# My Quad-Core's (Q6600) Fan is loud.



## douche

I have a Raidmax ATX-568WBP case, and Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU. Yet, i still hear something noisy. I've ruled it down to the Q6600's fan. The BIOS shows the RPM at over 3200. It's a 4-Pin fan, and i have 'CPU Quiet Fan' enabled in BIOS, but it does NOT cut the racket. Does the stock fan of the Q6600 have PWM? Is the fan on it sleeve bearing, do i need one that's Rifle or Ball bearing? What's a good alternative quiet fan (>21 dBA) for under $30? Preferably, NOT with push-pin clips, since they're a pain to put on. Some help would be great.


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## fortyways

I'd say there's some kind of miscommunication between your CPU fan and your motherboard. As long as your processor is at a reasonable temperature, your fan shouldn't be spinning that fast. How hot is your processor according to your BIOS?


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## douche

My motherboard is Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2 R2. What do mean "miscommunication" between the CPU fan & motherboard. How could this happen The temperature starts out at 94º F, within about 3 minutes it jumps to 120º F, in about 5-10 minutes it goes to 123º F, after that it hovers between 123º-129º F, it usually stays 123º-125º F, though. Now, i did remove the thermal paste off the CPU and Heatsink. BUT, with the paste on there temps where 118º-121º F (NOT much cooler), and it was STILL noisy. What are ideal temps for a Quad-core, anyhow? Also, what RPM speed should i expect for the CPU fan? What else can i try?


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## fortyways

I'm currently using two stock Intel fans, and neither ever breaks 1200RPM. The general consensus regarding stock Intel fans is that they are quiet, if not the best performers.

The lowest average temperature you reported before removing your thermal paste (why would you do that?) is 118ºF, which is about 47ºC (Celsius is the standard, please adhere to it).

47ºC, while high (around 35ºC is an ideal idle temp for Core 2), still shouldn't provoke fan speeds like 3200 (I doubt it actually gains any performance beyond ~1500RPM anyway). It may just be that your motherboard has a particularly loose idea of what "quiet" is, but to me it sounds like 3200RPM is the full 12V; I don't think your fan is being controlled at all. If tinkering further with the settings in the BIOS doesn't yield any results, I'd think about controlling the fan elsewhere (a fan controller or an undervolted 5V or 7V line, the 4-pin connection is compatible with 3-pin connectors), or perhaps replacing your HSF, whatever you're more comfortable with.

In any case, you need to replace your thermal paste ASAP.


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## douche

The moment i turn on the computer, the CPU Fan's RPM starts at 2000 and climbs to 3200 after about 30 minutes. The reason i removed the paste was because i plan on re-applying, soon. BUT, now i'm NOT so sure, without the grease, i just notice it running a few degrees hotter. Apparently it does NOT make the fan quieter. What do you mean by the "Full 12V?" Are you talking about the ATX 12V 4-pin power connector? I know that powers the CPU, but is it NOT suppose to supply 12V?? I also know the PC will NOT turn on without it. Since the 'CPU Quiet Fan' option in BIOS seems to make NO difference whatsoever in fan speed, than it's probably NOT controlling it. WHY, though How does a Fan controller work? I mean, how does it manage to override fan control of the motherboard? What's an "undervolted 5V or 7V line"? You keep mentioning my motherboard, _what_, in particular, could be the problem with it??


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## lion149

1. Reapply thermal paste asap
2. The cpu fan (4 pin) plugs right into the a female connector on the fan controller: then via a dial you can lower or raise the speeds of the fan.
3. If your Core 2 duo is running at 48 c the motherboard is not gonna stay in "quite" mode. I have pentium 4's that don't even get that warm.....


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## fortyways

12V is the maximum and default power for a case fan. Fan controllers (and, in theory, your motherboard's fan controller) undervolt that down to around 5V, i.e., the motherboard fan header or fan controller provides anywhere between 5V and 12V of power to the fan to achieve the desired RPM. It doesn't sound like your motherboard is doing this because 3200RPM is around the maximum for stock Intel fans.

This could either be because of, like I said, a miscommunication between your motherboard and fan, or simply because your processor is so hot. If you've exhausted all the options your BIOS has that have anything to do with fan control or thermal control, then it's the latter.


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## douche

lion149 said:


> The cpu fan (4 pin) plugs right into the a female connector on the fan controller: then via a dial you can lower or raise the speeds of the fan.



But, if the fan controller sits in the 5.25 drive bay, that's FAR away from the CPU, isn't it? Wouldn't the CPU Fan's cable be too short to reach the fan controller?




> 3. If your Core 2 duo is running at 48 c the motherboard is not gonna stay in "quite" mode. I have pentium 4's that don't even get that warm.....





That's Core 2 QUAD (Q6600), NOT Duo. Speaking of motherboard, there's "M/B Temperature" in the BIOS, too, which must mean motherboard, no? It's 110° F max, and usually around 103-108° F. Should the mobo even get hot, at all? How hot were the warmest Pentium 4's?



			
				fortyways said:
			
		

> This could either be because of, like I said, a miscommunication between your motherboard and fan, or simply because your processor is so hot. If you've exhausted all the options your BIOS has that have anything to do with fan control or thermal control, then it's the latter.



