I have a loud ahtlon. Any way to quiet it down? (1 Viewer)

[Shane Martin]

I had built a 1.33 ghz athlon Tbird about 2 months ago. I have a MSI kt266pro motherboard as well if that matters. The cpu fan is plugged into an adaptor that is plugged into the power supply directly thus bypassing the switch on the motherboard. I've tried to plug it directly in but notice no difference in the loudness.
The loudness is directly related to my CPU fan and nothing else. The Computer is not overclocked and neither is the Geforce 3 inside.
I don't remember the make and model of my Cpu fan but it was cheap and I do get what I paid for it I guess. I have 2 fans in the machine which are dead quiet and a Blower fan as well that is dead quiet.
What else can I do while preserving the speed of my athlon?
I'm guessing nothing as this is a tradeoff to the higher speed. Am I wrong?

 

[Carlo_M]

Athlons require major cooling, more so than P4s. That's why you've got a loud fan. If it's stock, it's probably at around 6000rpm and there's not much you can do to quiet that down. Most of the fans worth their salt go between 4900-7000rpm. If you get the lower speed one, it won't cool as well (no overclocking) but you can quiet it down to about 30dbs.
If you're truly serious about quiet and efficient cooling, and are willing to shell out the bucks:
www.koolance.com

 

[DavidY]

Shane,
Can you measure the CPU fan noise with a RS SPL meter?
I have an Athlon T-bird 1200/266 with a Volcano II heatsink/fan....and it's loud and irritating, measuring 62 dB (C weighting, slow response) immediately outside the case's vent beneath the CPU and PS. Still trying to find a fix for it.
Dave

 

[Bill Catherall]

To cool the heatsink you need to move air. Small fans need to spin really fast to get the needed air flow. If they use cheap bearings then they will be noisy. Larger fans can get the same amount of air flow at slower speeds and are usually quiter. So the thing to do is to look for a heatsink with a big fan that has the same air flow and is approved to be used with your processor. AMD's website has a list of approved heatsink/fans.
Another place to look for quiter cooling systems is http://www.quitepc.com

 

[Jeff R.]

Whatever you do, don't skimp on the cooling. Athlons have a tendency to melt when they get too hot...
http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/01q3/010917/index.html

 

[John_Bonner]

Shane,
Try this site Link Removed there's a link on the left called "Hear Our Fans" where you can download mp3's of the fans. I did it when I was putting together my Athlon system. Some fans are remarkably quiet while others (like the Delta's) sound like hairdryers. The prices are reasonable, I wound up getting a ThermoEngine Heatsink/fan for about $25 and it's worked out well.
------------------
JB
My baloney has a first name it's H-O-M-E-R my baloney has a second name it's H-O-M-E-R
[Edited last by John_Bonner on October 30, 2001 at 03:38 PM]

 

[Eric Alderson]

I have heard lots of bad things lately about Tom. You should check out his video and then check this one.
http://www.m3dzone.com/files/Movies/AMD%20Athlon(TM)%20MP%20Thermal%20Shutdown_small.w mv

 

[Carlo_M]

I agree, don't freak out that your processor will turn into goo. But you still don't want to skimp on the fan. Using the one that comes with the retail box (which is loud and spins at 6000 rpm) my non-overclocked Athlon 850 thunderbird can reach 125 degrees Fahrenheit when playing Madden 2002.