[SOLVED] Corsair H110i Humming Sound Stops with One Fan Unplugged

Feb 6, 2019
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Hi. So, earlier today I unmounted my Corsair H110i to wash the radiator out, which I have done before, and never had issues with. This was partly because it was dirty, and partly because I wanted to apply some new thermal compound (I was using some really crappy stuff and bought better).

Now, the cooler is working perfectly, and my temps are better than before- much better, actually- than with the old compound. The problem is that there is a humming sound, which I can feel as vibration on the case, and through my desk, which was not there before. The really interesting part, to me, is that it stops completely if I unplug one of the two radiator fans. It doesn't matter which fan is unplugged, the humming sound and vibration stop completely. It also stops if, with my hand at the top left of the case, I tilt it right slightly, but not if I tilt it to the left.

I have no idea what to do here. Should I just replace both fans, or is there something obvious and simple I've overlooked? Everything is tightened down, nothing is loose. The fact that there are two ways to stop it makes me wonder exactly what is going on; if it stops when only one fan is powered, regardless of which, why does tilting it have a similar effect?

The noise is not particularly loud, but it is juuust noticeable enough, and the vibration just strong enough, to be constantly heard and felt. Unless I listen to something amazingly loud, but then I can still feel it.
 
Solution
a pair of fans each supply a small amount of torque/vibration to case...; when a pair of them are running, probably some resonant freq conducive to vibration occurs. You might be able to eliminate the humming with tightening of all fan mounts, mounting them with electrical tape as a shock absorber, adjustment of fan rotation speeds, etc.,. Not indicative of a hardware issue, more of an 'annoying magic resonant mysterious vibration'....; good luck with it,
a pair of fans each supply a small amount of torque/vibration to case...; when a pair of them are running, probably some resonant freq conducive to vibration occurs. You might be able to eliminate the humming with tightening of all fan mounts, mounting them with electrical tape as a shock absorber, adjustment of fan rotation speeds, etc.,. Not indicative of a hardware issue, more of an 'annoying magic resonant mysterious vibration'....; good luck with it,
 
Solution