The chipset fan on my ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe motherboard is starting to make unhealthy noises, after little more than 5 months (bought in April 2005). That‘s what you get if you buy ‘Deluxe’ versions, I suppose? I’m not sure whether I should be worried for the chip, since I have the great ThermalRock OceanDOME chassis (with lots of fans and great circulation), but it’s not exactly a sign of quality if essential parts like this fail within less than half a year!
Let’s see how ASUS support handles the matter. If you believe forums and the internets, they should be quick with a new “improved” fan. Here’s hope. (Their support form tells me “Server connection failure, please retry”, and upon doing so, “Your request already submit” [sic]. Who would you believe?)
Also, if you have a suggestion for a third-party replacement fan, I’m eager to hear. I have the Gigabyte nForce 6600GT Silent, no SLI, but a new fan shouldn’t be much larger than the old. Bonus if it can be swapped without taking out the motherboard (I’m not too keen on recabling everything).
Update: ASUS is officially replacing failing fans now. Contact them and send them your mainboard serial number.