[SOLVED] Why does my Meshify S2 case make a vibrating noise?

[mike2012]

I have a new computer with a Meshify S2 case. Reviews of the case are mostly great. But I have a problem with mines, there is a vibrating noise from the front fans. Did I just get a faulty case?

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

Did I just get a faulty case?

you would have to determine what exactly is making the noise.

a loosely attached fan, a damaged or faulty fan, something rubbing on a fan blade?
a loose screw in the case itself, drive brackets, attached drives, or another component?
a loose motherboard standoff?
could be a case rivet or a front panel attachment that isn't seated properly.

if it is a fan making the noise, that's not a faulty case, just a faulty fan.
Fractal Design usually has very good customer support, they would more than likely send a replacement fan pretty quickly\easily.

 

[Colif]

The case doesn't have moving parts apart from the fans, so its likely one of them. NO fancy front door like the new ones, shame about that.

I Have an Meshify S2, but I moved front fans to top and put AIO in where fans were. I have plans to replace top ones with Noctua fans one day. Not as much of a priority for me as I am heading towards winter here.

 

[mike2012]

you would have to determine what exactly is making the noise.

a loosely attached fan, a damaged or faulty fan, something rubbing on a fan blade?
a loose screw in the case itself, drive brackets, attached drives, or another component?
a loose motherboard standoff?
could be a case rivet or a front panel attachment that isn't seated properly.

if it is a fan making the noise, that's not a faulty case, just a faulty fan.
Fractal Design usually has very good customer support, they would more than likely send a replacement fan pretty quickly\easily.

Hmm, the thing is I did send the case back to Microcenter. The guys there said they didn't really hear the vibrating noise. So I don't
think it would be the fans.

But I might try to open it up to see what causes the noise.

The case doesn't have moving parts apart from the fans, so its likely one of them. NO fancy front door like the new ones, shame about that.

I Have an Meshify S2, but I moved front fans to top and put AIO in where fans were. I have plans to replace top ones with Noctua fans one day. Not as much of a priority for me as I am heading towards winter here.

So would it be a good idea to just replace the 140mm front fans?

 

[Colif]

i would isolate the noise and make sure it is the fans before replacing it. But yes, if its rattling and annoying you, might as well get some better fans to replace them.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

pretty easy to determine if it is actually a fan making the noise.
just lightly press on the center of each fan until it stops and see if the noise stops along with it.

 

[Karadjgne]

If you have a HDD, sometimes they can vibrate the frame if not properly isolated with rubber mounts, and that can cause joining surfaces to create noise.

You can check that by flexing one corner of the case while holding the opposite corner. It's most evident with cases that have a snap-in front cover that's a fraction of a millimeter loose or gapped between the frame and cover. Just picking up the case and moving it can change the orientation enough that it's not surprising the guys at Microcenter didn't hear it, as the pc would be sitting on a rubber workmat of some sort.

 

[mike2012]

you would have to determine what exactly is making the noise.

a loosely attached fan, a damaged or faulty fan, something rubbing on a fan blade?
a loose screw in the case itself, drive brackets, attached drives, or another component?
a loose motherboard standoff?
could be a case rivet or a front panel attachment that isn't seated properly.

if it is a fan making the noise, that's not a faulty case, just a faulty fan.
Fractal Design usually has very good customer support, they would more than likely send a replacement fan pretty quickly\easily.

Hmm, I'll try to determine what is making the noise. Oddly, if I increase the speed of the case fans, it doesn't change; the humming is still there.

The case doesn't have moving parts apart from the fans, so its likely one of them. NO fancy front door like the new ones, shame about that.

I Have an Meshify S2, but I moved front fans to top and put AIO in where fans were. I have plans to replace top ones with Noctua fans one day. Not as much of a priority for me as I am heading towards winter here.

Could replacing the standard fans with Noctua fans stop the vibrating perhaps?

If you have a HDD, sometimes they can vibrate the frame if not properly isolated with rubber mounts, and that can cause joining surfaces to create noise.

You can check that by flexing one corner of the case while holding the opposite corner. It's most evident with cases that have a snap-in front cover that's a fraction of a millimeter loose or gapped between the frame and cover. Just picking up the case and moving it can change the orientation enough that it's not surprising the guys at Microcenter didn't hear it, as the pc would be sitting on a rubber workmat of some sort.

No HDD in this build.

Should I just try another case? Or try replacing the fans?

 

[Colif]

i would try different fans as there shouldn't be anything else that rattles in the case. All I ever hear is the fans that came with case, I know as i turned the AIO fans off for a minute and noticed I couldn't tell any difference. So Noctuas could be all you need - I want to buy 2 later this year myself.

 

[Karadjgne]

Twist the frame on the case slightly. If the hum disappears, you have something loose somewhere, a bad rivet or 1 screw on a fan not tight enough etc.

Vibrations make sound, but only if the thing vibrating has some sort of resonance or contact with another object. All it takes is 1 off balance blade (usually dust buildup behind it) or a hdd that's loose with no rubber anti-vibration mount etc. That vibration will travel throughout the case and if there's something that's not making solid, hard contact, it'll move and rub against its mound, making sound.