# ASUS A8n SLI Deluxe Chip Fan....DEAD



## TripleDesi (Jan 26, 2010)

So I opened my computer up today to put in a Zip 100 MB drive (yeah, throwback from yesteryears, but I love 'em so). When I booted the machine, BIOS spits warning, "chip fan not working or speed to low".

WTF !!!

I swear I'm no butterfingers. I was very careful putting in the Zip drive. I didn't even know what chip fan was until I googled and saw a picture of motherboard with circle drawn around the chip fan. Sure enough, it's not working. With the computer open, I turned the power on. The fan moved slowly for a couple of rotations and then stopped.

Then I googled for how to replace chip fan on Asus A8N SLI Deluxe. Let's just say I'm in no mood to try. Now I'm not seeing anything untoward happening. My computer seems to be working just fine. No overheating or anything. However, I do wonder if my first video card dying had anything to do with this. If so, my new video card is going to die too :-(

So is there any program I can use to monitor temperature of various parts of my motherboard? Right now I'm using Moo0 System Monitor which is free. It only gives me CPU and Hard Disk temperature that have not gone over 30 degrees C ever. For the life of me I still don't know what the "chip" fan does. It's not the CPU fan. It's this itsy bitsy little more than an 1 inch in diameter fine that sits a couple of inches from the edge of my Graphics card. Googling told me this is a common problem with my motherboard.

Anyone in my predicament and if so what did you do?

Thanks much.


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## ERazer (Jan 26, 2010)

try speedfan http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

 and HW monitor http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php


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## TripleDesi (Jan 26, 2010)

ERazer said:


> try speedfan http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php
> 
> and HW monitor http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php



Thanks. Now about my question. What is the "chip fan" for? What does it help with? Reduce temperature of which chip(s)?


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## ERazer (Jan 26, 2010)

TripleDesi said:


> Thanks. Now about my question. What is the "chip fan" for? What does it help with? Reduce temperature of which chip(s)?



looks like its nvidia nforce chip its controls storage (Udma,Sata,Raid, etc) and SLI too

check ur MB manual online 

http://www.fixya.com/support/p362849-asus_a8n_sli_deluxe_motherboard/manual-10992


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## segalaw19800 (Jan 26, 2010)

Were is the fan mounted at.


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## segalaw19800 (Jan 26, 2010)

something like this http://www.asus.com/Product.aspx?P_ID=e1h9yUaMZAsTwIEN


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## TripleDesi (Jan 26, 2010)

segalaw19800 said:


> something like this http://www.asus.com/Product.aspx?P_ID=e1h9yUaMZAsTwIEN



Yes exacty. You see it horizontally across the red SATA connectors and below the dual  Graphics Card slots.

I still don't quite understand what "cooling" this fan provides. It is so small, I would think it does not matter. LOL.


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## oily_17 (Jan 26, 2010)

TripleDesi said:


> Yes exacty. You see it horizontally across the red SATA connectors and below the dual  Graphics Card slots.
> 
> I still don't quite understand what "cooling" this fan provides. It is so small, I would think it does not matter. LOL.



It's probably to help cool your Southbridge chip.If you have any other fan you could rig it up to blow on the chip if you like.


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## InTeL-iNsIdE (Jan 26, 2010)

oily_17 said:


> It's probably to help cool your Southbridge chip.If you have any other fan you could rig it up to blow on the chip if you like.



Nearly right its for the NB if I'm not mistaken


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## oily_17 (Jan 26, 2010)

InTeL-iNsIdE said:


> Nearly right its for the NB if I'm not mistaken



I think those boards have the fan on the southbridge.

My A8N board just has heat sinks/pipe on the chips so any sort of fan blowing some cool air on them would be suffice I would say.


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## InTeL-iNsIdE (Jan 26, 2010)

oily_17 said:


> I think those boards have the fan on the southbridge.
> 
> My A8N board just has heat sinks/pipe on the chips so any sort of fan blowing some cool air on them would be suffice I would say.



http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=A8N-SLI+Deluxe++northbridge&meta= 

I still say its the nb  


And I wouldnt even imagine the fan is 100& needed tbf, it might be annoying as you are getting an error, but in all honesty unless your doing a fair bit of overclocking with the board, the heatsink without the fan blowing should be sufficient.


