Quiet replacement for A64 3000+ retail fan?

[Lachoneus]

I got an Athlon 64 3000+ retail (connected to an ASUS K8N-E board) with
the stock HSF. It does a decent job of cooling, but it's kind of loud.
I was surprised by how much noise it makes, considering it's a largish
fan that only rotates at 3300RPM.

Any suggestions for a quiet replacement fan? Could I find one that will
fit on the stock heatsink and plug into the three-wire fan jack on the mobo?

The reason I ask about that, rather than just an entirely new HSF, is
that I've heard the stock heatsink's thermal pad tends to glue the CPU
to the heatsink, and I don't want to risk breaking off any pins trying
to pry it off.

 

[Wes Newell]

I got an Athlon 64 3000+ retail (connected to an ASUS K8N-E board) with
the stock HSF. It does a decent job of cooling, but it's kind of loud.
I was surprised by how much noise it makes, considering it's a largish
fan that only rotates at 3300RPM.

Any suggestions for a quiet replacement fan? Could I find one that will
fit on the stock heatsink and plug into the three-wire fan jack on the mobo?

Hmmm.. I don't consider a 70x15mm fan very large, I've actually replaced
the stock fan with a 70x25mm fan. I've also recently ordered a 70->80mm
fan adapter so I can use a quiet 80mm fan on it.

The reason I ask about that, rather than just an entirely new HSF, is
that I've heard the stock heatsink's thermal pad tends to glue the CPU
to the heatsink, and I don't want to risk breaking off any pins trying
to pry it off.

Yep, sounds like you might want to try the 80mm adapter and a 2500rpm 80mm
fan. Should be considerably quieter than the stock fan and cool a little
better too.