Hi, I have a hp a1223w desktop computer and the fan is getting quite noisy. I have cleaned it up, but it is still sounding funky. I was just wondering how I go about finding a new fan for this thing, it is pretty old and not sure how to find out if one is compatible with my computer.

Do you have a guess as to which fan is noisy?
It could be the power supply fan, in which you replace the entire power supply.
Or if could be a case fan that generates air flow. They are low cost and are replaced by removing four screws. You just have to be sure the power plug or socket is a two, three, or four pin, then buy a new one. Sometimes the power plug is the greatest difficulty.
CPU fans are more work, and it is wise to replace the entire heatsink and fan as a set. There are risks in doing this. Some heatsink hold downs are made of plastic or other materials that can break.
A lot of local vendors, as well as online vendors such as Directron, Frys, Krex, TigerDirect, NewEgg, and others will have what you need.
The secret usually is to avoid cheap products. The units which are quiet and have the best bearings and best fan blade design to reduce noise while moving a lot of cooling air, will cost more. As with all other computer products, some brand names are better and can be trusted. If it is cheap, it probably cannot be trusted to be quiet, although it make work ok.
There are reviews on-line for CPU fans, but case fan reviews are scarce.
There is a great deal of design work in moving air. The cost is usually worth it.

OK, this is what i do, when my fans go bad. I take them apart, and oil them. i have pc fan that are 15 years old, and still going strong, every 2 years, i oil them...

go to this web site, and it will show u how to fix fans...

http://www.dansdata.com/fanmaint.htm

Agreed with renegeek. It's much more economical to just take the fan apart and lubricate it yourself. I actually did this for one of my cooler fans a few days ago, takes minutes and works beautfully.

Most fans have bearings that should not be lubricated. Damage can appear elsewhere, and the lubricant for most bearings does not work as intended. It only works for a short time, then worse things begin to happen on most models. You can actually increase the wear and the risk of damage. Fans are so very cheap that it is much more wise to replace them.

think there is a thread in the site about this problem,someone suggested to apply a kind of graphite powder to it ....look i stickies..

"Kcircyrd"

Just to let u know... i have oil'ed about 100 pc fans & Greased about 50 heavy duty indrustral motors, and still all of thoes fans are still going strong...

so if u say it will destroy them, it could if u use agressive lubes.

on small cheap fans, like pc case fans, i use 3 & 1 oil.

and for large motors, that are all made of steal, i use wheel barron greese.

till this day, i have not seen a fan break down.... I'v had some pc fans in a 486 dx/2 50 still running, at 15 years later... so i guess the 3&1 oil is working right... i would think so...

just to give u all a heads up...

Just need to know which lubricant to use.

Won't be too worried about temperature. But if it doesn't cost much more, I'd go for the mineral based one.


And for someone who knows, what do you think about teflon added performance oils for bicycles?

Did you clean the FAN properly?....just a quick wipe-off where you could see a bit of
MUCK "growing". Did you check the underside where you can not see?
Are you sure you cleaned both the leading and trailing edges? (sometimes you can
scratch more from the edge using the handle of a spoon or such). If you missed ONE
half of one BLADE it could make the fan rotate out-of-balance, creating a variation
to the air around....that would be NOISE?
Added to that variation is the air passing through the vortex.....that would be the fan
shroud...... Did this get more than just a ONCE over clean?
Give yourself a and go back and recheck your genius-it's free

I'll just assume the rest of the case is spotless

All the same, cooling fans in electronics do not need, and often will not tolerate lubrication... and many lubricants damage the existing bearings. When the bearings become noisy, it is time to replace the fan... The costs of replacement are amazingly low, to my way of thinking.

muffin fans are dirt cheap, you can pick them up used or new for less than $10

Simply replaced the noisy fan. Fin.

Bearing are worn, just replace it with a better FAN. These are 80mm to 120mm. You don't have to spend a lot of fans. I got one that is noisy I just give it a good hit and the noise goes away. I should replace mine but that would bring down the network. LOL!

At US websites, fan replacements are as low cost as $6.95 plus shipping at www.directron.com, www.pcmall.com, www.frys.com, www.cdw.com, www.zipzoomfly.com, www.techdepot.com and so on. Some will be as high as $25, but you don't have to spend a lot to get a good fan as many of the $7.00 fans are the equal of the high cost ones.

AntecTri-blue Fans are really last don't give trouble they have them in clear and some light up in different colors.

Look for one that feature: DDB (Double ball-bearing) design lasts longer than conventional fans like the Antec tri-blue/red/green or not color version does. These are $7.99 to $14.99 could be higher in most market just check around.

Another brand was Mad dog Turbo-Flow mod fan DDB one they're spin fast more heavy-duty price is slightly higher $8.99 and up.
Mad Dog Multimedia MDTTF8025A2B) Case Cooling Fan. I use both Antec & Mad Dog.