CPU fan missing?

[Coryn94]

Hello there again.
Got another question for you guys.

4 years ago I bought my pc and I can remember the merchant saying the fan is missing because it was not in stock. I never thought back about it but today I tried to overclock my system for the first time to see if it was still capable of doing such thing. My processor quickly went over 90°c and shut down. I went on to check the heat of my pc when it's not running any programs and came across this result.

So basicly with this picture I got 3 questions to ask. Feel free to answer all of them if you can.

1) Does my pc miss a fan because it doesn't mention a fan for the cpu. My pc has 2 big fans (top and backside) and a little one inside.

2) If the CPU fan is missing, should I buy one? The heat at the moment ( 55°c ) doesn't seem very bad but I'm willing to start oc'ing my system when I will buy a new Graphic card. When I tried to overclock with AMD overdrive I did a test and it could only handle 3400 Mhz while the processor has 3200 Mhz in basic state. AMD phenom II x4 955.

3) My GPU is only 25°C. Does this mean I'm not letting it work as it should work? Could my GPU go a lot 'better' if I tweaked it a bit? Not experienced at all in those things so all help is appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Rogue Leader]

Hi, The max temp on that chip is 62C, so 56 is pretty bad. In reality it should be around 21 or so when idle. DO NOT attempt to overclock again until you have some sort of cooler with a fan on there. Now that said you mentioned a fan inside. Where is it? Maybe post a pic of the inside of your system. I do find it hard to believe someone would sell a Phenom based PC without a CPU fan, but I guess its possible. Regarding the GPU 25 when idle is normal they cool off pretty quickly, you won't see high temps till you run it hard.

 

[PCBuilderProbs]

you can't run a PC without a cpu fan (also known as heatsink). You're running stock, which you CAN'T OVERCLOCK ON. That's why it shut off, you need an aftermarket heatsink. Also, overclocking your GPU depends on how the GPU is made. I would only recommend overclocking a GPU if you had something like an EVGA card or something with amazing cooling meant to overclock. If your GPU is standard, then it'll like destroy itself trying to overclock.

 

[Dunlop0078]

If the cpu fan was missing you would have cooked that cpu to death long ago. Its the little one inside the case. The reason it overheated when you over clocked is because you are probably using the crappy stock cooler which can barley keep the cpu cool at stock clock and voltage, never mind with an overclock.

 

[Coryn94]

I can post a picture tomorrow. It's very dusty too because I haven't cleaned it in a while. I edited the 2nd part 'When I tried to overclock with AMD overdrive I did a test and it could only handle 3400 Mhz while the processor has 3200 Mhz in basic state. AMD phenom II x4 955.' So indeed I shouldn't try overclocking with it. I put the PC together myself 4 years ago and indeed they said one cooler was not in stock and I had to come back later which I never did as I wasn't going to try to OC my system.

 

[Coryn94]

If the cpu fan was missing you would have cooked that cpu to death long ago. Its the little one inside the case. The reason it overheated when you over clocked is because you are probably using the crappy stock cooler which can barley keep the cpu cool at stock clock and voltage, never mind with an overclock.

I think you are right although when I look up CPU fans they are a lot bigger than this one. I can post a picture tomorrow. My GPU cooler is also a stock cooler but that one runs fine as it shows.

 

[Dunlop0078]

If the cpu fan was missing you would have cooked that cpu to death long ago. Its the little one inside the case. The reason it overheated when you over clocked is because you are probably using the crappy stock cooler which can barley keep the cpu cool at stock clock and voltage, never mind with an overclock.

I think you are right although when I look up CPU fans they are a lot bigger than this one. I can post a picture tomorrow. My GPU cooler is also a stock cooler but that one runs fine as it shows.

Its the thing in the top center of the motherboard it probably has an 80mm fan resting on a chunk of aluminum fins and maybe a copper heatpipe. The ones that come up when you search for it are probably large aftermarket coolers. Look up "stock amd phenom heatsinks".

 

[Coryn94]

If the cpu fan was missing you would have cooked that cpu to death long ago. Its the little one inside the case. The reason it overheated when you over clocked is because you are probably using the crappy stock cooler which can barley keep the cpu cool at stock clock and voltage, never mind with an overclock.

I think you are right although when I look up CPU fans they are a lot bigger than this one. I can post a picture tomorrow. My GPU cooler is also a stock cooler but that one runs fine as it shows.

Its the thing in the top center of the motherboard it probably has an 80mm fan resting on a chunk of aluminum fins and maybe a copper heatpipe. The ones that come up when you search for it are probably large aftermarket coolers. Look up "stock amd phenom heatsinks".

I'll check it tomorrow and report it here but I'm pretty sure you're right. What are the other 2 fans for then?

 

[Dunlop0078]

If the cpu fan was missing you would have cooked that cpu to death long ago. Its the little one inside the case. The reason it overheated when you over clocked is because you are probably using the crappy stock cooler which can barley keep the cpu cool at stock clock and voltage, never mind with an overclock.

I think you are right although when I look up CPU fans they are a lot bigger than this one. I can post a picture tomorrow. My GPU cooler is also a stock cooler but that one runs fine as it shows.

Its the thing in the top center of the motherboard it probably has an 80mm fan resting on a chunk of aluminum fins and maybe a copper heatpipe. The ones that come up when you search for it are probably large aftermarket coolers. Look up "stock amd phenom heatsinks".

