root wrote:
New motherboards often have a small fan covering one
of the bridge chips. Likewise, expensive graphics
cards have a fan on their processor. These fans
are cheaply made.

Is there protection for the MB/card to keep their
chips from frying if the tiny little fan fails?

TIA

There is a cheap "Fan Alarm System" card available:
http://www.outletpc.com/c1685.html