Can a fan be fixed or do I have to replace?

Lately I have been using my computer to create new scenery, test it, etc. I have been using Sketchup, Photoshop, ADE, etc.

I had been noticing that my computer was running hot and the fan humming loudly, it even felt hot when sitting here.

A few days ago while testing a scenery in FSX all of a sudden I had a grey screen, had to shut down computer and then had this when I turned it back on.

I took it to the computer guy but he was busy so all he did was clean the dust inside, which was considerable, that was yesterday.

I have refrained from doing too much, but have flown around a bit. The Corsair fan never has come on, but it does not feel hot at all.

I am including the screenshot of the error message.

Is there a reputable temperature monitoring device you guys can recommend?

If I ever got a CPU overheat error I would take the cooler off the CPU and replace the silver oxide paste AFTER CLEANING IT with 91% alchohol and SANDING the CPU surface smooth. Then I would reduce overclock. Then I would replace the bad fan (exhaust?) and add another one (intake) for better air flow. It might take me all day and half the night but I would KNOW my rig was up to spec so I could push it and not hurt it. Pay me now..or pay me later!

Chuck B

Napamule

Quote: 'Those surfaces need to be a smooth as possible for maximum heat displacement.'

That is why I, myself, have done that to my i7 2600K. Putting sandpaper (forget grit) on board and wearing baggie on hand as 'anti-static' I sanded it (AND the default cooler) smooth. It was NOT smooth. Don't knock it if you haven't tried it. Pay me now.

Chuck B

Napamule

Make sure the fan is connected to the correct header. (Marked CPU1 if it's the CPU fan.) (Marked SYS1 or SYS2 if it's for a system fan.).

Then use finger to spin it slowly full circle. To check it's not blocked by something.

Also look in bios, and check the fan is not disabled.

@ Annbar.....

As others have stated, check that the fan is moving when power is on and replace if in doubt. If you only have a 'basic' cooler (ie only a fan unit) you could go for a unit that also has a 'heat sink' block attached - a 'heat sink' block is basically a metal frame that helps to disperse heat quicker. When you replace the fan look at the top of the CPU to see if there is any paste on it, if not add some IAW the instructions contained with the paste.

There should be no need to 'sand' the CPU or cooler. By design, they are smooth enough to work without taking such action and it is unlikely that it has any real effect on heat dispersion.

A simple freeware tool that I use to monitor CPU temps is CoreTemp - found HERE. There are others available, both payware and freeware, so doing a google check will help you find one that meets your needs.

There should be no need to 'sand' the CPU or cooler. By design, they are smooth enough to work without taking such action and it is unlikely that it has any real effect on heat dispersion.

Definitely no need to sand anything for the vast majority of users. It may help for those trying to get to 5+ GHz, but won't matter for the rest of us.

Re-applying the thermal paste may help too.

It's the cpu fan.

Don't boot into windows when it is. running even very briefly can easily fry the cpu.

Maybe a quick look in bios, but then just replace.

Don't ruun for long periods. And give it plenty of time to cool before running again.

I have been using the computer, albeit cautiously. Last night I was on for two hours using Sketchup, ModelConverterX and ADE, while opening FSX to test objects.

To note, the computer was running hot lately, meaning last couple of months. It was almost uncomfortable to sit next to it. There was lots of dust inside and around the fan blades and there was significant dust buildup. All of that was cleaned thoroughly on Saturday, since then the computer has not been hot, but fan has not come on either.

CPUs have had built-in thermal protection for many years now. If the temperature gets too high they will automatically shut themselves before any damage occurs. Still not a good idea to run for extended periods, but you aren't going to fry the CPU.

Now, older CPUs, on the other hand, are a different story.

I agree with loki......replace the fan as it is definitely given up the ghost. The fans are designed to run continuously - they don't sit idle and come on when a certain temp is reached.

If you download the monitoring tool I mentioned in post #8 you will see entries for the current, lowest and highest temps that have been experienced during the current 'run'. You will also see a item marked Tj Max with a temp by it - this the built-in thermal cut off temp that Loki mentions. This value is encoded into the CPU and Core Temp reads it when first installed as it determines the CPU type. The value is a pre-determined one set by the manufacturer.

Understand that I am basically the middleman here due to my technology handicap. So to be clear, the fan I am talking about is the one for the Corsair RM850. Every other fan works fine.

This morning I took the case to the computer guy who put it together for me a couple of years ago. Among other things, he ran some diagnostics, checked and updated the bios.

He also said that the corsair RM850 has nothing to do with the bios, and he believes 99% that the RM850 is fine, it has not kicked on because it has not gotten hot enough for it.

So what do you guys think of it, is he wrong and I should still replace it?

I also read this:

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/rm-series-rm850-80-plus-gold-certified-power-supply

So what do you guys think of it, is he wrong and I should still replace it?

I also read this:

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/rm-series-rm850-80-plus-gold-certified-power-supply

Your computer whiz guy is only wrong if he failed to put your power supply under a load so that the fan would turn on. He should have proved to you that the fan is working.

Ah, it's the PSU fan, not the CPU fan. Missed that part in the thread.

