The claim is true; actually the situation is even worse. I've seen
many CPU fans that simply stopped working after some 3-6 months -
first they get louder, then they get slower, then they stop completely
and burn their coils (at least they don't dissipate heat in this mode
of operation :-P) This was the subject of at least one comp.risks
posting which told the same symptoms as the infamous "signal 11"
memory fault. (Perhaps that should go on the "signal 11" web page too
- check if your heat fan is broken? It may well be that the most
sensitive part of a CPU, where bits start flipping first when the chip
overheats, is the first level cache...
Unlike good power supply fans, most CPU coolers have no ball bearings
but some metal-shaft-in-plastic-bush thing which tends to wear out
and/or accumulate dust. These devices are not designed for continuous
operation, apparently.
olaf
--
___ Olaf.Titz@inka.de or @{stud,informatik}.uni-karlsruhe.de ____
__ o <URL:http://www.inka.de/~bigred/> <IRC:praetorius>
__/<_ >> Just as long as the wheels keep on turning round
_)>(_)______________ I will live for the groove 'til the sun goes down << ____