Hi, I have an HP Pavilion a367c and the CPU fan is making a lot of noise. The noise comes and goes but "go" periods have been getting shorter :( . I think the bearings are dying. It looks like a typical three wire 80x70x25mm fan but has two more white wires that go down into the square copper heatsink fins. Can the fan be replaced separately or do I need a new heatsink/fan assembly? Is the CPU glued to the heatsink or will it come off cleanly and just need new thermal goop when replaced?

I was going to say dust is whats causing it but then i relized you have opened your computer. So nevermind that.

The fan speed is controlled by the motherboard. The Pentium 4 processor tells your motherboard how hot it is. so then the motherboard turns up the fan faster. Thats why its louder when the CPU is doing alot and is quieter when its doing nothing. You can try replacing the fan yourself but i would recommend just getting a whole new heatsink.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010110574+1371026032&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&Subcategory=574&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

they are cheap! I would recommend the thermaltake one.