.

It keept trying to start up and then coming to a halt every few seconds. So like an old prop propeller plane I spun it a little and it started up fine.

Unfortunatly whenever I exit a game it stops again and starts twitching.

Fan = ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm

Most likely I'm going to have to get a new CPU fan but I was hoping someone would know of a fix beacuse I hate messing with thermal paste and heatsinks etc etc.
 
Looks to me like that fan is easily removeable.

Just replace the fan itselff.
 
Trick I use to get an extra year(s) out of fans.

yep, that fan will come off. Take it off and on the side of the fan that was closest to the heatsink, peel back the sticker and put a drop of high quality light weight oil in the hole uncovered by peeling back the sticker. Do NOT use 3in1, its crap and evaporates, do NOT use motor oil, too thick. Sewing machine oil would be ideal, you want a light weight, non-gumming, machine oil for lubricating fine machinery. Hardware stores typically have a small tube/bottle of this kind of stuff but have it hidden, ask. I found a bottle of something called "turbine oil" in a 4oz pull spout bottle by Wagner. One drop, spin it by hand a few times and let it sit overnight laying down so the oil can be pulled by gravity into the bearing (peeled sticker up). Next day stick the sticker back, if it wont hold by itself, a little ole fashioned rubber cement or a small piece of tape. Fan good for a year more.
 
It could be that the core temp is so low that the voltage being sent to the fan isnt enough to allow it to continue in motion.
All DC magnetic fans have a minimum operating voltage.

Set the fan speed manually in the CMOS to 100% and the fan should always remain running.
If this isnt too loud, leave it like that.
 
It could be that the core temp is so low that the voltage being sent to the fan isnt enough to allow it to continue in motion.
All DC magnetic fans have a minimum operating voltage.

Set the fan speed manually in the CMOS to 100% and the fan should always remain running.
If this isnt too loud, leave it like that.

Hmm I will definitly try this when I get home. My case has an ungodly amount of fans and I live in a cold house so this could be it.
 
Yup changed the CMOS setting to [PWM] (which I assume means power) instead of auto. Running great now!

Thanks [H]!
 
cool.

ps PWM means Pulse Width Modulated.
This is a way of reducing the average DC voltage by feeding it to the fan like an AC square wave using zero volts as a baseline and never going below zero volts.
Say a voltage pulse occurs each second, the width of the pulse (how long it lasts) determines the average voltage sent to the motor.
Setting PWM allows you to change the % of the voltage that is sent to the fan, therefore determining its speed.
 
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