Fan noise issue

[wizard]

Finally managed to get round to opening and cleaning the inside of the PC. The excess fan noise seems to be coming from one of the 3 (2 are off) GPU fans right from start of PC with no apps running. Tried using "Fan Control" software to turn off the fans but the one running will not turn off. Increasing GPU speed turns all 3 on, so all are working. The GPU is Gigabyte Aorus GeForce GTX 1660 Gaming OC 6G (about 6 years old)..

To be sure, can I boot the PC without this card to make sure that it is the culprit? Is there any other way to test it?

This PC ism now used for day to day general use (no gaming). Can someone recommend a decent GPU replacement, if necessary, for up to £150-200 pounds?

 

[wizard]

Hold the fan hub of the one you think if faulty with your finger when you turn the PC on so it doesn't spin, after a short time period let go of it and see if the noise comes back.

Thanks! Tried this and IT IS that first fan making the noise. Silent when I held that one but as soon as i left it, it started spinning and the noise is back!

Is this repairable or should I replace it? If I replace it, can I get similar "non gaming" type (as I said above, PC for general use now

 

[wizard]

You could try begging a replacement fan from Gigabyte. What I would probably do is swap the noisy fan, which appears to be the one which has run the most often if the others only come on with increased load, swap that fan with one of the others, preferably the one which comes on last if any. You could maybe also try lubing the noisy fan with some sewing machine oil, there will be youtube guides on that. All this relies on you being able to dismantle the cooler to gain access. How much you need to dismantle depends on the design.

Thanks. Unlikely Gigabyte will entertain a six year old fan but as you say, may try and swap with the 2nd one of the three. Normally only the first one (noise one) spins all the time, so most used.

Again, worst come scenario, any suggestions for a replacement as per my 1st post?

 

[wizard]

Regards swapping fans round, I've had a look at an image of that card and annoyingly one of the three fans looks to be designed to rotate in the opposite direction to the other two, I guess for specific air flow, so if you're unlucky it will the the odd one out which will be the noisy one, centre fan looking at the image. Then again even if you swapped it with one of the others you would still get air flow, just not where it was intended. If the card is only going to be used for light work then it would still be enough I would say. I can't recommend a new card myself, I only ever go for top of the range cards when it comes to replacements, never really looked at low to mid range. But a second hand card on the members market would I would look first, if it is just a web browsing pc and that.

Which image did you look at please? Not many around for that particular 3 fan card. Mine faulty fan is the one nearest to the PC case.

 

[wizard]

Which image did you look at please? Not many around for that particular 3 fan card. Mine faulty fan is the one nearest to the PC case.

But a second hand card on the members market would I would look first, if it is just a web browsing pc and that.

Sorry, where is the members market here, never used it before - Just found it BUT requires 1000 posts I think

 

[wizard]

The even lazier option would be to simply unplug the cable for the noisy fan and leave everything else as is. You may even be able to tweez the connector out of its socket without dismantling anything. What will happen is the card will heat up to the point where it will simply fire up the other two fans, which I am confident will cool the card enough for none gaming. It might end up cycling between no fans and two fans, but if you are interested in lazy, this is the lazy option.

edit: OP I see you have scrapped your card, I'll have it off you as I easily qualify for the levels of laziness I describe in this post! j/k

Thanks guys. I was barking up the wrong tree. The Shroud on top of the PCH fan was almost covered with dust. Removed the shroud and the PCH fan speed dropped by half. However, it was not the PCH Fan after all. I then got a sound meter and found the GPU fan to be the culprit! The card has found a home in my other backup PC once I have fixed the fan issue. Easier now as the main PC is working with the new fan.

 

[wizard]

Yep, didn't really understand any of that, but glad you've got it sorted.

In short, I thought it was the PCH Fan issue but it turned out to be the GPU fan problem!