Noisy fan...that isn't

Rizloid

Rizloid

Rizloid

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Joined
18 Aug 2011
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3
Hi everyone, first post here and I wonder if someone can help me.

I recently built a new pc using Fractal r3 case, I wanted some extra cooling so I bought the 140mm fractal fan to install in the side casing.

Unfortunately when I turned it on it was making a mechanical whirring type noise when i turned the speed up and I thought I had been sold a faulty one. Just before I was about to send it back I connected it again but free from the case just out of curiosity and it made no noise at all which was odd.

It turns out that the noise is being made by the air passing through the case grill. I can hold the fan directly over the grill without it touching and it starts making a noise. I can attach the fan to the case and if I cover up half the grill without touching again the noise goes away. Holding the side casing rigid makes no difference.

So it seems that the air flow is causing some kind of oscillating effect that is causing this problem. It starts to happen very gradually at about 25% speed and is way too irritating to put up with at full speed, which is what I want.

Has anyone else come across this problem with the Fractals and can anyone suggest a solution? Thanks very much.

(and no I dont want to reposition the fan) ;)
 
You could move the fan further away from the grille or cut the grille away from the case.

It's funny though that I've never heard anyone else complain about it (not that I've been looking into it before) and the fact that it makes noise at 25% is just strange. Maybe you should try and fit a different fan there and see if you get the same result. Maybe the fan you have is defective and when pulling at load through a grille causes the bearing to vibrate.
 
Thanks for the advice, using mesh sounds like a good idea, I dont want to butcher my case though. Also I dont have another 140mm fan to try in its place.

If nobody has heard of this problem before then its probable I do have a slightly dodgy fan, I may just send it back.

Thanks for your help. :)
 
i do believe someone else came on the forums a few months ago with that very problem. not sure if it was exactly your case, but it was definitely a fractal. the only solution was to keep the fan far away from the mesh iirc
 
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