Noisy CPU Fans!

My wife has been complaining about my noisy PC for some weeks now. And I've also noticed it was getting pretty noisy. So, yesterday, I opened up my PC's case to investigate. As it turned out, it wasn't the power supply fan, but the CPU fan making almost all the noise.

So I took it out and cleaned off all the dust that accumulated on it. I also wiped off the dirt from the heatsink. I almost couldn't believe the amount of dust that had gathered. A few months ago, I took out my PC's floppy drive and a few PCI slot covers from the back, meaning my PC had holes in it. This must have allowed more ways for dust to get in?

Anyway, after cleaning, the PC was a lot quieter. So if you have similar woes, maybe your PC just needs a good clean. You'd be surprised at how regular maintenance like this can really help.

I've since left my PC case open because I want to consider some changes in the case. The power supply housing is right on top of the cpu fan. And the whole case itself can get pretty warm. I'm thinking of moving the power supply to the bottom of the case and maybe putting in a case fan or HDD fan.

I'll update this blog with pictures if it turns into a mini-project for me.