[SOLVED] Low humming noise from CPU fan after extended PC uptime

[HWright001]

Hello! I have a intel i7-9700 in my system with a stock fan and I have a peculiar problem. I'm noticing a very low but audible humming noise coming from the stock fan/CPU area after about 5+ hours of uptime of my computer. I am 100% certain that it has something to do with the fan because whenever I adjust the CPU fan profile in my BIOS (Silent/Standard/Performance/etc..) the noise stops for awhile and then reappears again after some time. The noise only seems to occur if I'm NOT using the computer and just let the system run for a few hours and come back to it. It's like being idle too long is the problem, not heavy or even moderate continuous use. The fan running at a heavy workload rate (80%) actually causes the noise to disappear. The noise is pretty quite and most importantly my CPU and case temps. are all fine even after multiple hours of heavy load from gaming, etc.. I know replacing the fan seems to be the obvious solution, but I'm not even sure if its the fan itself or maybe a bizarre case airflow issue. It could even be something like coil whine at the CPU, but I don't understand why that would only occur after prolonged idle time and not at the start of the PC or during heavy load. Does anyone have experience with this or can provide any information?

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

one way to absolutely prove if it is this fan or not is to gently press on the center of the fan as the noise is being produced.
as the fan slows and stops the sound will also.

some fans have issue with certain RPMs where they may wobble and/or their bearings may produce a type of noise.
so the fact that it only happens at certain temperatures or during a certain type of usage can be common.

 

[HWright001]

one way to absolutely prove if it is this fan or not is to gently press on the center of the fan as the noise is being produced.
as the fan slows and stops the sound will also.

Hi! I have done this and the noise does indeed go away when I push the fan into the CPU slightly. Is this a cause for concern or typical from an Intel stock CPU fan? Breaking down my system to install a new CPU fan is not something I really want to do right now unless I have too.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

unless you see temperatures significantly increasing there would be no problem except for the annoying sound.

i would always recommend an aftermarket cooler for any i7 though.