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Fan on Mother Board making noise, please help! 5

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hippolover

hippolover

MIS
Aug 4, 2003
5
US
The small Fan on my Mother Board (not the CPU/Heatsink fan) has started making a high pitched noise when I start up the PC. I can touch the fan at certain places and it will stop making the noise, and then, after it seems to get up to speed, it stops making the noise altogether. I figure it may be a bearing going bad in the fan and I'd like to replace the fan, but I can't find any specifics about it in the Mother Board User's Manual. Is this just any type of small MOB fan that could go in this spot? It looks like it is on top of a chip on the MOB. I have the EP-8KTA3PRO/EP-8KTA3+PRO Mother Board. The place on the MOB where this fan is located is just below the CPU/Heatsink fan and just above the AGP slot. It's a small fan and according to the layout in the User's Manual, it's on top of the VIA VT8363A chip on the MOB. Is anyone familiar with this small fan, and do I just get any small MOB fan to replace it?
I certainly don't want to burn up the Mother Board because of it.
Thank you so much in advance for your assistance!
You've been most helpful in the past!
-Vicko
 
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Any one you can find at the same physical dimemsions shoud do fine, but check the power ratings. Should be 12v and black/red or blue/red cables.
You may have to splice the power wires since the connectors are sometimes special.
If you can find a ball bearing version you will be happier for the long run, otherwise go ahead and buy 2 because the replacement will freeze up in a year or so.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.
 
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Thank you! Your fast response is very much appreciated!
It does look like there is a small heatsink underneath this small fan, too. I imagine I could just purchase a cooling kit for this chipset fan, so the same type is used in it's place.
-Vicko
 
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The northbridge chip on this motherboard "KT133a" didn't necessarily need an active cooler (heatsink with fan) many other manufactures using this chipset chose to use a slighty larger passive cooler (one without a fan) it's just that is was quite fashionable at the time to put fans on everything.

Some of the biggest manufactures resisted the temptation and stuck with larger passives, Asus for instance, only fit fans on their Northbridges when they absolutely have to.

Unfortunately when fitting a fan they also cut down the size of the heatsink, so just removing the fan is not an option.
But there are many aftermarket replacements passive and non passive types.
See these from the excellent Zalmam range:


We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.
 
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Huh? So sorry, what exactly are you trying to say?
I appreciate your input, but I can't decipher what you said.
Thanks anyway,
-Vicko
 
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He's saying that a northbridge cooler on a KT133A motherboard is very uncommon.

I imagine the reason it's there is because of voltage regulation problems (I didn't look for problems with your board)

It's likely that any 40mm fan will do the job for you...if not just hang, glue, ziptie etc. any fan to blow air over the heatsink.

If your current fan is screwed on, loosen all the screws a bit and snug 'em all down until the noise starts; then loosen that screw a touch.

I still can't imagine why a KT133A chipset needs a fan though.

Skip

 
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He says "Put a replacement fan on", the manufacturer may have cut corners that will cause the chip to self destruct if it doesn't get cooled.

The rest is technical stuff for geeks that can calculate heat transfer.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.
 
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Usually there is a sticker on the rotor, with a brand on. Take note of the data from the sticker. Remove the sticker. It will normally show the bearing. If it does, put a drop of oil on it. Wipe off what did not enter the bearing and turn the power back on. I salvaged several fans doing this. Much less work than finding another fan. Depending on how worn it is, it may last for another while. And nothing prevents you from putting another drop of oil six months from now.




 
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THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!
Yes, it is a KT133A chipset. Yeah, I don't do heat transfer stuff and some other real deep stuff; wish I did, but it's way over my head! Thanks to Paparazi too!
I only know what's on there right now (for whatever reason), and wouldn't want to modify it not knowing why the heatsink with fan was there in the first place. The User's Manual even shows several diagrams with it, while the "finished" product diagram shows this fan on top of the chip (can't really see the heatsink here), the other diagrams, from building the MOB up, just shows the chip here.
I'm wondering if I can just replace the fan there or do I have to get a fan/heatsink combination kit, and/or if I do remove the old fan there, do I need some kind of thermal gupe stuff to put in-between this fan and the original heatsink there? I haven't done anything with it yet, as I'm afraid that if I do remove the fan I won't be able to use the PC anymore, because I don't have a replacement and/or the gupe stuff in-between the fan/heatsink if it's needed before putting the fan back on.
By the way, this heatsink under this fan looks plastic. I didn't know they made plastic heatsinks. Is that right?
Also, if I do just get a newer fan here, do I need to get the newer heatsink as well, or can I leave the old heatsink here and just attach another fan (with the thermal gupe if needed?) to it? Is that a possibility?
I know, so many questions. Sorry about that!
If I had a job, I'd probably just take it somewhere to get it fixed, but can't afford it. Besides, I am a fairly newbie tech (2-3 yrs), and would like to know this stuff.
You all helped me fix a friend's PC a good while back!
Thank you all so very much!
Vicko

 
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All I was saying was:
Some makes of motherboard that use the same setup as yours, do have a fan and some makes don't.

If a fan is used the heatsink (the metal bit the fan screws to) is smaller

If a fan is not fitted the heatsink is larger to compensate for the lack of the fan.

You could simply replace the fan with a similar type (12volt 40mm) from radio Shack/Tandy or other ellectronis shop or buy a replacement heatsink unit (without fan)similar to the ones in my previous link (no fan, no future problems)

Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.
 
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Shouldn't require anything more than the fan and modification of the cable (if required) to get power to it.

You can oil the fan, but it will gunk up again. Better to pay more and get one with a bearing if you can find it.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.
 
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Hi again,
So, if I do just replace the fan here, instead of getting a total fan and heatsink cooling kit replacement, do I need some goop (thermal goop?) that goes in-between the fan and the heatsink??
Or should I just get the cooling kit which would probably have the goop inside the total kit?
Thanks again, Vicko7
 
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There is no goop. Just pull the screws and lift it off. Put the new one in place and add screws. Might want to clean out the dust in the airflow channels while it is open.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.
 
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Okay, thanks!
I guess I was thinking of the goop that goes between the chip and the heatsink. :-/
Thanks, Vicko7
 
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Thermaltake makes a "Blue Orb" chip fan kit (TGF020). $8.95 (USD). If the holes line up - use the screws. If not, it comes with double-sided tape. Has three pin connector, and an adapter for "molex" connection. Ball bearings. I use them on both video chips and main system chips. Has everything you need. If you can use the screws, it even comes with a small packet of thermal paste!
 
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If its just making a noise, why not just cure the problem rather than replace the heatsink/fan?

Try sticking a very small ball of blu-tak (star-tak? don't know what they may call it in your part of the world) on the centre of the fan, slightly off-centre. It should stop any noise.

Bushes/bearings eventually wear a little and sometimes you'll get a resonance at their operating frequency as they rattle slightly in the bush. By altering the balance you'll change this frequency. I almost guarantee that if you could alter the speed of the fan through the software, you'd stop the noise too.

save your money for the next motherboard upgrade, the fan will last 'til then
 
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fan will last 'til then"

I just (2 months ago), lost a $100:00 video card because the card's fan "locked" up. Unfortunately, it didn't make any noise.
 
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Nothing like experience, Micker. Bet you would have already replaced this noisy one.
 
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