Does an AMD K6 533mhz need a CPU fan?

[Hi Ho]

I just finished suspending the hard drive in my other PC because I was sure that was the only thing that could be making the insane amount of noise that comes from it. I have already disconnected the case fan and installed a different hard drive but the noise was still there. I though it was just vibration from the hard drive. Well it's not. The only moving parts left are the CPU fan and the PSU fan. I can't hear the power supply fan at all and i'm almost certain it is not the culprit. The CPU runs at about 28C. If I were to disconnect the CPU fan would it damage it? The noise is driving me crazy. It's a constant ringing sound. Specs are below.

Epox EP-MVP3C Mother Board
AMD K-6 500MHz CPU
60 GB 7200 RPM IBM Hard Drive
52x CD-ROM
Cable Modem
MSI GeForce 2 MX 440 W/64mb
256mb PC133 SDRAM
Windows XP Home
Logitech Optical Wheel Mouse
Arcus 17in Monitor
Sound Blaster PCI Sound Card
Enlight 300 W Power Supply

[Cricket]

The AMD K6 CPUs did run on the hot side...whether or not you can run that particular heatsink without a fan, I don't know (it's kind of small, right?). What you could do is find a bigger heatsink and run it passive (no fan) and see how it does. The larger surface area should allow for more heat to transfer to atmosphere. You might need at least a exhaust fan to draw the heat off the heatsink though.

Or maybe you can replace the fan entirely with one that spins slower (maybe do the 7 volt trick?).

Cricket

[Hi Ho]

It is a small heatsink. I actually have one lying around from a K6 233mhz and it is much larger. I guess I could try that. I just put it all back together and i don't want to take it apart again.