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## oily_17 (Jan 26, 2010)

InTeL-iNsIdE said:


> http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=A8N-SLI+Deluxe++northbridge&meta=
> 
> I still say its the nb



I think we are both correct/wrong as the nForce4 SLI (which I think is what he has on his board) has both the north/south bridge on one chip and was not untill the nForce4 SLI x16 that they moved till separate north/south bridge chips (which is what I have on my A8N32-SLI Deluxe board).

Anyway just strap another fan on top and you should be good to go.


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## TripleDesi (Jan 26, 2010)

oily_17 said:


> I think we are both correct/wrong as the nForce4 SLI (which I think is what he has on his board) has both the north/south bridge on one chip and was not untill the nForce4 SLI x16 that they moved till separate north/south bridge chips (which is what I have on my A8N32-SLI Deluxe board).
> 
> Anyway just strap another fan on top and you should be good to go.



Okay I want to explore "rigging another fan and blow on it" as someone suggested. It would be best if I removed the fan and then put another fan right? Not replace the fan, just put one somewhere else but blowing air in the general direction. I could just break the fan off so it does not obstruct the air blowing from my new fan I'm thinking.

Or should I leave the broken fan alone? I'm thinking if I just get if off the motherboard, might be better. I'm good at breaking stuff without knowing, I just proved it 

For now, I have turned off the annoying warning on bootup about fan speed being low so it does not stop asking me to press F1.

Thanks all, as always.


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## cadaveca (Jan 26, 2010)

Those fans are prone to dying. Mine died within about 4 months, so yours lasting this long is actually pretty good.

I called up ASUS support, and they just sent me a new one, didn't even ask for a serial number, but that was many moons ago.


That chip getting hot(next to the SLi bridge), will cause system instability. Get a fan blowing over the area...should feel warm, but not HOT.


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## TripleDesi (Jan 26, 2010)

*Replacing that fan is hard*



cadaveca said:


> Those fans are prone to dying. Mine died within about 4 months, so yours lasting this long is actually pretty good.
> 
> I called up ASUS support, and they just sent me a new one, didn't even ask for a serial number, but that was many moons ago.
> 
> ...



Replacing the fan requires removing the motherboard flipping it over and removing the clips at the bottom. Or somehow breaking it off and then PRESSING the new one in. The first option is not for mortals such as myself. The second is not for wimps...again...like myself. Maybe after I build a computer all by myself someday I'll have the courage. Sorry, I suck.

I'm gonna explore the "blow air from some other fan" approach. But I'm really really hoping I can just leave it alone. I'm going to Hurry Up Slowly on this one.

Thanks.


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## cadaveca (Jan 26, 2010)

basically any fan over the area will do..it's that tiny black fan causing the bios stop, and that tiny fan just isn't capable of moving alot of air.

I had dual 7800GTX's in that board, and the heat they created sandwiched so close together caused the early death of that fan. If you take your finger and push the fan hub towards the board, sometimes that will get it moving again, but given your situation and willingness to pull the pc apart(or lack thereof), just toss a fan blowing over it and you should be perfectly fine.


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## thebluebumblebee (Jan 26, 2010)

I have the same MOBO.  I got it not too long ago, and knowing the problems with these types of HSF's, I pulled it off and replaced it with a Zalman ZM-NB47J northbridge heat sink.  When you examine the HSF that is used, it's no wonder that they fail.  The rotor for the fan is mounted to the hottest part of the HSF, right over the "chip".  The chip is tiny in comparison to the HSF, and it does get HOT.  The nice thing about the Zalman heat sink is that it is large enough that if part of it get in the way of other things like a video card, you can just cut/grind it to fit.  It was scary for me to remove the HSF - it felt like I was going to break something.  I think Asus uses some type of thermal adhesive.  The way the Zalman is designed, I was able to rotate it and squeeze it in between my 2 9600GSO's.  It does get hot to the touch, but I don't have to worry about a fan failing on me.  But, if this is your main PC and this seems daunting to you, getting a fan to blow on it will work, too.

But don't "just leave it alone" - it needs air movement.


