Resonating noise

[prochobo]

It's not quite a rattle, it's just a really really annoying sound. I figured out it's my exhaust fan making the noise and it uses rubber fasteners to connect to the back. Is this sound normal (my other case did this too)? I have an Antec P-160 if that matters.

 

[zagood]

With fans running, put your finger on each fan to see if it changes the sound quality that you're hearing. If you have rubber fasteners that decouple the fans from the case, it's probably not those fans. If you have ones that hold the fans directly on the case then that's probably the culprit. Look into different mounts or silicone gaskets.

If the noise is consistent and it's not your case fans, it's probably your PSU. They make gaskets for those as well.

-z

 

[Zepper]

I use rope caulk (sold under the Mortite and Frost King names) to damp vibration conduction noise and overly ringy panels. Inexpensive and does the job, just be sure to clean the surfaces before applying so it will stay in place.

.bh.

 

[Shadowknight]

Get some rubber fan mounts, such as the boxed Nexus kit at endpcnoise.com, or the mounts at veraxfans.com under accessories.

 

[Zepper]

Also some PWM fan controllers can cause some sleeve-bearing fans to buzz and ball-bearing fans to whine.

.bh.

 

[Ken90630]

These are great. I swear by 'em. They're soft, malleable, thin silica gel gaskets that fit between your fan and case (they also make 'em for PSUs). I used them with my fans & PSU on my self-built rig and have never had any vibration or resonance probs (and it's an aluminum case).

Depending on how old your resonating fan is, it might just be wearing out to the point that the hub is vibrating and causing the resonance noise (particularly if it's a cheapy sleeve-bearing fan). Either way, using one of those gaskets or getting a new fan should be a quick & inexpensive fix.

That rope that Zep mentioned is an interesting idea too for general panel resonances. I'll have to file that away for future reference.

Ken