Chipset fan making funny noises. :(

[Baskervore]

I'm 100% certain it's the north bridge chipset fan. Whenever it runs, it make some sort of grinding noise, which of course gets higher in pitch as the fan gets faster. I'm guessing it's from a dry ball bearing in it, but I'm not a fan expert.

I just built my computer a few months ago, and it has a new DFI lanparty UT nf4 SLI DR. I would like to replace the fan because it's annoying.

Questions:

-If I just leave the fan in there, is it a big deal that it's making a funny noise?
-Is it hard to replace the fan? What's involved in it?
-Right now I have my fan's settings to be off when the temperature is less than 50 C, "on" when it's more than 50 C, and "fully on" when it's more than 55 C. Are these temperatures too high/low for the north bridge to be operating at?
-Is there anything else I should be worried about regarding my motherboard or chipset fan?

[blue60007]

You might contact DFI if the board is still under warranty...they might ship you a replacement fan.

Replacing the fan is just a matter of unscrewing the old one (careful with the screwdriver!) and screwing in a new one.

Your other option would be to replace the cooler with a passive one that doesn't require a fan.