I'll check it tomorrow and report it here but I'm pretty sure you're right. What are the other 2 fans for then?

Airflow in the case. The motherboard and other parts that dont have fans need to be kept somewhat cool as well.

 

[jsmithepa]

The CPU may not need a fan but certainly it needs a HEATSINK! It needs an honest sized heatsink to exponentially spread the heat from the die to a large surfaced heatshink so the heat can be whisked away. You know what to do.

 

[bmacsys]

It isn't showing a cpu fan for a very, very simple reason. The cpu fan is probably 99.999999% plugged into a chassis fan header. Or more remotely it is a molex fan..

 

[bmacsys]

If the cpu fan was missing you would have cooked that cpu to death long ago. Its the little one inside the case. The reason it overheated when you over clocked is because you are probably using the crappy stock cooler which can barley keep the cpu cool at stock clock and voltage, never mind with an overclock.

Good chance his TIM is all dried up also after four years.

 

[Coryn94]

First of all, I cleaned up my fans inside. The 2 big fans which can be seen on the outside were fairly dusty but the little one on the inside was really full of it which is probably the fan for my processor if I'm not mistaken.

The little one in the middle is probably my CPU fan and behind that is my CPU ? I didn't try to take it out because I don't really know if I could touch something wrong. I cleaned it and guess what. The temperature of my CPU cores have dropped with more than 20°c ( 56°c -> 32°c ) so I think this case is solved. Now I would like to ask 2 more questions if possible

This is what my setup looks like from the outside. You can see the fan on the top and in the back but there is no fan on the bottom while there is obviosuly room for it. What kind of fan should sit there? A cooler ?

Second question. I found 2 more very little fans on the bottom of what I think is my motherboard. Are those my Motherboard fans because if I count now I got 2 big fans ( top, back) 3 little ones (one on the picture, 2 under my motherboard)

Thanks!

 

[Rogue Leader]

By under your motherboard do you mean on the box on the bottom? The box on the bottom is your PSU, those fans don't really count when it comes to the system.

As for that fan mount on the side it looks like you can fit a 120mm fan, but hard to tell exactly, if its smaller than your other 2 openings then its a 90mm fan. That fan is for cooling off your video card, its worth getting if you have a high end card and/or plan to overclock it.

All this said there is still plenty of dust in there, if you have the time I would recommend removing all the parts you can and cleaning as much dust out as possible.

Now overall I'm glad to hear things have cooled off correctly, however that cooler is not good enough for overclocking, and that idle CPU temp is still a bit high (because that cooler is kind of weak). Your next step if you want to overclock is to get a tower style cooler. Everyone recommends the Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO, however your ram slots look fairly tight to the CPU so it may not fit correctly. You can downsize to the Hyper T2 which I have, it's a little cheaper and not as big, but it will not interfere with the RAM. On top of that cooler being weak, we need to know a bit more about your PSU and its ability to provide power to this system. Can you tell us the brand name or any other identifying marks on it?

 

[Coryn94]

By under your motherboard do you mean on the box on the bottom? The box on the bottom is your PSU, those fans don't really count when it comes to the system.

As for that fan mount on the side it looks like you can fit a 120mm fan, but hard to tell exactly, if its smaller than your other 2 openings then its a 90mm fan. That fan is for cooling off your video card, its worth getting if you have a high end card and/or plan to overclock it.

All this said there is still plenty of dust in there, if you have the time I would recommend removing all the parts you can and cleaning as much dust out as possible.

Now overall I'm glad to hear things have cooled off correctly, however that cooler is not good enough for overclocking, and that idle CPU temp is still a bit high (because that cooler is kind of weak). Your next step if you want to overclock is to get a tower style cooler. Everyone recommends the Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO, however your ram slots look fairly tight to the CPU so it may not fit correctly. You can downsize to the Hyper T2 which I have, it's a little cheaper and not as big, but it will not interfere with the RAM. On top of that cooler being weak, we need to know a bit more about your PSU and its ability to provide power to this system. Can you tell us the brand name or any other identifying marks on it?

There are 2 fans above my power supply. Right under what I think is the motherboard.

The fan on the side is indeed a 120 mm

The picture was before I cleaned it

Thanks for your answers !

 

[bmacsys]

First of all, I cleaned up my fans inside. The 2 big fans which can be seen on the outside were fairly dusty but the little one on the inside was really full of it which is probably the fan for my processor if I'm not mistaken.

The little one in the middle is probably my CPU fan and behind that is my CPU ? I didn't try to take it out because I don't really know if I could touch something wrong. I cleaned it and guess what. The temperature of my CPU cores have dropped with more than 20°c ( 56°c -> 32°c ) so I think this case is solved. Now I would like to ask 2 more questions if possible

This is what my setup looks like from the outside. You can see the fan on the top and in the back but there is no fan on the bottom while there is obviosuly room for it. What kind of fan should sit there? A cooler ?

Second question. I found 2 more very little fans on the bottom of what I think is my motherboard. Are those my Motherboard fans because if I count now I got 2 big fans ( top, back) 3 little ones (one on the picture, 2 under my motherboard)

Thanks!

There is a very good chance the cpu fan wasn't spinning till you cleaned it.