I still do NOT understand how or why there would be "miscommunication" between the fan and mobo. If the processor is too hot, then how can i cool it down? The only option in the BIOS related to CPU i have NOT mingled with is "CPU Host Frequency." What does that do? The manual doesn't really explain much about it. It's set to Auto, which detects 266.


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## fortyways

douche said:


> But, if the fan controller sits in the 5.25 drive bay, that's FAR away from the CPU, isn't it? Wouldn't the CPU Fan's cable be too short to reach the fan controller?



You can get 3-pin extension cables.



douche said:


> That's Core 2 QUAD (Q6600), NOT Duo. Speaking of motherboard, there's "M/B Temperature" in the BIOS, too, which must mean motherboard, no? It's 110° F max, and usually around 103-108° F. Should the mobo even get hot, at all? How hot were the warmest Pentium 4's?



Core 2 Quad uses the same architecture as Core 2 Duo and shouldn't run much hotter. M/B temperature in your BIOS is most likely referring to your northbridge, which does produce heat, hence the heat sink on it. Those temperatures are fine.



douche said:


> I still do NOT understand how or why there would be "miscommunication" between the fan and mobo. If the processor is too hot, then how can i cool it down? The only option in the BIOS related to CPU i have NOT mingled with is "CPU Host Frequency." What does that do? The manual doesn't really explain much about it. It's set to Auto, which detects 266.



If you've exhausted all your BIOS cooling options (don't mess with that last one, it doesn't have anything to do with fan speed), then I imagine 3200RPM must be ASRock's idea of quiet, and you'll want to either manually control your fan or replace your HSF entirely. But first, I'd tackle your heat issue. Is it especially hot in your room or anything? Those temperatures are just too high.


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## douche

fortyways said:


> You can get 3-pin extension cables.



Where? How do they look like? Would you mind posting pictures of these.





> Core 2 Quad uses the same architecture as Core 2 Duo and shouldn't run much hotter. M/B temperature in your BIOS is most likely referring to your northbridge, which does produce heat, hence the heat sink on it. Those temperatures are fine.



iF 103-108° for the northbridge is fine, then wouldn't the CPU be _hotter_ then that? If so, how much warmer should it be?





> If you've exhausted all your BIOS cooling options (don't mess with that last one, it doesn't have anything to do with fan speed), then I imagine 3200RPM must be ASRock's idea of quiet, and you'll want to either manually control your fan or replace your HSF entirely. But first, I'd tackle your heat issue. Is it especially hot in your room or anything? Those temperatures are just too high.



Actually, i went back to "CPU Quiet Fan" settings in BIOS and set it to 65 C (before it was 50-55), which is the max it can go, and now the RPM is between 2615-98, it's now slightly quieter, but still loud. What should i replace my HSF with My budget is $30. Being summer and all, it reaches triple-digits regularly im my town, but i have the A/C on to 81° F, and at night it's about the same, but the CPU's temp does NOT change.


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## fortyways

douche said:


> Where? How do they look like? Would you mind posting pictures of these.








http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812119146



douche said:


> iF 103-108° for the northbridge is fine, then wouldn't the CPU be _hotter_ then that? If so, how much warmer should it be?



Most people's Core 2 processors idle mid 30's (Celsius). Chipsets are generally a bit warmer just because they have less refined cooling.



douche said:


> Actually, i went back to "CPU Quiet Fan" settings in BIOS and set it to 65 C (before it was 50-55), which is the max it can go, and now the RPM is between 2615-98, it's now slightly quieter, but still loud. What should i replace my HSF with My budget is $30. Being summer and all, it reaches triple-digits regularly im my town, but i have the A/C on to 81° F, and at night it's about the same, but the CPU's temp does NOT change.



That's my room temperature too. If you're messing with your CPU voltages, quit it. If you really want to replace your cooler, you want this, but you shouldn't have to buy an aftermarket cooler to keep it cool and quiet at stock settings. Like I said earlier, I think you should replace your thermal paste first, and perhaps check to make sure your case has decent airflow. It's possible it may be "recycling" warm air instead of exhausting it and introducing cooler air. Try opening up your case and blowing a floor fan in it to experiment with how that affects your temperatures. If they drop noticeably, you may want to pursue improving your case's airflow rather than replacing your CPU cooler itself.


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## douche

> Most people's Core 2 processors idle mid 30's (Celsius). Chipsets are generally a bit warmer just because they have less refined cooling.



That makes sense, the northbridge does NOT have a fan either.





> If you're messing with your CPU voltages, quit it.



I don't even know how to do that.




> If you really want to replace your cooler, you want this, but you shouldn't have to buy an aftermarket cooler to keep it cool and quiet at stock settings.



Where can i put that 120mm fan? I've posted a pic of inside my case below. I believe it can only fit an 80mm or smaller. BTW, according to the specs for that HSF, it says at 1500 RPM the noise level is 32 dBA, isn't that loud? 




