CPU and chassis fan at max speed constantly- safe?

[gert21445]

hi im wondering if its safe to constantly run a computer cpu fan at maximum (100%-4000rpm) in order to cool it down or will the fan break over time? Thanks! This is because it is summer time and my room temperature is 25-26C, which causes the computer to hang/crash when doing cpu intensive tasks eg. prime95 small fft, etc. The chassis fan is also set at 100%-2500RPM

-PS if i set fan speed to auto mode (default) in BIOS, cpu fan speed normally is 2000rpm and chassis is 1200rpm

Thanks!

 

[GhislainG]

It's safe. The fans might break a bit sooner, but you don't have a choice.

 

[HEXiT]

all fans have a shelf life.
depending on the make the quality of parts and the design.
dual bearing fans tend to last longer than sleeved bearing 1s although sleeve bearings are often quieter longer.
the average for a decent dual bearing fan is around 30,000 - 50,000 hours
when a dual bearing fan goes you should hear a rattling or squeaking sound as the bearings stat grinding on metal.

a decent sleeve bearing will last 15,000 to 35,000 at 80%rpm if there variable or 100% rpm if the fixed speed. you will know when a sleeved bearing fan is on its way out as its pitch will change and sound like its humming. this is because all the liquid lubricant has been used up.
basically most fans will last 3-5 years at 100% as long as there maintained properly , kept dust free, and free from vibration.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

running fans at fll speed is fine. Id rather have a fan destroyed a bit sooner than risk the components overheating to save some fan speed. I think you should look into sorting out the heat problem, the cpu should not overheat in that temp. my cpu still runs within spec when the room temp is 30C (live in australia, it often gets very hot in summer). I suggest blowing all the dust off your heatsink and fans with compressed air and re-seating the cpu heatsink with new thermal paste, something like Artic Silver 5 is good, is readily available and cheap. You should see your temps drop when you do all that. Also add another exhaust fan to your case if its possible. Id also be interested where your chassis fan is located? Optimal position for a single case fan should be at the upper-rear of the case and should be extracting the hot air out of the case, not blowing air in the case.

 

[gert21445]

Thanks! Then would an unstable overclock explain the overheating and crashing because i had overclocked my amd athlon 64 X2 dual core processor 5200+ from 2.6GHz to 2.8 GHz (fsb 200mhz to 216 mhz). CPU idle temp before i set my fans to max was 50C and load temps would often hit 65C. Now with fans at max, idle temps are at 35C and max is at 45C. However, I wouldn't really understand why this slight overclock had no problems during the wintertime (I started to OC in October 2010), but the problems start to show up now approaching June. Would it also be because of the humidity, because here in Toronto its been raining for the past two weeks in addition to the high room temprature. Thanks!