The good news is that this is totally normal. The bad news is that there isn’t much you can do about it. Gaming puts stress on the computer so it gets warmer internally and the fan runs faster to cool it. Anything running videos or graphics is likely to cause the computer to heat up. The loud sound you hear is the fan running at top speed - annoying but effective.
Adjust the Fan Speed
If the sound is really annoying, there are things you can do to adjust the fan speed, although I wouldn’t recommend them. I’m going to tell you about these simply as information not as something I think you should do. In my opinion, the fans are running for a reason and slowing them down may make your computer overheat and cause big problems. One program out there is RivaTuner. Many gamers say that they adjust the fan speeds down below the manufacturer’s preset speeds with no problem. This will make the fans run slower and therefore quieter, but again, I don’t recommend this solution.
Check the Temp
You can monitor your computer’s internal temperature in BIOS or download a program that will let you easily see the information. Two to try are Speedfan and Motherboard Monitor. There are two main problems with this however - there is no recommended ‘safe’ temperature and most likely it’s going to tell you that the computer is running hot, which you already know. You can find out some temperature recommendations by finding out what your CPU type is and then looking at this chart on Technibble.
Cool it Down
There are a few easy things you can do to cool down the computer. If you’re not comfortable taking the case off, then see if you can find a friend to do it for you. You need to take the outer case off and blow compressed air at the fans, heatsinks and power supply. Accumulated dust and dirt can make the fans work harder than they should. Make sure that the vents aren’t blocked by something so that the hot air has a place to go. Some techs also advise setting up a desk fan to pull more hot air out of the PC, but then you have to deal with that noise as well, so it pretty well defeats the purpose.
The bottom line is that excessive fan noise is normal with heavy gaming. If your computer starts to act up or does not cool down after a period of rest, then you may have an overheating problem and you need to deal with that separately. In the meantime, a noisy fan is just a signal that the system is working as it should.
Kat Delong | November 18th, 2008
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