Fan motor humming / rattling noise and PWM

[Fuogvarex]

Hi,

 

I bought a [Silent Base 802] from Be quiet that comes with 3x[Pure Wings 2 140mm] fans connected to the case PWM fan hub, itselft connected on the Asus Rog Strix x570-F motherboard on a the CHA 4 pin.

My ventirad is a Dark Rock Pro 4 with 1x [Silent Wings 3 120mm PWM] + 1x [Silent Wings 135mm PWM]. Those silent wings seems to be fine.

Heat to manage : Ryzen 3700x and RTX 3060. 

 

I wanted the most silent case possible at idle / office / web use, but I am disapointed about a little but audible rattling motor noise coming from the 3x[Pure Wings 2 140mm] fans so I plan to change my fans.

I'd go for [Silent Wings 3 140mm] because the 120mm doesn't have artifact noise.

Is there any other fan without any humming noise ?

 

I have some extra questions for you guys :

I went on Noctua's site and I don't understand if their redux serie is only package redux or also quality redux ?

Can I connect a 3 pin fan to a PWM fan hub to reduce speed without any damage ?

Is there any point to put noctua's LNA adapters between fans and a PWM fan hub ?

 

Thanks

[PandaGab68]

Same here, but I did get the Silentwing 3 (x2) as intake and it is not quieter by any stretch. IMO it just have the posibility of getting even louder than the purewing. Don't get me wrong tho! There are silent until approx. 55%-60% but pass that !! They are as loud as the purewing or maybe even worst.

 

With that said : 

 

'' I went on Noctua's site and I don't understand if their redux serie is only package redux or also quality redux ?''

Their Redux line-up use their SSO bearings instead of the SSO2 (upgraded version). The package will comme with the fan and screws. No spliters, no vibration pads and the most obvious : grey on grey. (I have nf-p12 and nf-p12 redux and imo, their the same but a bit louder at high rpm)

 

'' Is there any point to put noctua's LNA adapters between fans and a PWM fan hub ? ''

Yes as it will reduce the max speed, therefore the sound. 

 

I don't have answer to the 2nd one but I'd guess you'd be ok since I do it and my pc didn't explode. BUT i don't have an real explanation for you on that one. 

 

And for what I would do ? as much as a noctua lover that I am, there aren't cheap. So I went on the P14 (by arctic) route to see if it's any brighter there. 

 

Hope it help.  

[Fuogvarex]

2 hours ago, PandaGab68 said:

Same here, but I did get the Silentwing 3 (x2) as intake and it is not quieter by any stretch. IMO it just have the posibility of getting even louder than the purewing. Don't get me wrong tho! There are silent until approx. 55%-60% but pass that !! They are as loud as the purewing or maybe even worst.

The [Pure Wings 2 140mm] makes a small rattling sound that bothers me, it doesn't get louder as the fan runs faster, but the "tic" frequency gets higher. That's why I guess it is a "motor noise". The blowing sound is not disturbing, it is smooth and soft and the Silent Base 802 makes is quiet.

 

What I'm looking for is a 140mm fan that don't make "motor noise" at all.

It seems that the [Silent Wings 3 120mm PWM] delivered with my ventirad doesn't do that. Be quiet! describe on their site for the Silent Wings 3 "6-pole fan motor with three phases giving very low power consumption and less vibration", I guess this what corrects the noise I'm talking about.

 

I saw on a french hardware forum someone with 3 diffent Be quiet! fans, according to him, the humming noise was :

- Present on the [Silent Wings 2 140mm PWM],

- Slightly audible on the [Silent Wings 3 140mm PWM], that I confirm with 120mm, it is there but if you put your head in the case

- Completly absent on the [Silent Wings 2 ??mm DC]

 

Is this a PWM counterpart ? Handled by Silent Wings 3 only ?

 

2 hours ago, PandaGab68 said:

Their Redux line-up use their SSO bearings instead of the SSO2 (upgraded version). 

I checked : Noctua says for SSO :

"Combining the proven concept of hydrodynamic bearing with an additional magnet that supports the self-stabilisation of the rotor axis, our time-tested SSO-Bearing technology has become synonymous with supremely quiet operation and exceptional long-term stability"

"In addition to the stabilisation during the start-up phase of the fan, the supporting magnet allows for a more exact centring of the axis within the bearing shell and thus further reduces bearing resistance, abrasion and noise emission."

"The SSO bearing not only surpasses the quietness of conventional sleeve bearings but also the long-term stability of current top-of-the-line ball bearings."

"Silent enthusiasts and industry clients alike swear by its proven, time-tested quality."

https://noctua.at/en/sso-bearing   https://noctua.at/en/sso2-bearing

 

So according to them, they are completly silent.

But I can read on reddit people complaining about Noctua NF-A14 PWM humming noise...

