Throttling down the CPU fan

[CaedenV]

My wife's computer has a Zotac 630i mobo, and while it works great, I have always been annoyed at the amount of fan noise that it produces.

Here are the specs:
C2D @ 2.66, Using my older C2D stock cooler because it is bigger (thought at the time that perhaps the stock cooler that came with it was not keeping it cool enough, but that seems not to be the case)
runs ~44*c no matter the load (not that it gets a heavy load ever anyways)
Zotac 630i mobo, 1 CPU fan header, 1 case fan header
530W Cooler Master power supply, very quiet fan
60GB SSD, silent
500GB HDD, makes noise when in use, but not much, and it is usuialy idle
8600GT W/ passive cooler, silent
stays ~50*c, which is a little warm, but perfectly normal for a passive GPU, even when it was in my game/editing rig it never got over 70*c
80mm case fan, was noisy, but added a line resister and is now reasonably quiet

So basically there are only 2 fans making noise; the CPU and the case fan. The mobo just runs both fans at full speed, all the time. The case fan was mostly remedied with a line resister (a better quality fan would help more I am sure), but as you all know that trick does not work with CPU fans as they are told a speed to go, and will use whatever power necessary to attain that speed. There is no need for the CPU fan to be moving at full tilt all the time, but I can't think of a way to trick it into moving any slower. Any ideas?

Thanks much!

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Redo the thermal paste and wash the Hs while its off the chip, should help
And try squishing the fan blade part onto the hub, it may have buzzed loose from the bearing,
Moto

 

[CaedenV]

1) not a thermal paste issue, it was just as warm with the stock cooler, the larger/older stock cooler brought it down 2-3*c (I think that is due to using aftermarket paste instead of the stock intel crap), but it's pretty much the same as it was.
2) it's not like it sounds like a turbine where there is a bad bearing, it is how the fan is supposed to sound, just a few settings too high.

I know that the real issue is that it is a cheap mobo without much power management, and I was wondering if anyone out there had any ideas on how to trick it into running at a lower RPM, just enough to take the edge off the harshness of the Intel cooler (they all sound s bit harsh to me). Perhaps an aftermarket cooler that runs at a set speed (again, this is an office PC, the hardest thing it does is play back HD video on occasion)? Or software/BIOS mods that could add the feature? Some some other unconventional trick that someone knows of.

Thanks again.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

AAh, sorry, brain looked over the part where you had used a different cooler from your old chip,
speedfan or coretemp might let you control it to your satisfaction but,
I have an idea if you're willing to splice and mod a little, grab another fan same size, splice that into the wires and make a card gasket to glue over the 'original' fan on the HS, the glue the second fan over it,
that will share the power going to the Cpu fan and maybe calm it down a touch,

I have two fans set like that on an older rig but the second fan is plugged into a cha fan socket instead
Moto

 

[CaedenV]

I'll check out speed fan and see if that does the trick, Ive always been able to set the fan speed via the mobo, so I was kinda taken back when there were no settings on that board (the rest of the board seems pretty top-notch considering the price I paid. Overall I have been impressed with Zotac's quality/$).

I didn't even consider tying it in with the other fan on the case fan controller instead of the CPU fan controller, that would probably do the trick just fine as well. Another thing I am considering is picking up a hyper 212+ for my system (Ive wanted one for a while as they are quieter than my CNP, and there is a local shop with them on sale), and moving the zalman CNP over to hers as the fan is quieter at the same speeds, but I will try your suggestions first.

Thanks much!

 

[CaedenV]

Best answer selected by CaedenV.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

No probs man, I always think laterally before spending money hehe, its more fun
keep us updated as to progress/lack thereof please,
and thank you for B.A.
Moto

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey