Where to get northbridge and CPU fans in the UK. 2

How about:

While you are waiting, or for a fix that will last for a long time, take the screws off and clean off the fan and clean off the heatsink fins, all look dirty.

Then, take the amd name off carefully and put some oil in there and put the name back on. Graphite mixed with oil is even better, thats what i do and it lasts for a year or 2 that way. Best to get graphite and oil in the "pen" formats, as then you dont put on too much and you can get inside easily where the oil needs to go. But the oil goes under the AMD seal.

Then you may very well not need a new fan!


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It's at thought, I am considering it. But I can't seem to get the old heatsink off, whereas the fan unscrews easily!

okay, my "tutorial" was for the cpu fan, but the bridge fan you would do the same thing.


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And, my way, you dont have to take the old heatsink off!


Good advice + great people = tek-tips

garebo - Thanks for that - I've never heard of oil mixed with graphite - now I wonder where I'll get that? I can feel more googling coming on.

P.S.

I took the photo's before I took em off and cleaned em. They are pristine now. Knocked 10C off my CPU temp! I couldn't believe how much filth was under the fan!!!!

You can get both at any hardware store.
I can tell you a million places in US and Canada, but unless you have the same in Britain, its no good, lol.
But another good place is an auto store, a do-it-yourself type auto store.
Any large store with an auto or tools department should carry it. Its also cheap too, as you only use a bit and it lasts for like 10 yrs or 20 yrs, lol. Plus, i simply refill the "pen" with oil. The graphite, well, i just buy another. The graphite is actually in a little plastic tube, its the oil that is in a "pen" style, has a needle on it. But i only use that for accuracy, you can get just about any oil and use that, its how you get it into the tight space is the key. Actually another thing i have done is mix the oil with the graphite and put it in with a small wood stick.
With that method you dont need a "pen".
You can get any oil you want, just not motor oil as its too thick, it would work but not as good as, say, machine oil. You can also use the same oil you put on your electric razor too.
I put graphite in the mix as the oil will only last a month or so but if you put graphite in with the oil, you get a year or two before having to do it again!
I experimented with this as i have always been a big fan of those removable ide hard drive trays that you can buy. But the fans are the pits, they get whiny real fast. So i had to find a way to fix them as they are very expensive and hard to replace. Now i dont have to, lol!!
Combo of oil and graphite is the very best, by far. One caution, graphite stains worse than oil, so be careful!!
Im talking about staining your clothes and hands.
Trust me, this will work!! If the fan spins my method will work for years! I have even fixed fans that were stuck and wouldnt spin!
Sometimes you cant really get inside too easy, like a system fan, Thats where the "pen" with the needle comes in again, but i still find a way to get some graphite in as well, graphite is what makes the oil last a long time!
And graphite is also an oil, but you need both together for maximum effectiveness.







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stduc
If you really get stuck I can sort you out with a large Asus passive for the north bridge and a good used 60mm fan for the CPU.

Martin (Nottingham)


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I found a small hardware store, called the Hardware House, on the Bromley Road, near Downham. Talk about going back in time. Ever seen the "Four Candles", Two Ronnies sketch? It was that kind of place. There was no one at the counter, then I saw an old man, dressed in a grubby brown 'lab coat', doing something that looked highly dangerous on an unprotected belt driven lathe at the back. He saw me and limped over. "Do you have any graphited oil, or graphite power" I asked. "No oil, but I have powdered graphite" he replied. He then proceeded to pull over one of those tracked ladders I haven't seen since I was a nipper and climb up to the top shelf behind the counter. He then read the entire label to me before bringing it down after I confirmed it was what I wanted. "£2.90" he said and proceeded to ring it up on a hand cranked till! Wonderful.

OK - so what did I buy? 'C.K. dry powder graphite 6283A' - Microfine, Greaseless, Ideal for all kinds of locks. !!!!!
It comes in a small bottle with a fine squirt nozzle.

As Gary described, having removed the sticky label from the Northbridge fan bearing, I poured in enough to cover the bearing and spun the fan to help it penetrate. I then trickled on a little Silicone Grease 70 I already had. Just enough to saturate the graphite. I spun the fan a few more times and then after cleaning the area around the spindle, where the label had been, with a little isopropyl alcohol on a cotton bud, I re-applied the label. I repeated the procedure on the CPU fan.

Haveing re-assembled the fans in the PC I powered up. Bliss. Silence. (well, nearly). Just normal fan noise. No more rattle from the CPU fan. No more buzz like a bumblebee stuck behind a net curtain from the NorthBridge fan.

Many Many thanks Gary. What a wonderful and innovative solution. Prividing your not scared of handling small parts - its a piece of cake.

stduc
Considered normal annual maintenance for all PC fans.

Your other fairly urgent task would be a proper blow out! looking at your pictures there seems a real need for some drastic spring cleaning, before dust build up brings an early demise to your system.

A blow off jet down at your local garage show do an excellent job in under 15seconds.

Cans of air, brushes and vacuum cleaners only partly help but a blow off jet really gets things clean.

Martin



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You're very welcome. I discovered the graphite trick years ago, it simply works better and lasts longer. I dont think a ton of people know about it, though.

And you did get the exact item i suggested! The dry graphite is the best, mix it with a touch of oil. YOu can also get it already mixed with oil, but i find that one is only good for cars and squeeky doors, the powdered one is best for puter fans and such.

Glad you found it!




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Paparazi,

Well its a new one on me. Cleaning yes, oiling, no - never done it before and never needed to!

Your not the only one to comment on the dirt shown in the pictures. So, I had better post this too.

The pictures were taken BEFORE doing anything. I must admit I was surprised at how much dirt had got under the fans! Anyway they are pristine now - and I'm running some 10-12C cooler!!

I have also fitted filters to the air intakes to cut down on future dirt ingress.

(you didn't seriously think I had taken them off, then put them back looking like that do you?)

Oh ya, one last thing i just remembered. When you have a fan that has a metal screen on it, gently, with a flat screwdriver, pull or lift the screen up from the center.
The reason is that sometimes these screens get knocked a bit and they bend into the fan blade just enough to make a noise but not enough that you will know where its coming from, lol. I wanted to post that above and forgot.


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