Lately my PC has been making this loud whirring sound. Usually happens right after starting it, though sometimes starts while it is running. Turning it completely off and again on usually solves it, or sometimes it stops after hitting the casing once or twice...

I had the PC run without the casing cover, and I'm pretty sure the sound is caused by the processor fan (and not by the PSU for example)... but I'm not 100% sure.

I'm willing to buy a new fan, but don't want to waste the money should it turn out it's actually something else. Is there any way to tell for sure what's causing this? Or any other way to solve it without having to buy a new fan.

Also, if I would be buying the fan do you have any recommendations? I've been always using the ones that came with the processor till now so don't know what to look for when choosing one. I'm using an Asus M2N motherboard and Athlon 64 X2 dual processor if it matters.

One more thing, my PC probe software that came with the mobo shows that the fan is working properly even when it is making that sound.

Also, I've already made sure a thousand times that there are no loose wires or the like obstructing the fan. I also tried vacuuming twice all the fans including the psu one...

Open the case, and take a Qtip, strip the cotton off, and turn the PC on. Now, carefully, slowly put the qtip stick just into a fan--NOT the CPU fan. (Case fans). test them, and if its not them, then you know its the CPU. It won't hurt.
You could even do the CPU fan BUT make sure it starts back up within 3 seconds.

The BEST Cooler for the 939 chip is this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835106069

It will drop your temps NICELY! Much better than stock.

I have a dual core 6600, and I use this (With Arctic Silver 5):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835106061

Can OC it to 3-ish Ghz


I just had to pull a 120mm fan out of my PSU Silverstone, and the damn thing was making all kinds of noise. Well, I don't have a 2 pin connector, and I didn't wanna splice crap, so I took the entire fan a part, added some axel grease to the small barring, and wa-la! No more noise! Talk about a pain in the ass though.

DO NOT open a PSU unless you know what you are doing--they can kill you. make sure you disconnect the power cables, as well as drain the caps. (Because the can still hold a charge for up to 2 days, if they have poor bleeders)

Was up till 4am working on it a few nights ago. FUN! ;)

Thanks Ziroc!

I tried the qtip thing and it turned out the culprit was one of the case fans, not the processor one.
I took it out, gave it a cleaning and so far it seems to be working properly.

<font color=8fbc8f>Bingo ZFR, Spring cleaning, followed be Fall cleaning will save both your ears and your wallet.</font>