Reducing Case Fan Vibration?

[Areyn13]

So i recently upgraded my case and replaced all the stock chassis fans with Corsair AF140's & AF120's (2 Intake Front, 1 Exhaust Top & 1 Exhaust Back). While the fan "Air Flow" noise is expected, i can also hear a slight humming coming from my case. When i apply a bit of pressure to the areas of my case where the 140's are installed (top and front) the humming/vibration stops. 

After looking online for solutions, I found some Anti-Vibration Mounting Bolts & Pads by Noctua. So I was wondering, would installing these instead of the traditional screws dampen the vibrating "Hum" I hear?

[MrImnotMLG]

They should. Most likely its the vibrations transferring to the case.

[GuruMeditationError]

Yes...if it stops as easily as by just pressing the case then silicone fan mounts instead of screws should help it...the next step are cilicone fan gaskets but to be honest if silicone fan mounts won't help it, gaskets probably won't do much either.

Gaskets are good for absorbing as much vibration as you can but they can be expensive to fit your entire case out with.

I have a fan that only makes a noise when pressed on one side of my side panel in one direction...any other orientation it's fine but in that one position it makes a whining sound with the tonal qualities of a siren...I don't know why this is, it's an anomaly but it does happen...I had a similar problem with Akasa Vipers in the front of my case, I swapped them for Akasa Apaches which are identical in every way but the material they're made from and it solved the problem...

 

...sometimes it's just trial and error and there's a bit of an art too it if you need to get things as quite as is possible but the situation you have seems pretty straight forward and silicone fan mounts should help.

Also, I just pulled all of my 140mm fans and replaced them with 120mm...the 140mm fans were just too loud....but my 120mm fans are super-efficient, and I live in quite a cold country, so (as they say) your mileage may vary.

[WoodenMarker]

You should first make sure that the humming is indeed from your fans. Does stopping the fans with your hands stop the noise?

[Areyn13]

8 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

You should first make sure that the humming is indeed from your fans. Does stopping the fans with your hands stop the noise?

Well considering the humming stops when a tiny amount of pressure is added to the case fan areas, I'd say it's probably the fans yes. My CPU Fan is super quiet and GPU barely makes a noise. PSU is also in it's own cage area with the S340.

[WoodenMarker]

15 hours ago, Areyn13 said:

Well considering the humming stops when a tiny amount of pressure is added to the case fan areas, I'd say it's probably the fans yes. My CPU Fan is super quiet and GPU barely makes a noise. PSU is also in it's own cage area with the S340.

Touching the case will reduce case resonance regardless of what's causing it. You should be stopping the fan to make sure it's not coming from something else.

[Areyn13]

On 4/29/2017 at 6:43 AM, WoodenMarker said:

Touching the case will reduce case resonance regardless of what's causing it. You should be stopping the fan to make sure it's not coming from something else.

So after some assessment, I've noticed most of the noise is in fact coming from the top mounted 140mm exhaust fan. I've heard sleeve bearing style fans don't play well when mounted horizontally, but I like the idea of a top and back exhaust. I also found that loosening the top exhaust fan screws slightly so they no longer completely touch the case reduced the noise quite noticeably, so maybe silicone mounts might help?

[WoodenMarker]

36 minutes ago, Areyn13 said:

So after some assessment, I've noticed most of the noise is in fact coming from the top mounted 140mm exhaust fan. I've heard sleeve bearing style fans don't play well when mounted horizontally, but I like the idea of a top and back exhaust. I also found that loosening the top exhaust fan screws slightly so they no longer completely touch the case reduced the noise quite noticeably, so maybe silicone mounts might help?

That might help a bit. Depending on what fan you have, it may be better to just replace the fan if you want one in that position.