Is the CPU fan functioning under excessive strain?
Is the CPU fan functioning under excessive strain?
Indeed so. My Phenom is quite tame in comparison. That FX is a space heater. A former colleague still has two FX-8320 gaming rigs running Windows 7 online. We've tried to warn him of the dangers and persuade him to upgrade, but he won't budge. At least they keep his house warm in winter. Now that's a bit more like it. There's some debate regarding direct contact heatpipes, but it's a far more capable cooler than your old one. Check you've got more than 154mm clearance (height) in your case before buying. Tall coolers sometimes clash with the side panel. Just remember this particular cooler might not come with any thermal paste (TIM) needed for proper heat transfer. Some coolers come with pre-applied paste. Others come with a small syringe or sachet of paste. If the cooler comes with no paste, do not be tempted to use it with no TIM. At 200W max, you need every advantage. I suggest you play safe and order a syringe of paste anyway. That way if you ever need to remove the cooler, you'll have some spare paste to reapply after cleaning off the old. All you need is a small blob in the centre of the CPU. It spreads out when you clamp down the heatsink. Take your pick from this list. People have their favourites, but any paste is better than nothing. Just don't spread it on too thick.
I personally prefer Arctic mx4. It’s affordable and seems to work well. I also notice that sometimes the pastes from coolers don’t always suit my taste. For instance, I like Thermalright coolers but don’t like their paste. Sometimes they don’t spread as expected, but having an mx4 made it easier.
Well, it's true I purchased the FX 8320 in July, and the fan performed well until recently. Before that, I had an FX6300 that functioned perfectly for two years. Perhaps I shouldn't have made this change, but I've bought the same model again now. The main point is, I don't plan to keep this PC long-term. I'm hoping to get a new one sometime this year or early next year. I haven't installed the fan yet.
If the fan is operating and can run quickly enough to be bothersome, then the issue likely lies elsewhere. It would be wiser to remove the CPU cooler heatsink, wipe away the old paste with 91% isopropyl alcohol, and apply fresh thermal paste. Considering the age of your equipment, the thermal paste is probably worn out, stiff, and dry. Additionally, cleaning the heatsink is advisable as it is likely dusty too. Replacing a new fan to compensate for an existing one that still functions well is a waste of money. A fresh fan won’t improve performance if the old one can already run fast enough to be bothersome. Heatsinks like this one are generally reliable, so the real issue might be with your thermal paste or possibly with your CPU or motherboard.
Well, I tried changing the CPU fan and it didn't work. The new CPU fan came with thermal paste already on it. I have to admit, I haven't tried using that alcohol you suggested, maybe I could try cleaning it more thoroughly. I am little confused by what you mean by the heatsink, As far as I'm aware, these CPU fans already come with a heatsink. The heatsink is the silver metallic thing attached to the CPU fan, right?
Yup, I actually installed HWinfo today. However, I have CPU core software, and it indicates that there is no overheating, in fact it's cooler than normal. HW info shows the same thing, cool temperatures and my CPU fan running at 3479 RPM, It's very strange. Also, for some reason I don't seem to be able to get into the BIOS. I could keep trying at that.
OK I'll try that. This is the thermal paste I use
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ARCTIC-MX-...69515324&sprefix=thermal+apste,aps,598&sr=8-5
Are you referring to "fan" or "cooler"? Since "fans" don’t include thermal paste and don’t use it, while the CPU cooler has a thermal pad, it’s important to clarify what exactly you mean. Have you replaced just the fan or the entire cooler? As I mentioned earlier, swapping it with another identical model wouldn’t help much because if the fan is already spinning fast, changing it to the same type won’t make a difference.
The thermal paste is fine—it’s a quality product. When you put in the new cooler, I assume you got a completely different one since you said it came with a thermal pad. Did you also remove the protective plastic from the pad before installing it? I’m not commenting on your thinking, but it’s surprising how many people skip that step and end up wondering why their setup isn’t working.
So, if the CPU isn’t overheating and the cooler fan is running at high speed, it’s likely the thermal sensor or the motherboard fan controller has failed. Unfortunately, this repair isn’t possible, so you’re probably looking for a used board that matches your CPU and other components, or it might be time to upgrade to something newer. Honestly, considering the age of the hardware, it doesn’t make sense to spend a lot on something that old. I’d strongly suggest searching for options to upgrade to a more recent platform.
This is likely the most affordable new hardware worth investing in—it would significantly boost single-core performance and allow for other useful upgrades later. Of course, you’d still need your current case, graphics card, and storage, but it would give you around 108% better single-core speed and 252% more multithreaded performance. In reality, it would feel like having the combined power of about four of your current FX-8320 processors working together, plus some extra from faster RAM and higher capacity as well.
I'm really sorry about the slow response, it's just that this situation is affecting me. To address your concern, I swapped both components. Based on what you explained, you receive a CPU fan connected to a heatsink, and the heatsink has thermal paste applied. Yes, I attempted the replacement, but it didn't succeed. I noticed no plastic material attached to the heatsink—just the fan and the heatsink itself. I believe the previous unit might have had this issue, but if so, I would likely have removed it. That seems to be the most reasonable conclusion. This computer is nearly nine years old, and it's inevitable something will fail at that stage. Just a reminder, I also tried replacing the FX8320 for my old FX6300, thinking it might be too power-hungry, but it didn't make a difference. Interestingly, after changing it, I accessed the BIOS and adjusted the CPU fan settings, yet the problem persisted. This suggests there may be an issue with the sensors. I'll investigate further. Thank you for your guidance. In the worst case, if this PC fails, I could use my older machine temporarily until I can get a new one.
Fair enough and it all makes a kind of sense. When you get ready to get something else, do yourself a favor, don't just go all knee jerk half cocked. Come back and get some advice on any potential purchase. Honestly, there is no shame or fail in getting help with this kind of thing if you're not somebody who does it all the time and actually, even if you are (Or for those who are) it still makes sense because things change rapidly these days and getting opinions costs nothing. Making bad decisions, probably might.