Solved Loud PC Fans

[dbtmellis]

Here is my situation and I hope I can describe it clearly- if not, just ask for more info.

I have a Dell Insprion 530s Stupid me, a while back, while cleaning out the dust in my system, put the CPU in the wrong way, and damaged the pins on the motherboard. Totally Trashed it.

So, I ordered a new mobo from a company via eBay. (Forgot thier name) Great, it works like a charm. But, my system reads it as a Vostro 200. The Rep told me that this is the same mobo for the Insprion 530s. I noticed that my case fans with the new Mobo are very loud.

So after doing some research online, I found out that my BIOS is out of date. People have said that the Vostro BIOS apparently runs loud fans

So basically I have a Vostro 200 Mobo inside my Insprion 530s system.

The Vostro BIOS is 1.0.16, Dell says that the Insprion 530s BIOS is 1.0.18. Dell says that Vostro 200 BIOS i have installed is the latest version. I want to change my BIOS from the Vostro to the Insprion 530s version. My system wont let me install the Inpsrion 530s BIOs on my Vostro 200 Mobo.

Any help would be great.

 

[fireberd]

You can't install a different BIOS. If you corrupt the BIOS on a Dell the ONLY option is to replace the motherboard.
There is no BIOS corruption recovery.

The Dell listed BIOS for the 200 is 1.3.0. You can download it here: http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/vostro-220/drivers
Follow the installation instructions EXACTLY.

The Vostro line was sold by Dell as "entry level" business machines. Thus the fans could be running faster because it is a business machine and designed for continuous operation. The Vostro models could have had quieter case fans installed.

If the BIOS update doesn't help the fan noise about the best you can do is replace the fans with "quiet" type fans. There are several brands sold as "quiet" fans.

 

[Sergeant Steve]

Stupid me, a while back, while cleaning out the dust in my system, put the CPU in the wrong way, and damaged the pins on the motherboard. Totally Trashed it.

I can't help but ask why you removed the CPU from your Mobo to "clean out" your system?

You could always try Speedfan to try and change your fan speeds, never personally used it to do that, only to monitor system temps etc.

 

[dbtmellis]

I have always removed every single component. I do a good cleaning about twice a year. After I replace the CPU in the socket I put a fresh coat of thermal paste.

 

[dbtmellis]

I downloaded the BIOS file from the link

I click on the file to open it, and nothing happens. I do get a message that comes up asking if the file was installed correctly, or to try and reinstall it. Again, nothing happens.

The file name is Vx20-130

This might sound dumb, but the BIOS numbering is that the 1.3.0 is the newer version over my current one, 1.0.16?

 

[dbtmellis]

If I do decide to try and replace my fans, what would you all recommend?

I want to quiet the fans, but not sacrifice cooling on my CPU

It has two fans- One on top of the CPU heat sink, and one on side/top of the case.

I have currently installed an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz E4600 CPU.

 

[dbtmellis]

or, should I replace my Mobo (again) and be sure to find one that is made for the Inspiron 530s?

 

[dbtmellis]

I downloaded the App Speedfan

it is showing that my two fans are running at

Fan 1 3571 RPM
Fan 3 1585 RPM

no Fan 2? I only have two fans running (not counting the Power supply fan). I think that Fan 1 is the CPU fan and the Fan 3 is the case fan.

From what I have been looking at online, Fan 1 is extremely high. Most standard 80mm fans only run at 2000 RPM.

 

[fireberd]

Make sure you follow the Dell installation instructions exactly.

1.3.xx would be later than 1.0.xx

If fan 1 is the CPU fan, it is running at full speed. If you have the thermal paste applied correctly and the heat sink assembly positioned correctly it shouldn't run at full speed. There could be an issue that the Vostro CPU cooler assembly and far are different from the Inspiron.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

What CPU cooler are you using? Stock Intel?

What is the diameter of your case fan? 80mm? 92mm? 120mm?

You can't expect small diameter fans to have much cooling effect AND be quiet.

Any fan spinning above 1000 rpm is probably audible. The solution is to use larger diameter fans that don't need to spin at 2 or 3000 rpm to provide cooling. That may require you to buy another CPU cooler/fan combination or possibly buy another case with larger fan mounts--preferably 120mm.

Several fan manufacturers can supply low noise 120mm fans, but they aren't suited for the stock Intel CPU cooler and may not be usable on your current case.

I agree with Sergeant Steve that removing and reinstalling the CPU as part of a cleaning procedure twice a year isn't likely to help. You need to re-consider your CPU cooler and quite possibly the case as well. I have no idea what size fans are usable on your Dell case, but lower your expectations if it can't accept fans larger than 92mm.

 

[fireberd]

The user has an "S" model which is a compact case model, not a full size desktop case. Because of limited space the custom Dell cooler is just about all that will fit.

With the "same but different" motherboard and what the replacement was intended for, it can present the problem.

However, I too agree that removing the CPU cooler assembly and the CPU is not very wise.

 

[dbtmellis]

The sizes are 80mm

 

[dbtmellis]

So, how much thermal paste should I be using? I have always been told to use an amount about the size of two grains of rice.

So, leave the CPU heatsink and fan on when cleaning out dust?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Two grains of rice would be close enough. Some people spread it around a bit and others just let the pressure of the cooler mounting mechanism spread it out as the CPU heats up.

Yeah, I wouldn't bother with replacing the paste. I would of course monitor temperatures so I'd know if case temperatures got to a dangerous level.

I never even remove dust--but I keep my PC several feet off the floor. Dust buildup is negligible.

Use something to monitor your temps and fans speeds.

And you need to be sure which fan is making the noise: case fan or power supply fan. If it is the power supply fan, your best bet is to replace the entire power supply because changing power supply fans can be dangerous for an amateur without proper knowledge. And I'm not sure how easy that is to do on a Dell like yours.

The Nexus, Yate Loon, and Noiseblocker case fans at the link below are likely quieter than what you have now, but you can't expect miracles from small diameter fans running at 1500 RPM and higher.

It's a tradeoff between temperatures and noise. Nothing wrong with 50 or 60 degree case temperatures if that means a quieter fan. Some people are obsessed with driving temperatures down into the 30s, but if you tried that with 80 mm fans it likely wouldn't be quiet.

You have to experiment a bit if you are interested enough.

Fans here:

80mm Fans

 

[dbtmellis]

I Fixed the problem!

Turns out, my Fans were plugged into the wrong plugs.

I switched the fans, so that Fan 1 is now Fan 3 and vice versa

Fan 3 (old Fan 1) is reading 1600 or so RPM, which is half of the speed (3500+)

The other fan is reading the same speed as before.

My system is now quiet. I will keep checking Speedfan to make sure that my CPU stays within the proper temperature ranges.