Question Watercooler noise ?

[ladylella]

hello guys,
I just assembled my first gaming computer (I'm not an expert) I noticed that when I play Ark Survival one of the fans of my watercooler makes noise while my boyfriend who has the exact same computer has no problems and the temperature of his processor is 50° while mine reaches 60° (while we play ark survival) we thought that I might have tightened the fan too much or too little and therefore it could cause some vibrations or noise can you tell me what you think? Is the water cooler broken? (sry for my bad english)

PC specs:

Mobo: B550M Aorus Elite
CPU: Ryzen 5 5600x
GPU: Asus GeForce 4070 OC Dual
RAM: 32GB Viper Steel
Cooler: Zircon Oversteel 240
SSD: Fanxiang ss80 pcie 4.0 1tb
PSU: Corsair RM850e
Chassis: marsgaming mc-view

 

[Aeacus]

one of the fans of my watercooler makes noise

Sounds like a bad fan bearing.

If you increase/decrease that fan RPM, does the noise go away or goes worse?

 

[ladylella]

if the RPM increases the fan makes more noise, should I buy a new watercooler or can I just buy a new fan? If the fan is faulty could the CPU overheat?

 

[geofelt]

First of all, 60c. under gaming load is not bad at all.
From that point of view, you need do nothing.
My first guess is that the pump has not been mounted properly.
If it is not mounted level, it will not make good contact.
One needs to tighten down the mounting screws little by little in a criss cross manner.
AIO coolers will tend to be noisier.
Your case supports a air cooler as tall as 158mm.
A twin tower cooler near that size will cool just as effectively as a 240 aio.
For some $34, you could install a Thermalright peerless assassin:
https://www.amazon.com/Thermalright-Peerless-Assassin-120-Cooler/dp/B09LGY38L4?th=1
cpu cooling will be about the same, but cooling your graphics card will be better.

Did you know that aio coolers have a limited lifetime.
The mechanical pump will fail or get clogged.
Air will permeate through the tubes making the cooler ineffective.
Think 5 years.

 

[ladylella]

I know that the water cooler breaks after a few years (I'll be upgrading my computer soon) and I thank you for the information and for advising me to give the pump a squeeze, I'll do it immediately but I would still like to change the fan if possible with another one, me and my boyfriend got the same watercooler and his has no problem while mine has a fan that makes noise and I would simply like to replace it, if I buy two 120mm fans can i replace them or there are specific fans for watercoolers?

 

[35below0]

Check with the manufacturer/manual. I think you can replace fans easily enough as long as theyr'e the same type and size.

 

[ladylella]

This is what the Manual says, will any 120mm fan work? I don't think it says the type of fan (I'm very sorry but I'm not an expert in these things) what should I write on google, stuff like: 120mm fan 1800rpm?

 

[Aeacus]

Did you know that aio coolers have a limited lifetime.
The mechanical pump will fail or get clogged.
Air will permeate through the tubes making the cooler ineffective.
Think 5 years.

For that cheap AIO, i'd say 2 years best.

if the RPM increases the fan makes more noise, should I buy a new watercooler or can I just buy a new fan? If the fan is faulty could the CPU overheat?

That's bad fan bearing, unless fan blades aren't hitting the frame.

New 120mm fan fixes the issue. Also, your AIO has two 120mm fans, so when one fan doesn't work, AIO still has some level of cooling.

This is what the Manual says, will any 120mm fan work? I don't think it says the type of fan (I'm very sorry but I'm not an expert in these things) what should I write on google, stuff like: 120mm fan 1800rpm?

Pick any you like,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/case-fan/#s=120&sort=price&page=1

Filtered the results to show 120mm fans and ordered it by price.

Note: Since the default fan is ARGB, i can't tell what kind of RGB control method it uses. So, when you go with new ARGB fan, other than the default one, you may run into issues of controlling the replacement fan LEDs. In that sense, i agree with geofelt, whereby getting air cooler instead. Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE is king of air coolers and also costs little. It would offer better CPU cooler performance than your cheap, no-name AIO. Also, will last FAR longer as well.

 

[ladylella]

I know I have already said it but I would like to point out that my boyfriend and I have the same computer and that its processor did not go beyond 50°. I discovered thanks to your help that the pump on my computer was mounted incorrectly or I had put too little thermal paste I also understood that if my computer reaches 60° or higher the fans of my watercooler start to spin faster and cause this annoying noise I don't think that the fans are defective but that they are of low quality and once they start to turn fast they cause the noise now my processor is at 50/55° max I solved the problem thanks for your advice guys

 

[Aeacus]

my boyfriend and I have the same computer

Even if you have identical hardware, there are differences in manufacturing process (namely CPU) and one can not compare both PCs equally.

This is most evident when you try to OC the CPU. E.g your CPU may hold stable OC of 5Ghz but no matter what your BF does, his CPU will not be stable at 5Ghz, instead, his CPU is stable at e.g 4.8Ghz. And that despite the both CPUs being R5 5600X.

once they start to turn fast they cause the noise

Then it may be airflow noise.
Airflow noise is like smooth "swoosh", while bearing noise is like dull crackling. Fan blades hitting fan frame (or loose cable) is more like high-pitched crackling, where rhythm goes faster when fan starts to spin faster.

If the fan RPM range is up to ~2000 RPM;
Airflow noise usually can be heard from 1100-2000 RPM.
Bearing noise usually is at certain RPM range, e.g 1200-1300 RPM. If fan spins less than 1200 or more than 1300, there is no bearing noise.
Hitting fan frame or loose cable noise will be at all times when fan spins, where rhythm goes faster if fan starts to spin faster.

I solved the problem thanks for your advice guys

👍

 

[ladylella]

in any case I don't recommend this zircon 240 oversteel to anyone. sometimes it's better to spend a little more money I'm sure there is much better on the market

 

[Aeacus]

in any case I don't recommend this zircon 240 oversteel to anyone. sometimes it's better to spend a little more money I'm sure there is much better on the market

Based on the price alone, i can tell that it's cheap AIO. On top of that, it is no-name brand without any reputable reviews of the AIO. So, another reason why not to buy it.

As of proper AIO, further reading: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-cpu-coolers,4181.html#section-best-aio-coolers
Arctic Cooling Liquid Freezer II series is solid. Though, i prefer air coolers myself, for several reasons (namely cost, longevity and leakage risks of AIOs).