CPU Fan RPM query

Hey all
I need a little help understanding fan speeds with regards to the cpu, 1st of i understand that the hotter the cpu the faster and louder it will become, now if i can explain a little or at least try

some year ago or more i built my system, specs can bee seen in my profile,

I have not been 1 for using the over clocking software that came with my mobo (U_GURU), well not so long ago but since before the hot weather i noticed that my CPU fan was running rather loud well enough to annoy me anyway, I have always had the U-GURU software installed but like i say never really used it, it just was there.
ok so with the rather loud fan noise i decided to take a look and noted that the fan was running 3,600 RPM under idle and load with temps of around 30-40 oC(is this normal?) i also tried to enable cool and quiet but i got Overclocking failed from the U-guru util, well i wasn't asking it to Overclock just to turn on the damn cool and quiet option.....so WTF? well it activated and i left it but only for the system to freeze/crash some hour or 2 later, well anyway i thought maybe i need to unclog all the dust so pulled the side of ect but no dust build up in the heat sink but still blasted it with the airline regardless to still find that the fan was running quite noisy, well i asked around in some repair shops ect and got the usual rubbish about faulty ram ect (ROFLMAO) anyway i though ok ill remove the ram ect and see if out of chance they maybe rite, nope nothing changed.
i ran also pc check from Eurosoft UK Ltd. :: Diagnostics and Test Management Solutions for all scales of business and again that didn't bring up any faults
now thinking the stock CPU fan from my Q6600 was maybe failing or the bearings had had it i ordered a new one, i got an OCZ vanquisher new updated edition, cleaned up the cpu of the old thermal pad cleaned the heat sink pad for luck and applied some Arctic silver 5...... ok so ive done all that and booted up and though hmm still just as noisy WTF? so looking in the U-GURU util again and waited for everything to heat up to a good idle temp, so now my cpu with the new heat sink
and thermal past my temps are between 26 and 31oC (go A.s and ocz) but yet the fan RPM is still rather fas and noisy, again WTF? 2,760 RPM???? the fan speed is only supposed to be 1,000 - 2,300 so how can i get an extra 460RPM? and why is it running at such a fast speed? surely it should only be running at low speed on idle even without cool and quiet enabled.
I have cycled threw all bios updates factory to latest ect still with no difference to be made heard or seen
now before someone says its OS related, pleas be sure this is true since i have sat in bios and monitored the temps and speed from there with exactly the same results

I will point out however just before this happened i did download and attempt to install a game that my Avast and Adaware went ballistic on, but i ignored all warnings and disabled both to install the game and on next reboot i got some error message that i didn't quite catch since i didn't expect it but was something along the lines of rebuilding or repairing boot sequence or something similar and all this only days after a fresh install......... would this suggest that something has attacked my bios chip? i have seen replacement chips for only a few £
sould i replace the bios chip? would it make any difference? can a bios chip be infected? or would updating the bios correct any fault/virus/worm/corruption inside the chip?..... im just random guessing here...... maybe a faulty speed controller on the mobo if one should exist
fact is right now i have no job and cant afford to replace the MOBO for a new one and have no1 that can loan me a board for testing so im trying for all the cheap alternative like fans coolers bios ect that are only costing a few £ here and there

I do hope some1 can come up with some sensible ideas and or a possible fault that i can fix on the cheap

well you got a hell of a result from that cooler i might have to look at that one myself

have you checked in your bios to make sure C1E and EIST are enabled? EIST in particular as this is related to the AMD cool and quiet software (C1E is Intels)

these options may not appear by default my motherboard for example requires me to tap F5 while booting into bios to display the advanced (overclocking) options

it seems your cpu fan is running flat out for some reason and im thinking the answer is in your bios , it could also be a faulty speed sensor on your motherboard (this seems unlikely as you can "hear" your fan is actually running fast) so maybe a faulty temp sensor?

have you tried "loading optimised defaults" in your bios?

uninstall your uguru software its always a good idea to things yourself

download and install real temp Real Temp - CPU temperature monitoring run the sensor test see if you have a stuck sensor , one of your cores maye me reporting a high temp keeping your fan running high

let us know how you get on , we can get to the bottom of this , ill probably think of some other stuff you can try if i do ill post ti up

thanx archie i may very well buy a new replacement bios since they are only around £2 and in the meantime i will try as you suggested tomorrow and get back to you with the results, it would be helpfull if someone could confirm how to get advanced bios on my mobo since i dont recall seeing C1E anywhere in the bios while iv been messing to try sort this issue, and as for the loading fail-safe and optimum settings i have tried them all along with my own custom set-ups...... i have been running with cool and quiet enabled for most of tonight and so far no system lock-ups or crashes so that's a positive thing but i really shouldn't need it enabled since i never have done in the past


as for you getting the cpu cooler this is one heck of a block so be sure you have room in ur case
Dimensions are (without fan) (L)72 x (W)110 x (H) 140 mm
and fan dimensions are (L)92 x (W)92 x (H) 25 mm as standard
Be sure to get the second edition with removable fan + free tube of Arctic Silver 5
I used half a pea size dollop of thermal paste and spread evenly to full top surface of cpu

I had the same problem when I built this computer. The CPU fan was running at full speed all the time.

I found an option in my BIOS where I set the minimum fan speed to 50%, so at idle it's almost silent and picks up speed and noise when I start to play games.

I had a look around for some images of your BIOS that could help you and I found this one on a review Hexus.net were doing on the same motherboard:



Have a play around with these options and see where you get with it. Hopefully it should help you.

Everlong18 said:

I had the same problem when I built this computer. The CPU fan was running at full speed all the time.

I found an option in my BIOS where I set the minimum fan speed to 50%, so at idle it's almost silent and picks up speed and noise when I start to play games.

I had a look around for some images of your BIOS that could help you and I found this one on a review Hexus.net were doing on the same motherboard:

Have a play around with these options and see where you get with it. Hopefully it should help you.

Click to expand...

ahhhhhhhhh i wonder if his "pwm cycle low" is set to 100%

After lots of looking in the bios i can not find C1E or the other C1E i was looking for the most since im Intel, i could also not find and extra/advanced Bios menu

well anyway i have ran the sensor tests you requested 2 times, however i can not make head nor tail of what im actually looking at although i have a general idea

that bios screen resembles what i have settings wise so my low pwm cycle is the same @ 30% although my high from optimal settings is 10% higher for some odd reason but still high is set at 100% as normal

I rechecked the price for a new bios chip and found i made a price error it was not £2 but actually £10 + £1.50 p&p so the new chip will have to wait for a short while.

[Side note: since my cpu fan is running flat out with COOL & QUIET disabled! i have decided to again try running with cool & quiet ENABLED Since last night and have have no system crashes and freezes where as before i changed coolers i would get freezes and crashes while enabling cool & quiet]