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## TripleDesi (Jan 27, 2010)

thebluebumblebee said:


> I have the same MOBO.  I got it not too long ago, and knowing the problems with these types of HSF's, I pulled it off and replaced it with a Zalman ZM-NB47J northbridge heat sink.  When you examine the HSF that is used, it's no wonder that they fail.  The rotor for the fan is mounted to the hottest part of the HSF, right over the "chip".  The chip is tiny in comparison to the HSF, and it does get HOT.  The nice thing about the Zalman heat sink is that it is large enough that if part of it get in the way of other things like a video card, you can just cut/grind it to fit.  It was scary for me to remove the HSF - it felt like I was going to break something.  I think Asus uses some type of thermal adhesive.  The way the Zalman is designed, I was able to rotate it and squeeze it in between my 2 9600GSO's.  It does get hot to the touch, but I don't have to worry about a fan failing on me.  But, if this is your main PC and this seems daunting to you, getting a fan to blow on it will work, too.
> 
> But don't "just leave it alone" - it needs air movement.



No it is not my primary PC. Yes, I'm scared of ruining it. First my Graphics Card and now this. I'm just going to monitor it a couple of weeks and then decide.

Thanks.


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## TripleDesi (Jan 27, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> basically any fan over the area will do..it's that tiny black fan causing the bios stop, and that tiny fan just isn't capable of moving alot of air.
> 
> I had dual 7800GTX's in that board, and the heat they created sandwiched so close together caused the early death of that fan. If you take your finger and push the fan hub towards the board, sometimes that will get it moving again, but given your situation and willingness to pull the pc apart(or lack thereof), just toss a fan blowing over it and you should be perfectly fine.



Here are the reports of my CPUID. I think the temperatures look okay to me. Dunno how high GPU temperature can go before I start worrying. Will do some more observation and then figure out what I need to do. I was kinda hoping the consensus was going to be "don't worry too much" :-(


P.S. Thanks for the message on Chipset Cooling


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## TripleDesi (Jan 27, 2010)

thebluebumblebee said:


> I have the same MOBO.  I got it not too long ago, and knowing the problems with these types of HSF's, I pulled it off and replaced it with a Zalman ZM-NB47J northbridge heat sink.  When you examine the HSF that is used, it's no wonder that they fail.  The rotor for the fan is mounted to the hottest part of the HSF, right over the "chip".  The chip is tiny in comparison to the HSF, and it does get HOT.  The nice thing about the Zalman heat sink is that it is large enough that if part of it get in the way of other things like a video card, you can just cut/grind it to fit.  It was scary for me to remove the HSF - it felt like I was going to break something.  I think Asus uses some type of thermal adhesive.  The way the Zalman is designed, I was able to rotate it and squeeze it in between my 2 9600GSO's.  It does get hot to the touch, but I don't have to worry about a fan failing on me.  But, if this is your main PC and this seems daunting to you, getting a fan to blow on it will work, too.
> 
> But don't "just leave it alone" - it needs air movement.



I'm beginning to find the courage to try this. Especially because I'm getting (imagining ???) a burning smell now and again when I'm sitting next to the computer (yes, yes, I turned it off already  ).

So I can get the fan for $6-7 and the heatsink you mentioned from around $10-$12. Throwing my memory buy in the sink, but I have to admit this is more important.

So I understand the fan is "stuck" to the chip with some adhesive? When you said you pulled it off, did you like hold it in your fingers and slowly pull upwards but firmly? Just don't want to rip the fan along with the chip off the motherboard.

Thanks.


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## thebluebumblebee (Jan 27, 2010)

Since I'd never done anything like this before, I took it slow.  I tried to twist it and then I used a flat screw driver and gently pryed up on the edges that I could get to.  If you have something made of plastic or wood, (like a Popsicle stick) that would be better.  Pulling straight up would be the worst thing you could do.  Try to work around the HSF-maybe you can find a weakly stuck area.  I had the MOBO out of the case.  I had to use a lot of alcohol to remove the stuff that was on the chip.  Also had to carefully scrape it off.  This is important - make sure the chip is clean before reassembly.


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## oily_17 (Jan 27, 2010)

Also, you can use a hair-dryer to heat up the adhesive/thermal paste before you try to remove the fan.

Then gently pull it upwards while slightly twisting it from side to side to loosen it from the paste.