 

2 hours ago, PandaGab68 said:

''Is there any point to put noctua's LNA adapters between fans and a PWM fan hub ? ''

Yes as it will reduce the max speed, therefore the sound. 

 

I don't have answer to the 2nd one but I'd guess you'd be ok since I do it and my pc didn't explode. BUT i don't have an real explanation for you on that one. 

And for what I would do ? as much as a noctua lover that I am, there aren't cheap. So I went on the P14 (by arctic) route to see if it's any brighter there. 

 

Hope it help.  

It does, thanks !

Edited May 19, 2021 by Sbilit
More details for future reader

[WoodenMarker]

On 5/19/2021 at 10:23 AM, PandaGab68 said:

'' Is there any point to put noctua's LNA adapters between fans and a PWM fan hub ? ''

Yes as it will reduce the max speed, therefore the sound. 

The LNA is only good if there's otherwise no fan control. It doesn't let the fan run any slower than it otherwise can with fan control. 

On 5/19/2021 at 11:58 AM, Sbilit said:

The [Pure Wings 2 140mm] makes a small rattling sound that bothers me, it doesn't get louder as the fan runs faster, but the "tic" frequency gets higher. That's why I guess it is a "motor noise". The blowing sound is not disturbing, it is smooth and soft and the Silent Base 802 makes is quiet.

 

What I'm looking for is a 140mm fan that don't make "motor noise" at all.

It seems that the [Silent Wings 3 120mm PWM] delivered with my ventirad doesn't do that. Be quiet! describe on their site for the Silent Wings 3 "6-pole fan motor with three phases giving very low power consumption and less vibration", I guess this what corrects the noise I'm talking about.

 

I saw on a french hardware forum someone with 3 diffent Be quiet! fans, according to him, the humming noise was :

- Present on the [Silent Wings 2 140mm PWM],

- Slightly audible on the [Silent Wings 3 140mm PWM], that I confirm with 120mm, it is there but if you put your head in the case

- Completly absent on the [Silent Wings 2 ??mm DC]

 

Is this a PWM counterpart ? Handled by Silent Wings 3 only ?

 

I checked : Noctua says for SSO :

"Combining the proven concept of hydrodynamic bearing with an additional magnet that supports the self-stabilisation of the rotor axis, our time-tested SSO-Bearing technology has become synonymous with supremely quiet operation and exceptional long-term stability"

"In addition to the stabilisation during the start-up phase of the fan, the supporting magnet allows for a more exact centring of the axis within the bearing shell and thus further reduces bearing resistance, abrasion and noise emission."

"The SSO bearing not only surpasses the quietness of conventional sleeve bearings but also the long-term stability of current top-of-the-line ball bearings."

"Silent enthusiasts and industry clients alike swear by its proven, time-tested quality."

https://noctua.at/en/sso-bearing   https://noctua.at/en/sso2-bearing

 

So according to them, they are completly silent.

But I can read on reddit people complaining about Noctua NF-A14 PWM humming noise...

 

It does, thanks !

Check and see if the noise persists when outside of the case. The blades may be hitting the case or a cable. 

PWM introduces ticking on many fans due to the nature of it using 12v pulses. Noctuas are the only fans I've encountered that don't seem to have this issue due to the gradual pulse used.

\

 

Noctua isn't claiming that the bearing is silent. The quote is just saying that enthusiasts of silence say that the bearing is high quality. 

On 5/19/2021 at 8:47 AM, Sbilit said:

Can I connect a 3 pin fan to a PWM fan hub to reduce speed without any damage ?

3pin fans lack the 4th pin and pwm ic needed to modulate the incoming 12v signal. Sending a 12v pwm signal to a 3pin fan will result in 100% rpm and no fan control. 

[Fuogvarex]

On 5/21/2021 at 3:34 AM, WoodenMarker said:

PWM introduces ticking on many fans due to the nature of it using 12v pulses. Noctuas are the only fans I've encountered that don't seem to have this issue due to the gradual pulse used.

Yes, I've invastigate more and I found that phenomenon : PWM motors makes a noise due to the pulse technologie/architecture used to brake palms.

 

Noctua's PWM and Silent Wings 3 may be engineered for a silent motor noise, DC's equivalent will be quieter.

On 5/21/2021 at 3:34 AM, WoodenMarker said:

Can I connect a 3 pin fan to a PWM fan hub to reduce speed without any damage ?

 

3pin fans lack the 4th pin and pwm ic needed to modulate the incoming 12v signal. Sending a 12v pwm signal to a 3pin fan will result in 100% rpm and no fan control. 

Yes but actually, my "PWM HUB" only have 6x [3 pins] to connect fans so it's translating PWM to voltage reduction I guess.

 

Thank you guys, I'll try noctua's NF S12A ULN and connect them on the hub.

 

Hope this thread will help people.