Sound Problem

Dan,

The 8200 has two cooling fans, one inside the power supply and one mounted on the back of the chbuttis undermeath a green cowl which directs the air onto the processor's heat sink. One of the fans is noisy, because some grit has gotten inside on the fan's bearings.

As a rule, regular maintenance in the form of cleaning the inside of the chbuttis will prolong the lives of cooling fans. Whenever a client's computer comes in for service, I open the chbuttis and blast all the dust bunnies out with a can of compressed air. A sort but cheap artist's paint brush can also loosen dirt from inside the case. I generally remove a Dell fan on the back of the case, clean it, and rebuttemble the cooling buttembly.

Contrary to recommendations of others, far and away the best thing to do at this time is to replace the noisy fan. Do not oil it. If the fan is inside the power supply, replace the power supply. You can use a good quality (e.g. Antec, Enlight, PC Power & Cooling) Pentium 4-type power supply of standard ATX dimensions, not just a Dell brand. If the noisy fan is the one on the back of the chbuttis, you must use one made for a Dell system, or fuss around soldering a connector on a standard 3-pin connector fan. I prefer the Dell fan. You can find them for cheap on eBay from sellers with good feedback ratings.

... Ben Myers