> check to make sure your case has decent airflow. It's possible it may be "recycling" warm air instead of exhausting it and introducing cooler air. Try opening up your case and blowing a floor fan in it to experiment with how that affects your temperatures. If they drop noticeably, you may want to pursue improving your case's airflow rather than replacing your CPU cooler itself.



Is it OK to blow a floor fan directly on the case? I mean aren't they a little too big and overwhelming? Do you know of a smaller type fan i could use? Now that you brought up the thorny and tricky issue of airflow, i've posted an image of inside my case. Are the PSU cables blocking air to the CPU? If so, what can i do? As you can see, it's quite cluttered and cramped in there. Where else could i possibly place those cables How about the 20-pin ATX power connector cable being right next to the CPU, does it hamper air to it??


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## andy_mitch92

Cable management is a learned skill but a very important one. Just keep messing with cable locations until you find a good working system. It can (although may not) lower your temps but it will allow for better air flow. 

Yes its okay to use a floor fan (although not recommended) to get heat out of your system. I would NOT recommend it all year round though, just during the hot summer months while trying to get the case to better cool itself. More dust can get into the heat sinks and other components so keep an eye on those as well.

As for your cpu temp. It isn't super hot but its a little on the warm side. I run a Q9450 which is a 45nm quad at 2.66ghz stock and mine idles around 25-28C and load is 32-35C, my room temp varies between 75 and 80F.


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## theasian100

douche said:


> I have a Raidmax ATX-568WBP case, and Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU. Yet, i still hear something noisy. I've ruled it down to the Q6600's fan. The BIOS shows the RPM at over 3200. It's a 4-Pin fan, and i have 'CPU Quiet Fan' enabled in BIOS, but it does NOT cut the racket. Does the stock fan of the Q6600 have PWM? Is the fan on it sleeve bearing, do i need one that's Rifle or Ball bearing? What's a good alternative quiet fan (>21 dBA) for under $30? Preferably, NOT with push-pin clips, since they're a pain to put on. Some help would be great.



are you sure it's not your PSU? i have the same one and its the noisiest thing in my case


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## fortyways

To verify, I wasn't suggesting that you implement a floor fan as a permanent solution, just as an experiment to see how much some improved airflow would help your predicament. If it helps a lot, then your CPU cooler is fine and you should work on airflow.

About the Xigmatek fan, I think it should fit in your case, but there's also a 92mm version. Also, don't pay attention to manufacturer's dBa ratings (they're unreliable); seek third party reviews instead. Moreover, the nice thing about those coolers is that the fan can be replaced by any 120mm case fan, just like you'd switch out any other fan.

By the way, any particular reason you don't have an exhaust fan? That's not helping.


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## douche

I finally put Antec Thermal grease on the CPU, and the CPU went down to 117-120° F, with a max at 123°F. I definitely applied MORE thermal grease than what was originally on the HSF, and it made it 1 degree cooler than with the thermal paste that came on it did. As such, what did NOT change was the RPM of the HSF, it basically stayed the same, unless i put a case fan at the rear (which i explain more about toward the end of this post) the RPM of the HSF hardly drops by less than 100 to around 2519-2596 RPM, whereas before it was 2615-2741 RPM. As i describe below, the case fan plunges the CPU temp down by 4-5 degrees, why doesn't the RPM go down by at least 500



theasian100 said:


> are you sure it's not your PSU? i have the same one and its the noisiest thing in my case



That's very UNlikely. Antec Earthwatts are among the most quiet (but certainly NOT the quietest) PSUs, and are made by Seasonic. Judging from your setup, those Graphics cards or your HSF is what's the loudest. Besides, i already un-plugged the HSF, and it was MUCH quieter.



			
				fortyways said:
			
		

> About the Xigmatek fan, I think it should fit in your case, but there's also a 92mm version. Also, don't pay attention to manufacturer's dBa ratings (they're unreliable); seek third party reviews instead. Moreover, the nice thing about those coolers is that the fan can be replaced by any 120mm case fan, just like you'd switch out any other fan.



Ah, thanks for that link, it showed how the fan attaches to the heatsink. But, how do they test the noise of the HSF at 5V, 7V, 9V AND 12V Does the "CPU Quiet Fan" setting in my BIOS undervolt the HSF to lower the RPM, too?  Speaking of HSFs, which of the following do you recommend: Thermaltake Silent 775D, Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, Zerotherm CF800/ CF900, Rosewill RCX-Z775-SL / RCX-Z775-LX,  or ZeroTherm Zen FZ120?





> By the way, any particular reason you don't have an exhaust fan? That's not helping.



If you mean a case fan in the back, i  just installed an Antec TriCool 80mm fan there. It has a nice switch that controls its level, at low its 1400-1500 RPM, medium at 1900-2000 RPM, and high at 2600 RPM. It cooled the CPU about 4 degrees down to 113° F, even at low level At high, i did NOT notice it any cooler than on low, and at 2600 RPM, high is loud.


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## just a noob

try running it without the side panel on, if you dont already have a fan blowing into it as fortyways suggested, and try to use celsius


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