mobo fan making noises

[rh71]

Abit NF7 - I don't usually turn off/reboot my machine (maybe once or twice a week) but this last time I recycled it, after it came on (it was off for about a couple minutes)... the small mobo fan started making inconsistent/random bearing noises. It will stay quiet/normal for a few minutes, then start up again. I notice it's also spinning much slower than my CPU fan (not sure how fast it used to spin)... are these common signs that the fan is going bad ? Or is it just that it's trying to catch up to speed and spins awkwardly... I've had it for almost a year I suppose...

Also, will this harm the mobo in any way if the fan hardly spins ? The sys temp is reading at 29C (cpu: 49C). If it matters, it's a Barton 3200+.

 

[Blazer]

if you are talking about the small northbridge fan it is proly OK to disconnect it as it will cause no problems,they are cheeply made as are the 875 NB fans,also it is proly still in warranty and a simple email or phone call will get you another sent out.

 

[rh71]

good to hear. What is it actually cooling ? What exactly does the northbridge do ?

I emailed techsupport at Abit and will see what they have to say about it. I found out I ordered it from Newegg back on 3/17/04 so hopefully it's at least a year's warranty. I'm reading on Newegg that they have a 1-year standard warranty for replacement/repair...

 

[rh71]

Well I've unplugged that small fan and the noises stopped... machine running ok the last 3 days... can someone tell me what that northbridge fan is for exactly ? Why does the northbridge need cooling (what does it do?) Can I leave it as is indefinitely ?

No response from Newegg or Abit thus far..

 

[Blazer]

mostly cosmetic / looks good ! ,my mobo {MSI 875 NEO FISR} has a fan with flashing lights that started making a noise,i unpluged it while waiting for another.from what i have seen many have removed the fan and left the heatsink inplace with NO ill effects reported !.

i googled for a description

 

[Rhagz]

the northbridge is the controller chip for your ide devices and stuff like that, its not something that should get too hot under normal use.. some mobos dont have any cooling solutions on them, some use a small passive heatsonk and some use the fans

 

[gxshockwav]

What Rhagz said, and demand a new NB fan from Abit.