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## GC_PaNzerFIN (Jan 27, 2010)

The chipset cooling on A8N-SLI Deluxe is legendary fail. I had 4 of them (one was a twice the original size replacement from ASUS) die on me. Few completely dead A8N-SLi Deluxes as well and lots lots of issues. Last one (under this is a pic of the board responsible) killed half of my rig. :/


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## punani (Jan 27, 2010)

In my former rig I have the same mobo, A8N-sli deluxe.. That exact same fan died on me also, first it started having these annoying sounds and after a while the error messages emerged. The rig is about 4 and ½ years old now and that fan hasn't moved in atleast 2 years time.

The old rig is running next to my main rig at the moment with the dead chip fan and no problemo, had a 7800gtx next to the fan for 4 years and recently swapped for a ati HD 4650. It's inside a old dusty Nexus breeze case so the ventilation isn't top notch neither.

So from my experience all you need to do is disable the warnings and carry on with happy computing like nothing happened.  Still it would be wise to replace the fan with some sort of heatsink, just as a precaution.

I also remember reading about a bunch of other owners stating the same problem, and ASUS replacing that fan free of charge if you just notify them.


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## TripleDesi (Jan 29, 2010)

punani said:


> So from my experience all you need to do is disable the warnings and carry on with happy computing like nothing happened.  Still it would be wise to replace the fan with some sort of heatsink, just as a precaution.



You serious? Do you keep the computer on all the time with default Power settings (e.g. after 1 hour go to standby). Or do you occasionally start and shut it down?

I think I'm sure I can figure out how to put new heatsink and/or fan on top of the chip. My problem really is removing the non-functioning fan right now. As you say, at least my computer runs right now. If I F it up while removing the fan, that'll suck most intensely. My confidence level after hearing use ice cream stick, twisting side to side, blow hair dryer, etc. has gone down again.

I want to go back to the stone ages where we didn't have to worry about computers, cell phones, etc. etc...


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## Batou1986 (Jan 29, 2010)

Well this thread has been quite an eye opener i have been using an a8n sli deluxe for years now as a media server and ive yet to have a problem with the fan guess i just got lucky


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## thebluebumblebee (Jan 29, 2010)

TripleDesi said:


> You serious? Do you keep the computer on all the time with default Power settings (e.g. after 1 hour go to standby). Or do you occasionally start and shut it down?
> 
> I think I'm sure I can figure out how to put new heatsink and/or fan on top of the chip. My problem really is removing the non-functioning fan right now. As you say, at least my computer runs right now. If I F it up while removing the fan, that'll suck most intensely. My confidence level after hearing use ice cream stick, twisting side to side, blow hair dryer, etc. has gone down again.
> 
> I want to go back to the stone ages where we didn't have to worry about computers, cell phones, etc. etc...



If you brick it, your wish will be granted.


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## punani (Jan 29, 2010)

TripleDesi said:


> You serious? Do you keep the computer on all the time with default Power settings (e.g. after 1 hour go to standby). Or do you occasionally start and shut it down?



I have the comp as a mediacomputer mostly, sometimes for dedicated gaming servers, but I can have it running for days without standby or shutdown, soo yeah. At weekends it's mostly running nonstop .

And also incase you don't want to risk damaging your mobo and if there's enough room on the old fan you could just attach/glue/weld another fan ontop somehow, that should provide sufficient cooling... (if im wrong ... koboom )


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## TripleDesi (Jan 30, 2010)

*Somebody just shoot me*



punani said:


> I have the comp as a mediacomputer mostly, sometimes for dedicated gaming servers, but I can have it running for days without standby or shutdown, soo yeah. At weekends it's mostly running nonstop .
> 
> And also incase you don't want to risk damaging your mobo and if there's enough room on the old fan you could just attach/glue/weld another fan ontop somehow, that should provide sufficient cooling... (if im wrong ... koboom )



Well, I have been monitoring all temperatures closely. They do NOT seem to be out of whack. However, the burning smell I'm getting is real. It is not exactly burning. It's like burnished copper. So I'm thinking let me open it up and see if I can isolate where the smell is coming from.

I cannot seem to locate the smell. Then I see the big heat sink on the CPU. Huge Coppery Fins. Copper. That's what it smells like. Then I notice something else. It is not a heat sink. I mean it is, but it isn't. There is also a 3-4 inch fan inside it. AND THAT FAN IS ALSO...DEAD !!! 

