My PC video card fan is making a lot of noise?

HI, i have a Dell Inspiron 454 and since i bought it two years ago, it's worked without any problems. I use the pc for web access and also for playing movies on vlc player through my tv via hdmi link.

Recently, the pc started making a loud grinding/clicking noise and i was concerned the HD was on it's last legs. I got some advice online and opened up the side of the tower (my warrantly ran out ages ago) and cleaned the entire thing as much as i could without actually removing any of the hardware. There was loads of dust so i figured it was a blockage causing the problem. This didn't fix the noise so i turned the pc on with the insides exposed and after gently slowing down the various fans i manged to confirm that the noise was the video card. It's a basic Nvidia GeForce 210 (i'll double check that when i get home) and the noise is predominantly the fan, but a little bit of noise from the actual board vibrating, but that's negligable. The fan is tiny but makes a heck of a noise!

I've cleaned the entire fan as much as i can with a cotton swab and turned the pc on again but the sound persists. Can anyone give me any pointers on what to do next?

Cheers|||Clean your PC. Air compress taht shiet ******|||If the fan is making noise, it's gone. It's easiest to just replace it. Look around on eBay/Amazon, or you can just take the fan into your local computer store and say "give me another one of these."|||first off clean your computer with these cans of pressurised air you can buy at most pc shops cleaning the fans of dust can help.

secondly greasing/oiling the fan up can help it spin smoother and therefore generate less noise.

thirdly some graphics cards with inbuilt fans have a program were you can adjust the speed this however will have an efect on the temperatures and noise will be lower

fourth buy a new fan it will probably work better, less noise there like $5 if you really hate the noise there are silent alternatives water cooling or perhaps just a large heatsink when you buy a fan most of them will tell you the amount of noise it generates so compare fans and see what sounds right for you somtimes fans can rattle screws or other parts you could try filling up the gaps with rubber cement to prevent them banging together.|||Take the video card out of the computer, spray some WD40 right into the fan (do it carefully, but do it so that the grease would get inside the rolling parts), then let it dry fully and install the card back again.