CPU fan speed help. First off, system specs:
Asus M4A77D motherboard
Windows 7 64bit
AMD Phenom II X4 955
4GB Ram
Radeon 4870
I dont really remember my CPU fan speed always being this loud, but for some reason it seems like it's constantly running around 5000+ RPM, shortly after starting up, and maintains that speed even when playing graphically intensive games. Sounds almost as loud as some of the older Xbox 360s...but I haven't had any problems signifying overheating, and after checking my temps, my CPU is at 52C and Motherboard at 44C (of course this is after being on all day).
I've got Cool n quiet as well as Smart Q-Fan turned on, yet i'd think the fans would only attempt to go this fast when the cpu was in danger of overheating. The smart settings are fan start at 25C and full speed at 55C if that has any effect on things (default settings).
I've read that sometimes bios upgrades help, but looking at the latest notes from ASUS, its just about chipset support. I'm using the stock fan that came with my Phenom, and i've also got three case fans (two in the front, one in the back).
Should I just try to upgrade to the most recent bios, mess with the smart fan settings, or could it just be something like cleaning out my case?
EDIT: Definitely not a dirty case problem, so that rules that out. Maybe its just the stock fan is just loud and I need to go ahead and upgrade to something like a Zalman?