Is fan wobble dangerous?

rn2 · 26 Nov 2018 at 08:57

Recently I have replaced a noctua fan with another via RMA and both had fan wobble. So I went for the Arctics and both of them have wobble (different sizes too) so is this kind of standard for a lot of fans these days? and should I be worried? I have checked the space between the fan and the fan casing and the rotation looks like a smooth rotation comapred to the centre of the fan that has the wobble.

Grandmaster Fap! · 26 Nov 2018 at 10:10

You sure youre not seeing an off center sticker?

andicole0 · 26 Nov 2018 at 10:17

Can you feel the fan wobble?
Andi.

Glanza · 26 Nov 2018 at 10:55

I'd be surprised if you've had 3+ fans that all wobble it's rare these days to get 1.

Tupro · 26 Nov 2018 at 11:14

yeah fans can give a sort of optical illusion so they look like they wobble.. low rpm, fin shape etc can all cause it

best thing to do is look at it directly side on and see if things are moving in a way they shouldnt be

willhub · 26 Nov 2018 at 11:17

It'll be the sticker lol.

rn2 · 26 Nov 2018 at 11:54

Tupro said:
yeah fans can give a sort of optical illusion so they look like they wobble.. low rpm, fin shape etc can all cause it

best thing to do is look at it directly side on and see if things are moving in a way they shouldnt be

I have only seen the 140mm from the back and there's definately play in this fan and the 120mm too when looking at any of them from the sides, I also just noticed that the 140mm started to rattle and I had to touch the blade for it to stop rattling, piece of **** was only put on there the other day. I hope Arctic RMA sends fans out before wanting me to take it out the case like Noctua did.

andicole0 said:
Can you feel the fan wobble?
Andi.

Not really on the 120mm because it is only slight, I haven't tried on the other fan as I can't get to it but it's worse anyway and needs RMAing due to ticking too.

mattyfez · 26 Nov 2018 at 21:35

Any actual wobble would result in more noise and a short life, surely?

Are you just talking about visualy, or noise /vibration?

rn2 · 27 Nov 2018 at 11:52

mattyfez said:
Any actual wobble would result in more noise and a short life, surely?

Are you just talking about visualy, or noise /vibration?

The 120mm is as silent as I think I will get an Arctic fan (from experience) so I will keep it on the cpu despite the very slight wobble but the 140mm wobble is clearly seen straight away, it also has started to hum on speed up and down plus the ticking sometimes so I beleive that it is detective and I will RMA it once the stores refund policy is up as I threw out the box

.

This is the EMail I got back from Arctic.

The bearing cannot 100% balanced so a slight wobble is normal and is acceptable, it does not affect the performance and the lifespan. If you believe that they are defective or exceeded the acceptable range, you may return them to us for confirmation. Please provide a copy of invoice/receipt for warranty service.