Noisy fans are not cool. Period. They won’t let you concentrate on whatever you are doing, the noise is irritating, and most importantly, a noisy fan indicates that there is something wrong with your PC. Whatever the case may be, you need to fix this issue at the earliest.
CPU fans are placed inside your computer, whether a desktop or a laptop. They are assigned the task of providing ample airflow to the hardware inside your PC so that the components do not heat up. Too much heat is always bad for your PC. It can damage the components, make your computer lag, affect overall PC performance, and leads the CPU fan to operate at maximum speed.
If you are sick of your CPU fan being too noisy or if the fan noise is a recent issue that you want to deal with, I will help you with a few solutions that you should try. But before we begin, let us check out the reasons that could lead to the CPU fan making noise.
Heavy Usage: If you are carrying out a resource-heavy task on your PC, that could lead to a CPU fan run at higher RPM than usual. High CPU usage leads to some of the components to heat up. When the temperature sensor reads the high temperature, it directs the fan to run faster, leading it to make more noise than usual.
Air Flow, not Ample: If the hardware components in your PC are too packed up, or if the airflow is disturbed, the CPU eventually would heat up. This could happen even if you are carrying out tasks that utilize low CPU resources. This usually happens in desktops if the PC has been assembled, and a spacious CPU cabinet is not being used. In the case of laptops, if you block the fan outlet, your PC will heat up rapidly, even in shallow usage.
Dust: Dust accumulation on fans and other hardware in your PC is one of the main reasons your PC must be heating up. Dust can cause the moving parts of the fan to make noise. Dust accumulation on other hardware leads to heating issues because of inadequate cooling.
Fan Control not Set: PC assemblers dealing with high-end motherboard, processors, GPU, etc. are among the users that face the fan noise issue more often than usual. These PC require CPU fans that provide more cooling than usual fans. The speed of these fans can be controlled manually. Many users forget to set the operating speed and operating criteria, leading the fan to operate at maximum speed.
The Fan issue: Although this is highly unlikely, the CPU fan noise could be the result of a faulty CPU fan. Operating a fan covered with too much dust, high operations, low quality, etc. could be the reason behind a noisy CPU fan.
Keeping all the above pointers in mind, let us take a look at the solutions to fix CPU fan noise:
Check for Heavy Usage
Your PC runs on software, but this software requires components to work. These physical components, just like other components, heat up when you use them. When the usage is extreme, these components heat up more than usual. This leads to the hardware heat up more than normal. Computers being intelligent, sense this, and direct the fan to operate at their full or higher capacity. This could be the source of the computer fan noise in your PC.
You can check if your PC’s resources utilization and determine whether this the reason behind all the trouble.
If you are using a Windows 10 PC, open the Task Manager. You can do so by pressing the Ctrl + Shift + Esc buttons. Once the Task Manager opens, you may need to press the More Details option to open it fully. After that, in the Processes tab, check what the programs running along with the CPU usage are. You can also check the Performance tab to see the CPU and Memory usage. If the usage is high, i.e., around 90%, it means you have found the culprit behind the CPU fan making noise.
If you are using a MAC PC, open the Activity Monitor. Press the Ctrl + Space keys, then type Activity Monitor to find the same. Here, you can check out the performance just like in Windows and determine whether your PC utilizes high CPU resources over time.
To get rid of this, you can close down the programs that are running unnecessarily. If that doesn’t help, go ahead and restart the program, using up all the CPU resources.
Check for Airflow
In case you are using a desktop, open up the CPU cabinet and see if the components are not packed too closely. Also, check if the computer fan vents are not covered. You might need a bigger cabinet in that case. If you are using a laptop, make sure not to put it on pillows or bed. Doing so blocks the airflow, leading the PC to heat up.
Check for Dust
It is not unusual for PC components to be covered by dust over time. Check the CPU fan for dust accumulation. If you find a good layer of dust sitting on it, clean it up immediately. And while you are at it, do not forget to clear off the dust from other components.
Set Fan Control
This solution is for those who have assembled their PC themselves, especially in the case of performance-heavy PCs. If you haven’t set the CPU fan control options, you might want to do that at the earliest. You get the option to set the fan operating criteria in BIOS settings. A simple Google search will help you out with the process to do so, as these are specific to motherboard manufacturers.
Replace CPU Fan
CPU fans have moving parts, which, like other hardware, is prone to normal wear and tear. Continuous heavy usage or bad quality parts of the fan could lead to the fan making noise. If the noise is becoming unbearable, I suggest you replace the fan at earliest. This would not just fix the fan making noise problem but ensure proper airflow and help other components perform better.