Can i reverse the direction of my intel heatsink's fan rotation?

[mykebrian]

i just upgraded from athlon ii x2 250 to core i3 2120 and i've noticed the 2120 runs at higher temp than the athlon. So i tried to observe what's wrong and found out that they are contrast in heatsink's fan rotation. My intel runs at 43+ in idle while my old athlon ran at 25+. I think it's cause of the rotation of the fan so any help to reverse it? Or do i need to change the thermal paste. I'm still using the thermal paste from the stock heatsink thus i've only used it for a week.

 

[nekulturny]

You don't want to do that, it travels in the direction its meant to for best results.

The temperature difference can be caused by the fact that they are entirely different CPUs from entirely different generations, different architecture and different clock rates.

43c at idle is perfectly acceptable for that CPU.

And a straight answer to your question, no you cant.

 

[willzzz]

Is the heat causing any problems? I would expect an i3 to run mid-high 30s.
What is the temp like at full load?

How are you reading the temperature? BIOS?

 

[mykebrian]

i just played minecraft a moment ago and when it got to 60+ degress, i started dropping framerate. i used speccy.

 

[nekulturny]

Maybe you did a bad install of the heatsink, it happens, you can try cleaning it up and reapplying it. But no, changing the fan direction isn't a solution even if you could. Intel does have engineers to work these things out.

 

[mykebrian]

ok i'll try but it's only a week old so i won't be cleaning it. i'll just check if it's installed correctly. do the thermal compound need replacing when i detach the heatsink?

 

[nekulturny]

Yes. and you can use a coffee filter to remove the old compound from the heatsink and CPU. For best results I would put a dot the size of a BB (not quite the size of a pea on top of the CPU and use a firm hand to press the heatsink down and spread the compound. You don't want to take it off after you've done this as this can create air bubbles.

 

[13thmonkey]

ok i'll try but it's only a week old so i won't be cleaning it. i'll just check if it's installed correctly. do the thermal compound need replacing when i detach the heatsink?

The fact that its only a week old is not important, if you remove the heat sink replace the paste.

The intel sink is notorious for being difficult to fit, make sure that all of the push pins are fully engaged, it does require some degree of force. If you loosen and replace without lifting the heatsink you should be ok, air is the problem as indicated elsewhere.

 

[mykebrian]

so what's the average temperature of my i3 should be? i can't remove the heatsink thus i don't have thermal paste right now. I'll try replacing the thermal compound maybe next week.