I'm using an Abit IC7-G mobo. Recently the on board cooling fan started making a growling noise. I assume that this fan is responsible for cooling the mobo chipset, as it is located on the board next to the CPU. Also, I assume that it is a bearing sound, since I can see the fan running, and nothing is touching it (fan blades). My question is, where can I get a replacement fan of this type, and how difficult is it to replace? I've checked around in some computer stores, but the generic fans that they carry don't seem to match the configuration of this particular fan. Any advice will be appreciated.

Apparently it's a fairly common problem: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...

Cyberguys.com has a pretty good selection of fans. Measure the one that you have and I bet you will find it there.

Don't you just hate those cheap chipset fans? I had that problem with some socket A boards from Asus and couldn't find a replacement. I got an adjustable pushpin heatsink from ebay which worked but was a hassle to assemble. I ended up using threadlock glue to hold the adjusting screws in place. I think usually a good heatsink is just as effective as a fan on the chipset--especially when the fan goes bad. I had a bad FIC board (K8-800T) with the perfect pushpin heatsink. It fit the Asus boards too. (I think the spacing of the chipset pushpin holes on most motherboards is the same.) Anyway, I emailed FIC asking if I could get a few dozen of those heatsinks. Of course they ignored me. I don't know if the fan can be separated from the heatsink on your chipset. If not, a replacement fan is actually a replacement heatsink/fan combo. On those Asus boards a GEforce video heatsink/fan was a close enough fit. The only problem is they're larger than the chipset and you have to be careful that the heatsink doesn't touch any of the motherboard's electronic components. But given all those problems you may just want to get one of those heatsinks that are attached with thermal tape. They're cheap and easy to find on ebay.

You might be able to ,hamshack,homebrew a fan ,cost you nothing

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm planning on removing the fan from the board, but it appears that the tension clips that hold the fan to the board require some effort to undo. I'm worried about damaging the board while removing the clips. So now I'm planning on cutting the steel-wire clips that are attached to the fan (cutting steel-wire clips which loop through mobo hold-downs) with a pair of small wire-cutters. Of course I would not cut the wire-hold downs which are part of the board, only the clips attached to the fan. Any ideas?

If you think it won't cause more problems, you may want to remove the motherboard before doing that.