Several months ago the fan on my mother board (atop the processor) started making a lot of noise. Best I can diagnose, it is a vibration resulting from the plastic shroud loosening on the metal pegs that it sits on. There's no screws anywhere to tighten, as far as I can see. The noise is quite annoying, particularly during the night when I want to watch a movie or play some music quietly while I go to bed because I can hear the fan over it.

Any suggestions? It's an Asus M2R32-MVP motherboard, with an AMD Athlon X2 5200+ 64Bit (AM2) cpu

Usually dust on the bearings (the thing the fan spins on) causes this. Try get a conpressed air can and spray it. Might help.

Perhaps the computer is running warmer than normal? Thus keeping the fan at higher RPMs. That could also be caused by dust. Maybe the room is warmer than it used to be? Computer move at all?

Check the temperatures, if it's overheating theres the cause.

If not most likely the fan or bearings are knackered - you could repair it, or for about £10-£15 you could buy a quieter fan that will make it cooler and quieter... your choice.

Nah it's not a heat or RPM issue; that plastic casing around the fan is the thing causing the noise. The fan itself was never the quietest, but this is a different noise. It also happens all the time the computer is on, regardless of temp. I'm sure it's a loose shroud, I'm just not sure how to remedy it.

@poVo; I'll give that a try when I can get a hold of some canned air, hopefully this week.

Quote from MAGGOT :

Very noisy fan; didn't used to be

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Seriously though, it does sound like the clearance of the fan (how far it 'floats') has been decreased somehow. It happened to my old graphics card and I had to RMA it. Have you tried leaning your case on its side so gravity tries to expand the gap again and re-instate the clearance?

Quote from amp88 :

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Seriously though, it does sound like the clearance of the fan (how far it 'floats') has been decreased somehow. It happened to my old graphics card and I had to RMA it. Have you tried leaning your case on its side so gravity tries to expand the gap again and re-instate the clearance?

Shall I do this while the computer is off, or turn it on after leaning it over?

I'd turn it off first then put it on its side.

Should I turn it on again while it's on its side, or just let it sit for a bit, then turn it upright and turn it back on?

Oh, sorry. You should turn it on while it's on its side.

I say you replace the fan altogether, it's not a difficult process. All fans wear out, and usually there's nothing you can do. If a lot of dust gets in the bearings, you can't get it out just by blowing air into it, those bearings have grease on them which acts like glue, holding the dust in place. I say you replace the fan.

because it's your cpu fan, i would advise you replace the fan and also take the oppertunity to upgrade your heatsync. fans are cheap enough to replace so you shouldn't bother thinking about reparing it.
the reason i'd recomend a new heatsync too is because you could get one that follows your airflow. the generic heatsync and fan combo's usually draw the hot air into the side of the airflow. but a side mounted heat sync and fan could help direct the airflow more efficiently.