So am I glad I didn't go and purchase more RAM for this computer! Well I've backed up whatever I needed. So it seems to me I need to just enjoy this computer till it fries. God knows when the CPU (Zalman something) fan died. Maybe it's been dead forever, who knows? Like when the Chipset Fan died, BIOS did not give me any warning. This computer was built for me custom by someone in another city around 3-4 years back. The rascal may have known it, who knows?

What I cannot figure out for the life of me is why the CPU temp does not rise above 35 degrees C, EVER. NEVER EVER. How can it survive with no real heat sink to speak off? I mean perhaps those coppery fins are providing some heat transfer, but the fan is dead. Sure beats me.


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## punani (Feb 1, 2010)

TripleDesi said:


> Well, I have been monitoring all temperatures closely. They do NOT seem to be out of whack. However, the burning smell I'm getting is real. It is not exactly burning. It's like burnished copper. So I'm thinking let me open it up and see if I can isolate where the smell is coming from.
> 
> I cannot seem to locate the smell. Then I see the big heat sink on the CPU. Huge Coppery Fins. Copper. That's what it smells like. Then I notice something else. It is not a heat sink. I mean it is, but it isn't. There is also a 3-4 inch fan inside it. AND THAT FAN IS ALSO...DEAD !!!
> 
> ...



If I were you I would'nt waste my money on the lottery or something because your all out of luck !

As long as your case fans are still spinning the heatsinks should provide some cooling, and copper is a very good material for transfering heat. Make sure to blow the dust out from in between the fins of the heatsinks/fans.


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## MNfixitguy (Jan 9, 2012)

My board is several years old and only recently did the chipset fan get noisy. I put in a replacement Asus fan that was advertised as new but was actually used. 99% of the job is removing the motherboard to push in the barbs of the attachment pins to release the heatsink from the board. Carefully use a small bit of cloth and lacquer thinner to remove the paste from the chip surface and the bottom of the heatsink instead of alcohol or blades.

Fine dust built up inside the rather simple assembly seemed to be my problem, so I later refurbished the old fan for a spare part; I could have just cleaned the original in hindsight.

Remove the 4 cover corner screws, then the 3 screws holding the fan to the base. Peel the round seal from the fan bottom(save), and gently pry off the retaining disc from the fan shaft. Pull off the fan. Gently clean the circuitboard and components with a small brush and air, then wipe the inside of the fan rotor carefully with alcohol. Clean the shaft and bushing with alcohol. Carefully clean the outer surfaces of the coil magnets the same way, just be careful of the windings.

Apply tiny bit of white grease to the shaft and replace fan, pull it in and out and rotate to lubricate. Replace retaining disc, then reapply the round sealing film. Reassemble fan components and you're all set. This took about 20 minutes.

Doing repairs like this is good learning.


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## Mussels (Jan 9, 2012)

TripleDesi said:


> Replacing the fan requires removing the motherboard flipping it over and removing the clips at the bottom. Or somehow breaking it off and then PRESSING the new one in. The first option is not for mortals such as myself. The second is not for wimps...again...like myself. Maybe after I build a computer all by myself someday I'll have the courage. Sorry, I suck.
> 
> I'm gonna explore the "blow air from some other fan" approach. But I'm really really hoping I can just leave it alone. I'm going to Hurry Up Slowly on this one.
> 
> Thanks.



ummm... thats not hard. if you want hard, wait for it to fail completely and replace *all* of the hardware in the system.


what you mentioned is all of a 10 minute job and requires nothing fancier than a screwdriver.


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## beryuyu (Feb 7, 2012)

this is a really old post but..since I finally wanted to upgrade parts in my ASUS A8n SLI Deluxe, i did google and searched for parts.

this year reaches the 4 year mark with the board..I am planning to find used sli vcards to replace and 2 additional 2x1gb ocz ram..The key for the longevity of my board is I think.. my thermaltake computer case that has like 5 fans in it and a giant big ass heat sink for the cpu.

my only maintenance procedure is opening the case and blowing massive compressed air inside the case every couple months..

it has been a good board for me and still going strong


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## brandonwh64 (Feb 7, 2012)

InTeL-iNsIdE said:


> http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=A8N-SLI+Deluxe++northbridge&meta=
> 
> I still say its the nb
> 
> ...



Off topic but WB brother!


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## ThE_MaD_ShOt (Feb 12, 2012)

I am running the A8n sli premium so I don't have the fan to worry about. Which means the chipset can be passively cooled.


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