Some PSU fans may well stay idle until needed. This is even mentioned as one of the features, Zero RPM Fan Mode, on the page you linked to. And yes, your computer guy is correct about the BIOS not being relevant for the PSU fan.

Ah, the RM

I have bought such a PSU around the same time as you. For me that was three.5 years ago.

I built a PC with it, and noticed the fan never spun.

Not even after running for a while, as temps got higher.

It is a PSU that you can connect to the mainbaord using "Corsair Link" cable.

(May not work on all mainboards.)

A link cable was not included.

I had expected the fan to at least spin up, maybe at constant speed, even if a link-cable was not used. But it did not spin at all.

I decided not to risk it, and used my old PSU instead. It worked, and I decided to someday look into the Corsair RM750 psu later. Maybe returning, maybe buying a link-cable.

I wnever got around to doing that. New pc was too much fun. And I had put the Corsair RM psu in a very old Pentium4 single core pc, that I did not use any more, so I sort of forgot about it.

I looked it up online, and found out the PSU had been recalled.

It was indeed supposed to spin up, even without the link-cable. And some of the early produced units were faulty. They did not spin up ever.

The design of the RM series was fixed, so the new ones do spin up. Even without a link cable.

My model was one of the faulty ones.

I concluded at the time that the RMA period was over. Not sure why, probably terms and conditions. ---> EDIT: Wrong: probably 5 years. Depends on when you bought it.

If you are also stuck with a faulty model, never hurts to ask.

(I guess I should do that too then.:))

This info is now sunk away deep in the mass that internet available info is.:)

but I did find a reference here, and when you know what to look for, you can probably find more.

Most important is to know what exact part number series are faulty.

And compare to the part number on your psu.

I found a thread with a post in it, that has a link to more info. Probably that link gives the part numbers.

I will post a link to the thread I found this in, and below it the message from it (quoted) and the link that is in that message.

I wouldn't quote someone's post normally, but he words it so well I couldn't resist this time.

The thread it's from:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1979530/corsair-rm750-fan-spinning.html/recall_on_rm750_and_rm850_spread_the_word_details/

The message, Quote:"

faxfanApr 16, 2014, 3:26 PM

There appears to be a recall on RM750 and RM850 PSU's with a serial number begining 1341 and lower (13 being the year, 41 the week). Source -

I've had no spinning up the fan and random shutdowns, requested a RMA on it.

"endQoute

-------------

Also! It could of course be that yo are using a corsair link cable. (I was not).

If you are, make sure that is still connected correctly.

Sorry I said "it's a cpu fan" in my earlier post.

I thought "RM850" was the Noctua CPU coolers I have been looking at a while back. Noctua Fans have similar numberings (I got a AF14 fan from Noctua). My mistake.

I understand now you were actually talking about the RM850 PSU by Corsair.

Sorry about the confusion earlier.

il.

Those two links I gave were mostly discussion.

Below is the link with the announcement from Corsair.

(the other links lead there eventually..)

:) All the way down page one here you will find that for the RM850:

Quote:

"The affected units are in lot codes

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=123484

(sorry for not giving that link right away.)

No need to apologize, the help and info are extremely helpful and I am very grateful.

I will certainly look at the serial for the recall.

I have been having FSX on for periods of time trying to test new scenery with no noticeable heating up or noises coming from the fans, although the RM850 never comes on.

However, yesterday I had P3Dv4 on for a short time while testing scenery, and I immediately noticed the machine reeving up while it loaded, and again when flying around testing the scenery. Is that due to the CPU fan and Graphics fan spinning faster? The RM850 corsair fan still did not spin with P3Dv4 either.

Why would that happen with P3Dv4 and not with FSX, I thought the new P3Dv4 was easier on newer systems.

Hi annber,

I need to apologise again.:) (I seem to do a lot of that lately.:D lol)

I said earlier that "at the time I concluded the RMA was probably over". But that was 'from memory'.

I just looked in the Corsair Warrenty page and I think that the RMA is possible as long as the unit is under Warranty.

And that the Warranty period for RM PSU's is 5 years.

found here:

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/support/warranty

But... It says there that this applies to products purchased after April 27, 2015.

It says for earlier purchased products to contact the customer service.

The RM PSU's are discontinued, but I did find this, which looks like Corsairs (old) sales pages for the RM750.

There (at the bottom) the warranty is said to be 7 years.

http://www.corsair.com/en-eu/rm-series-rm750-80-plus-gold-certified-power-supply

I'm not sure if this is a recent page, or an older one.

If it's an old one (pre 2015) it may be that in 2015 they increased the warranty on the better models (RMx, etc), and that the other Warraties were lowered from 7 to 5 years. But I'm not sure.

Anyway, th Warranty period sems to depend on when it was purchased, but I found no mention of periods shorter then 5 years.

It looks like it's at least worth the effort of trying an RMA.

You do need your original Receipt.

Possibly your invoice will do if you ordered it online. (Or if that's no longer saved in e-mail/ account, the online store may be able to send you a copy of the old receipt.)

If you still have the packaging have a look on that. It may mention the Warranty period on the side of the box.