I'm wondering how to monitor my Athlon 64 3200 on my ASUS A8NSLI?

Or, better still, monitor the CPU AND the fan.

I had an A8NSLI blew up the CPU because I ignored overheating warnings.

Now I've got another - but I no longer have something in the system tray that monitors the CPU and I don't know where I got that other one from nor where it is now, nor how/what/where to get something else.

What's happening is the fan is beginning to make a 'growling' sound. As best I can make out it is the CPU fan.

It starts off when you boot quite okay but a couple of seconds or so into the boot it suddenly switches into a higher speed mode - or sounds like it does, I can't visually see any difference. And that higher speed mode is when the 'growling' starts.

The growling is the result of vibration. You can even feel it in the case.

I assume the vibration is the result of the bearing of the fan giving way.

Can anyone help me out with some directions as to how best handle this problem?

regards,

ab

The stock AMD heatsink/fan has a temperature sensor on the fan.
As the CPU temp rises, it increases the RPM of the fan to help with cooling.
If your CPU fan reaches a higher RPM shortly after booting up, then your CPU is more than likely overheating.

I suggest replacing the HSF with an aftermarket unit, you can go to a local computer parts store or buy it on-line.
Then remove the original TIM and replace it with some like OCZ Freeze, MX-2, or Arctic Silver 5.

Use HWMonitor or Everest Ultimate to monitor you CPU fan speed and temps.

-------------------------
CPU: Phenom II 965 (125w) B.E.@ 4.0GHz (1.475v)
NB@ 2800MHz (1.35v) & HTT@ 2400MHz (4800 MT/s)
MB: ASRock AOD790GX/128M
PSU: Corsair TX750W
RAM: G. Skill F2-8500CL5D-4GBPI@ 1066MHz at 5-5-5-15 (2.08v)
GPU: EVGA GTX 285 SC Edition@ 675/1548/2538
Sound: Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
Case: Cooler Master Chassis CM 690
Monitor: Samsung P2350 SyncMaster 23" (1920x1080)
OS: Windows 7 H.P. (x64) & Vista H.P. (x86)
3DMark Vantage: P15829

Thanks for that. I've got a replacement fan on it already. It is a cooler day today, 25C instead of 35C and I find the fan is not 'growling' so I guess it is certainty that I've got an overheating cpu on hot days. And when the fan goes into overdrive it finds a weakness, I guess, in the bearings structure somehow and causes noise and vibration.

As good a warning as you could want, really, I suppose?

I'll look for something along the lines of what you suggest.

thanks again.

ab

I screwed something up there, moderator. I clicked your 'this question has been answered' thing meaning that last post had answered it for me. Now I see there's a sign and text saying that the question was answered by me: abrogard. Not what I meant. Can't see how to undo it. Sorry....

You might also check that is not the chipset fan that makes noise, they tend to fail after a while.

Asus pc probe is asus own monitoring tool for some of their motherboards, however read somewhere that
it did not monitor or control the chipset fan. But chances are they have fixed that in later versions of asus pc probe.


http://www.techspot.com/downlo...65-asus-pc-probe.html

Not sure if this is the latest version or if A8N SLI is supported.

Edited: 11/03/2009 at 08:29 AM by go_for

Thanks for that. Your link failed, maybe out of date. I'll google asus pc probe and probably track it down.

I tried to listen if it was the chipset fan but too hard to distinguish. But the sheer 'bulk' of the noise seems to indicate 'big' machinery.

It is a cool evening now, whichever fan it is, probably the cpu fan I think, hasn't cranked up to that high speed and is running fairly quiet.

But I can hear a rythmic rough hum, almost a buzz, like piston engined airplane droning through the sky with multiple engines slightly out of sync.

Can one replace a chipset fan?

Edited the link in my previous post. You can test the chipset fan by gently putting your finger on the blades or its center while its running. Chipset fan can be replaced, but usually requires removing the motherboard from case to release the fan w heatsink.

Bit of a nuisance but nothing more than I'd have to do anyway if I lost the board from overheating.....

Test with the finger? For heat, I guess you mean? Or for 'guts'? i.e. does a light touch bring it to a sudden stop, something like that?

If for heat then PC Probe II which, thanks to your advice, I've now installed, will perhaps do the job for me.

The Probe tells me that two fans are not working at all: Chassis and Power. They're disabled for sensing. If I enable them I get red screaming error warnings.

They are shown as rotating at zero.

I'm supposing that means they're not fitted with sensors. I have a power fan operating quite well.

Chipset and Chassis2 are both shown as rotating at precisely the same speed, which makes me think maybe they're the same fan. Speed 5625 (or thereabouts, it alters) but are shown with a threshold value of 600. So maybe that 5625 means 562.5? do you happen to know about that?

The cpu fan is doing 3443 also with a threshold of 600. Or maybe it means a variation of more than 600 cycles?


My cpu and mobo temps are shown as 33C and 32C with thresholds of 65C and 70C.

I feel pretty well protected and I'll watch the situation to try define exactly which fan is playing up and I'll replace it.

Thank you for your valuable help.

And thanks to ASUS for a good tool. I feel a bit loyal to ASUS though this is the only board of theirs I've ever had (the second one because the first failed because of fan failure). And AMD. But maybe I should change those loyalties (despite this excellent tool) ? Any thoughts? Not really part of this thread, I know, just chatting.

I'll need to upgrade soon. An AMD 64 3200 and an A8NSLI Deluxe is a bit old and slow now I guess. So I'm just wondering.

regards,

ab

Not for heat, you may notice a difference in the sound when it slows down on pressure, may provide some info if t is causing it.