Question Fan is making an awful grinding noise ?

[koberulz]

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qbnxwcnolhskiqut1a1x1/fan.mp3?rlkey=xwukti8vrkp4a2l3k2xcrsjps&dl=0

It's quite loud. Occasionally there's a bit of a "thunk" and it shuts up for a bit. Sometimes it falls silent on its own. Placing an audio recording device in the vicinity seems to temporarily resolve the issue.

Yanked it from the motherboard to make it STFU, but not sure if this is just a replace-the-fan thing or if there might be something else at play?

 

[USAFRet]

Its either loose in the mounting, or it is time to replace.

 

[koberulz]

I doubt it's loose in the mounting, it's been in place for many years and when the grinding turns to a thunk you can see it flat out stop. Just wasn't sure if there might be some sort of mobo or power issue or something that was worth investigating.

Now I just have to figure out what type of fan it is, and finish up the million things I'm in the middle of so I can actually shut down the PC...I do need to swap out my UPS, too, so this might be the time for that as well. Just gotta find one that doesn't suck.

 

[CountMike]

I doubt it's loose in the mounting, it's been in place for many years and when the grinding turns to a thunk you can see it flat out stop. Just wasn't sure if there might be some sort of mobo or power issue or something that was worth investigating.

Now I just have to figure out what type of fan it is, and finish up the million things I'm in the middle of so I can actually shut down the PC...I do need to swap out my UPS, too, so this might be the time for that as well. Just gotta find one that doesn't suck.

Fans go by size, just measure the circle around blades. For power, unless that's some server case they would have 3 or 4 wires and run at 12vDC maximum. Older ones may have just 3 wires and are voltage controlled but 4ost 4 wired ones will also work.

 

[koberulz]

So I replaced the case fans, and now my CPU fan is making a racket...it's a Cooler Master Hyper 212X, do I need to replace the entire heat sink here? Because that's a whole lot more complicated.

Also one of my case fans hooks into the PSU, not the mobo, and just....doesn't ever spin. I have no idea what's happening there or why. Can't replace it with one of the new fans I bought because they have motherboard connectors.

 

[USAFRet]

So I replaced the case fans, and now my CPU fan is making a racket...it's a Cooler Master Hyper 212X, do I need to replace the entire heat sink here? Because that's a whole lot more complicated.

Also one of my case fans hooks into the PSU, not the mobo, and just....doesn't ever spin. I have no idea what's happening there or why. Can't replace it with one of the new fans I bought because they have motherboard connectors.

For that Hyper 212, you can replace just the fan.

 

[koberulz]

For that Hyper 212, you can replace just the fan.

This is all I can find: https://www.ple.com.au/Search/hyper 212

 

[USAFRet]

This is all I can find: https://www.ple.com.au/Search/hyper 212

I think any 120mm fan will work as a replacement.

 

[COLGeek]

I think any 120mm fan will work as a replacement.

This is true. Any standard 120mm case fan will fit.

 

[koberulz]

I think any 120mm fan will work as a replacement.

This is true. Any standard 120mm case fan will fit.

The current fan clips onto the heat sink, it seems nothing like a standard case fan to me?

Any answers on this other fan that's wired to the PSU and doesn't run? Can I just unhook it and get some sort of splitter so I can connect two case fans to the one mobo port?

 

[USAFRet]

The current fan clips onto the heat sink, it seems nothing like a standard case fan to me?

Any answers on this other fan that's wired to the PSU and doesn't run? Can I just unhook it and get some sort of splitter so I can connect two case fans to the one mobo port?

Cooler Master Hyper 212X Review

Cooler Master is updating the Hyper line of CPU coolers with the Hyper 212X. Featuring a time-tested, single-tower design much like its predecessors, the Hyper 212X looks to build upon their success. Bringing better performance and lower noise levels to the table, this evolution on the 212 EVO...

www.techpowerup.com

The fan should unscrew from the clip thing.

 

[koberulz]

Cooler Master Hyper 212X Review

Cooler Master is updating the Hyper line of CPU coolers with the Hyper 212X. Featuring a time-tested, single-tower design much like its predecessors, the Hyper 212X looks to build upon their success. Bringing better performance and lower noise levels to the table, this evolution on the 212 EVO...

www.techpowerup.com

The fan should unscrew from the clip thing.

There appear to be rubber pads glued over the screw heads.

 

[USAFRet]

There appear to be rubber pads glued over the screw heads.

And you peel them off.

 

[koberulz]

And you peel them off.

I would assume they're there for a reason, though, and thus removing them would be a bad idea. They don't seem like the sort of thing I'll be able to stick back down if I take them off.

 

[COLGeek]

Aesthetics, not function. Removal will harm nothing.

 

[koberulz]

Fair enough. Turns out it came with a second set of clips so I didn't even need to muck around with it...and that the original fan had been installed backwards, blowing air into the heatsink rather than away from it.

 

[USAFRet]

and that the original fan had been installed backwards, blowing air into the heatsink rather than away from it.

Thats not necessarily 'backwards'.

In the context of the whole case, you want that fan pushing air to the back of the case.
Pushing air through the heatsink is not a problem.

 

[koberulz]

Thats not necessarily 'backwards'.

In the context of the whole case, you want that fan pushing air to the back of the case.
Pushing air through the heatsink is not a problem.

Interesting...that's not what the page I found said. In that case it was correct, though I've now flipped it so it's going both towards the back of the case and away from the heatsink.

 

[USAFRet]

Interesting...that's not what the page I found said. In that case it was correct, though I've now flipped it so it's going both towards the back of the case and away from the heatsink.

And if the fan were on the other side of the fins, next to the RAM....it would be blowing through the fins, still to the back of the case.

 

[koberulz]

I'm still not sure what the story is with the rear fan: it's the only thing left in the case at this point that's as old as the case is, so I can only assume that at some point I replaced whatever made it work. It's not connected to the motherboard at all—it doesn't have the correct connector to go to the mobo and the mobo doesn't have a spare spot to plug it into either—but it is wired into the PSU, and definitely worked at some point.

 

[CountMike]

I'm still not sure what the story is with the rear fan: it's the only thing left in the case at this point that's as old as the case is, so I can only assume that at some point I replaced whatever made it work. It's not connected to the motherboard at all—it doesn't have the correct connector to go to the mobo and the mobo doesn't have a spare spot to plug it into either—but it is wired into the PSU, and definitely worked at some point.

When plugged directly to PSU (Usually thru MOLEX connector) there's no fan control so if it doesn't run its either bad contact or burnt out fan. As for "spare spot" you can use normal fan with 3 or 4 pins/wires and connect it together with any other case fan using 2, 3 or more in one splitter cable or a hub. That way you can control their speed together.