CPU cooler noise

Phenomenologica · 15 Apr 2011 at 18:07

Hey all, another question!

I've just gone through my case quieting a few fans down with some improvised foam grommets which has helped, but the major culprit as far as noise goes appears to be the CPU fan, which I suppose is to be expected. It's a Corsair A50 cooler that came with the motherboard bundle. Are there any tried and tested ways of quietening it down?

From what I can see, the fan itself should be replaceable, as it looks to be held onto the clip that attaches it to the cooler with rubber stalks. If that's the case, can anyone recommend a quiet but high performance fan to replace the original? I'd rather not go through the debacle of replacing the entire cooler, just the fan.

stulid · 15 Apr 2011 at 18:11

Is the fan that comes with the A50 a 3pin? if so, this is cheap - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=OA-000-ZA&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=189

Stretched · 15 Apr 2011 at 18:11

you should ask for a RMA in my opion, the A50s are know to be a pretty silent CPU cooler

SouthEastBlue · 15 Apr 2011 at 18:12

It should be a 4 pin fan on the cooler unless Corsair cheaped out, so would imagine you can control the speed through the BIOS.

It should either have something a like minimum speed the fan will spin at unless it reaches a certain temperature which means it will be quiet unless under load, or it will have like a level to set it at for its maximum speed, on my BIOS it's from 1 to 9 with 9 being the highest speed.

stulid · 15 Apr 2011 at 18:16

HOLD ON,

http://www.corsair.com/cooling/air-series/air-series-a50.html

says the fans are selectable rpm,

Selectable 1,600 or 2,000RPM fan allows you to select the cooling performance you want

Phenomenologica · 15 Apr 2011 at 18:22

stulid said:
HOLD ON,

http://www.corsair.com/cooling/air-series/air-series-a50.html

says the fans are selectable rpm,

They include a resistance cable if you so desire. I want it to be quieter without boiling my CPU.

Only three pins on the fan so no way of controlling it from the computers side.

I have no idea how much I should rely on the noise statistics given on the product pages, but the included fan comes in at 31.5dB while moving 61 CFM. This fellow says he'll run at 20.8dB whilst still shifting 56 CFM. It also seems to imply it would be speed controlled but I can't find direct evidence of that on the product page.

stulid · 15 Apr 2011 at 18:23

If its three pins then try that £4 Zalman controller.

Reaper 392 · 15 Apr 2011 at 18:28

if you cant get your current fan to be quiet, then this fan review should help:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/120mm-fan-roundup-2_15.html

it looks like the scythe ultra kaze 2000RPM model is the quietest fan out there for the amount of air it pushes through. i see there is also a 3000RPM model around, but i have no idea what thats like because they only tested the 2000RPM version

Tealc · 15 Apr 2011 at 18:47

From an A50 review it looks like the fan has a 3 pin fan connector fitted so should be controllable by a suitable motherboard that can regulate DC voltage or by a stand alone fanmate or fan controller. Not sure how these things are switched between 1600 and 2000rpm but should still respond well to voltage regulation.

Worth doing too as 1600rpm is way too loud in my opinion.

Phenomenologica · 15 Apr 2011 at 19:53

Thanks all for the advice - Playing around in software and the BIOS has thrown up no way to adjust the fan speed and I'd rather not end up with a hardware controller, so I'm probably going to fork out to replace it. And Reaper thanks for the suggestion, but while the fan pumps a lot more air through the noise readings are higher than my current one!

I've now discovered This fan which looks like a good bet. Proper 4 pin speed control, almost the same throughput as the current fan, but a substantial 15dB quieter at full speed. Comments on said model seem to be pretty unanimously good so I am tempted to go with this one unless a quieter suggestion wafts through!