My self built computer is not quite 2 years old. The heat sink fan has started making a lot of noise. I checked the hardware knowledge database and it sounds like the fan might need replacing. Given the type of CPU I have, can I just replace the fan or does both the heatsink and fan have to be replaced? Do I need to remove the CPU from MOBO in order to make the swap? Thank you in advance. My CPU is San Diego, if that helps.

it depends on wether the heatsink and fan were included with the CPU as a retail package, or if they were purchased OEM, then it also depends on the manufacter of the heatsink and fan, maybe you can get a replacement fan and replace it without un-mounting the heatsink, maybe not. You'll just have to look.

Could be a build up of dust, try using compressed air to get rid of any. This might solve your problem. If it isn't that simple it could be that it is just wearing out. The socket 939 heatsinks are quite simple to remove, the socket 754's are a little bit more complex, but still shouldn't present much difficulty. Sam Biscuits are good, but keep the crumbs off your keyboard!

You will need to tell us any info you have about this heatsink you have cooling your cpu as it maybe possible to replace it, if not and your not overclocking your cpu you can buy a relatievly cheap cooler from ebay or another onlind retailer or pc shop. Pentium 4 3.2ghz @ 4.2ghz Nvdia 4 Mx4400 @ 340/460

The heatsink and fan came with the retail box from AMD. I am not overclocking. I am going to try the compressed air route first, thanks for the replies.

If compressed air alone doesn't do it, you may have to remove the HSF to be able to do a more thorough cleaning. If you remove the fan from the heatsink, there's a round "sticky" underneath that protects the bearing. If you carefully peel it back, you can apply a single drop of oil, then seal it up again...that will buy you some time. Other than that, you can either buy a replacement fan for your heatsink, or a whole new HSF. I've gotten quite a few from SVC.com. Here's a cheapie that's similar to the stock unit: http://www.svc.com/dk8-8id2a-ol.html Or for just $10, there's the Silencer 64 (it's gets good reviews): http://www.svc.com/acs64utc.html

Thanks jam, I'm going to get that "cheapie" just to have a spare. I looked at the specs but could not find out if it comes with a thermal patch, or am I going to have to get this separate?