Methods for lowering CPU fan temperature? (Without buying a new fan)

[ProtoflareX]

The stock fan of my FX-8320 gets intolerably loud during gaming and I unfortunately do not have the means to purchase a new cooler at the moment. Are there any methods I can use to reduce the fan noise without spending money?

 

[Pr3di]

What you can do is dust out your PC, replace the thermal paste on your CPU and clean the CPU cooler without damaging it.

Another way is to use something like "FanSpeed" to lower manually the fan speed, but this will lead to higher temperatures on the CPU, and might damage it.

 

[Sig2525]

with a FX-8320 that stock fan would need to work hard just to keep the temp a little low. but those fx chips really require an aftermarket cooler just to really cool them down. if i where you i would just bare with the high decibel fan until i save some money and buy me a decent cooler.

 

[slyu9213]

Like Pr3di said you can clean your PC and especially the fan/heatsink for dust. Work on cable management to get rid of clutter in the PC that will block the airflow. You can always lower the fan RPM but that will raise temperatures as the stock heatsink isn't good.

Other suggestions are undervolting. If you are running the FX 8320 at stock settings I would undervolt by a small increment and test for system stability. If would undervolt to the smallest you can while being stable. If that's not enough I would also recommend lowering the clock speed of the CPU. Undervolting the CPU while keeping normal speeds will allow the same current speeds while running the CPU a little cooler. If you can't get a stable undervolt or if that's not enough then the final choice is to lower the clock speed of the CPU also. Lowering the clock speed and voltages will lower the temps the most but at the sacrifice of an unknown amount of performance depending on how much you underclock the CPU.

The decision is yours. Cleaning the PC in general, tidying up cable management, and undervolting the CPU will make your PC/CPU run cooler at the cost of no performance and money. I would do all three of these. After you do those three check the temperatures of the CPU while gaming. If the CPU now runs cooler the fan may not get as loud or you can manually limit the fan from going to higher speeds to keep it from getting loud. But don't lower the fan speed so much that it gets hotter than the maximum recommended temperature. If all four of these are not enough you will have to resort to sacrificing performance by underclocking also until you buy a aftermarket cooler. Either that or you do more chores/small jobs for extra money.

 

[ComputerWhiz305]

I would just suggest getting a new fan.
You can get fans for pretty cheap.
Lower your fan speed, could cause your CPU to over heat. It's a lot cheaper to just get a new fan than a new CPU.