Fan Noise in Hot Weather

[debodun]

With the unusually hot weather in my locale, I've noticed that after my computer is on for about a half an hour, a revving noise starts coming from the back if the tower. It's 85°F (30°C) where the computer is. I checked the innards temps with Speccy. The CPU temp is 50°C, the motherboard is 56°C and the HD is 28°C. Should I run my system in such warm weather?

 

[Ranger4]

50 C is getting on the very warm side, but is within working range. You might consider adding an additional case fan if it goes much higher than 55-60. If you are doing intensive CPU demanding work the temp can quickly rise, so keep that in mind.

I run my computer on hot days when the room temp is around 90 F & have never experienced a problem.

The CPU fan speed is temperature controlled, so when the CPU gets hot the fan speed will increase & become noticeably noisy.

 

[Paul Black]

Hi debodun,

If you have an electric mini fan or such like perhaps you could aim that in the general direction of the computer!

I hope this helps!

 

[Megahertz07]

- Download Open Hardware Monitor - Core temp, fan speed and voltages in a free software gadget
- Extract to C:\Program Files (x86)\HardwareMonitor
- Run OpenHardwareMonitor.exe
- Under options, set to run on Windows start.

It will record max and min

 

[townsbg]

My old desktop shutoff automatically when the CPU hit 75C to avoid damage. Hopefully something like that is built into your system. I agree that you aren't yet in danger but you should take steps to rectify the situation. Have you cleaned the fans especially the CPU fan? Try that as dust prevents the system from cooling properly. You can even try taking the CPU fan off to clean the heatsink however first I would mark the fan with an arrow pointing towards the motherboard that way when you put the fan back on you have it pointed in the right direction. Are you fans really noisy? Are you hearing a grinding sound? If so I would isolate the fan and replace it.

 

[joebots]

Silly question, but when is the last time you opened the case and thoroughly blew out the dust? I usually do mine about every 3 or 4 months using canned air, and a brush to get the dust that accumulates inside the fans, and heat sink fins. I don't physically touch any electronic components with the brush bristles. Just non-conductive parts.

I neglected doing mine for about nine months and noticed I could hear the fans straining. When I opened her up last week I found the fans were caked with dust bunnies. It took twice as long as usual to get everything spiffy again. I have five case fans; 2 side, 1 front, 1 rear, 1 top. Filters can only do so much. After cleaning my CPU temp is 35C at idle, and the MB is 34C. Best of all the fans aren't making any noise at all. The ambient room temp is 80F.

 

[chefduane]

Do you use your computer outside?

 

[mrjimphelps]

I've never tried this, but if you took the cover off of your computer and set up a portable air conditioning unit to blow continually at your computer, I'll bet that would solve your overheating problems! It would also give you a cooler place to work.

Here is one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...f-9d15-412e-8aba-757c20b627e8&pf_rd_i=1193678

The nice thing about this unit is that it doesn't require a drain line; the moisture that is drawn out of the air is dissipated out of the exhaust air line with the exhaust air.

 

[Megahertz07]

Portable air conditioning are low efficient devices = high energy consumption.

 

[debodun]

I've had my computer since January 2012 and the insides have never been cleaned. Here is what it looks like - the fans aren't easily accessible to clean. I worry that a compressed air shot may blow a dust bunny into something critical and also mucking around in there I may do more damage.

 

[mrjimphelps]

Your computer looks very clean. There doesn't appear to be any dust. But if there is dust, then I suggest that you blow it out with compressed air. Or, go to your local department store or sporting goods store and get a pump that is used for inflating a mattress. These pumps are excellent for blowing the dust out of a computer. I wouldn't worry about blowing dust into something critical. If you direct the airflow away from the power supply, you shouldn't have any problem. And if you don't touch anything, you won't do any damage to anything.

 

[chefduane]

Also check the direction of the fan airflow and for any obstructions in any case vents. You want to have clear vents with clean filters (if applicable) for intake and the fans should exhaust heat out from the case. Also, fans are cheap. I know you said they are hard to access but you might want to swap them out for high efficiency airflow fans and maybe even consider adding an additional unit if you have the space.