Is it me, or did my eMac's fan go faster?

Question

http://idisk.mac.com/srojtas-Public/emac/MOV00001.MPG
http://idisk.mac.com/srojtas-Public/emac/MOV00002.MPG
Do you notice it?
Is this eMac supposed to do this?
Hardware Overview:
Machine Model: eMac
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (2.1)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 700 MHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 256 KB
Memory: 640 MB
Bus Speed: 100 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.4.2f1
Serial Number: *********
Sales Order Number: *******
Combo Drive
Booting from external drive
Mac OS X 10.3.9
Also, a few minutes before, my eMac had a random shut down while watching a YouTube video. The fan vent is not clogged up, and the cabinent that it in has a hole in the back. Is it makeing too much heat?
PS: I know my name is in the upper right corner, but I hid the login screen for the sake of other people's privacy. And the lines on the screen, its because the eMac's refresh rate is 60Hz while the camera is 30Hz. They are not there in real life.

Answer 1

Hi there:
The computer may have a fan which could finally be showing signs
of wear from use over several years. Is the computer left on 24/7?
A computer put to sleep at night won't make a sound, and the parts
won't wear out as fast; and they use less electricity, etc.
A good computer tech (Apple certified) should be able to tell you if
the cost would be excessive - and that may be subjective, as some
are unwilling to work on an older machine if they can sell you newer.
Also, a home user should not attempt to fix these unless they are
able to understand technical service documents and then look for
some ideas online; since the original service manuals are pro-only.
(Note: the inside of an eMac has a CRT display, these store a lot
of Electrical Energy and can be hazardous to open up or mess with.)
If the fan is failing, which it could be, someone skilled could probably
open the unit and get the correct part; while they are inside, the other
items in there should be checked over, including the hard disk drive,
which could be a noise maker in itself, since these do wear out and
can get loud. In fact, a tech should look it over and give you a good
estimate of what the problems are and their cost for parts & labor.
Since the computer is older, the hard disk drive could be making noise;
the fan could be too. The computer could be dusty inside and need a
good cleaning, to run cooler. And an old hard disk drive could be running
a bit hot, so the fan may have to run faster as a result.
{This add-on topic should have probably been in a new thread of its own;
but since you added it here, I noticed when I went through the list of
items I'd posted to, and saw it had a recent additional post. If you do
have a bunch of other issues, a new thread would be advised, and
maybe link back to this one in there, if you like.}
Hopefully these ideas help resolve the issue; and the computer could
be put to sleep at night, to make it quieter. The longer term solution
could be a good cleaning, a new fan assembly, and/or a new hard disk
drive installed. While a tech is in there, a new clock battery, maybe?
An estimate is advised before the work is started, and also a limit on
what you may be willing to spend should be arrived at before having
to pay for stuff that may have been better spent on a recent Apple
certified refurbished iMac 20" instead, or a newer MacBook reman from
the Apple Store's special deals page.
There are online sources for repaired and tested good eMacs with a
limited warranty or guarantee they'd work for a time; sometimes I
see some offered by real people and not the auction gamble sites;
once in awhile I look, but shipping to AK is way too high for eMacs.
For a good place for older repaired computers and service on portable
Macs, (they get desktop models) see wegenermedia.com.
Hopefully this helps in the process of having a good healthy computer.
Good luck & happy computing!