Loud case fans after my 1st pc build (fractal torrent)

[Epsolon]

Hello! I recently finished my very first (stressful) PC build, however there is still one issue and I have no clue what causes it or how I can solve it. I searched on the internet but not really anything stood out as something useful. Since this is my first build there is of course a chance that I just messed up somewhere while building it. So, my issue, there is a lot of fan noise coming from my case (Fractal Torrent) as if the fans are spinning at max speeds (~50 dB). Based on reviews of the case it should only get this loud when temps are getting very high. I already contacted Fractal customer support but since I don't know how long it will take to receive a reply or if they even know the issue I thought I might as well also try to ask here.

 

Below some specifications regarding the issue:

- I let the fans run for over 10 hours now. No noise improvements.

- Try wiggle the case fans to see if any of them are loose, they all seem to be screwed in well, no wiggles.

- All 5 case fans are connected to the case's fan hub, from header FAN1 to 5 (according to the manual fan 1 decides the behavior of the other fans connected to the hub). Fan hub is connected to the motherboard (Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero) in fan header "chassis 2".

- No adjustments were made to the fans or fan hub.

- Using the bios fan curve control, I set the fan speeds at 20% lowest possible up to 30C degrees. According to monitoring software my case fans are turning at 500 rpm minimum.

- After some testing, it seems that the 2 180mm case fans are quiet. The noise only appeared when I used the 3 140mm fans in the bottom of the case.

- I hovered my hand over all 3 bottom fans. The front and back fans were turning, but I didn't feel any air getting blown out on both sides. The middle fan however was blowing a lot of air, as if it was running at max speed.

It seems the middle bottom fan is possible the culprit, however I don't know what's causing it to behave differently from the other fans when they are all connected to the same fan hub. Any help or suggestions are highly appreciated! I put a HWMonitor screenshot (while idle) in the attachments in case that gives any information.

[TVwazhere]

12 minutes ago, Epsolon said:

FAN1 to 5 (according to the manual fan 1 decides the behavior of the other fans connected to the hub). Fan hub is connected to the motherboard (Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero) in fan header "chassis 2".

- Using the bios fan curve control, I set the fan speeds at 20% lowest possible up to 30C degrees. According to monitoring software my case fans are turning at 500 rpm minimum.

- I hovered my hand over all 3 bottom fans. The front and back fans were turning, but I didn't feel any air getting blown out on both sides. The middle fan however was blowing a lot of air, as if it was running at max speed.

I would double check the connection for that middle fan (Logically, it would be Fan #4 on the header, assuming 1&2 are the two 180mm's and #3 is the front 140mm). The manual is correct in that the Pulse Width Modulation signal (that 4th pin on the Fan connector) only comes from 1 fan, and it uses that signal to control all 5 fans. It seems that Fan #4 for some reason is not getting the signal to slow down, and therefore runs at max speed. 

 

1. Try unplugging and replugging that fan within the same header. Examine the port on the fan hub and the connector itself to see if there's any irregularities (a bent pin, the plug was plugged in wrong, there's damage along the wire going to the fan)
2. If the problem persists and the fan hub connector, wire and plug are in good condition, switch the fan with another one of the 140mm plugs, and see if the max fan speed stays with the fan, or affects the fan plugged into the same header as fan #4. You can then determine if you have a faulty fan, or a faulty hub. 

[Gorgon]

29 minutes ago, Epsolon said:

Hello! I recently finished my very first (stressful) PC build, however there is still one issue and I have no clue what causes it or how I can solve it. I searched on the internet but not really anything stood out as something useful. Since this is my first build there is of course a chance that I just messed up somewhere while building it. So, my issue, there is a lot of fan noise coming from my case (Fractal Torrent) as if the fans are spinning at max speeds (~50 dB). Based on reviews of the case it should only get this loud when temps are getting very high. I already contacted Fractal customer support but since I don't know how long it will take to receive a reply or if they even know the issue I thought I might as well also try to ask here. ...

Another option is to NOT use the included Fan hub and connect all the Fans directly to headers on the motherboard. That way you can control each fan individually and see the fan speed for each in HWinfo and other monitoring utilities.

 

Or try connecting the two front fans to CPU_OPT and Chassis2 and use the integrated FAN controller for the 3 bottom fans and connect it to Chassis3 to control them as one unit.

[Epsolon]

Thank you for the suggestions! I just tried the following:

 

- Reconnect the loud fan into the same hub header --> still loud

- Connected a "normal" fan into the hub header of the loud fan --> no issues

- Connect the loud fan into a different hub header --> still loud

- Connect the loud fan into a chassis fan header on the motherboard --> still loud.

 

It's hard to see if there is something wrong inside the plug since its covered in plastic, but based on this I think it's safe to say that the loud fan is simply defect and that I should replace it?

[Gorgon]

8 minutes ago, Epsolon said:

Thank you for the suggestions! I just tried the following:

 

- Reconnect the loud fan into the same hub header --> still loud

- Connected a "normal" fan into the hub header of the loud fan --> no issues

- Connect the loud fan into a different hub header --> still loud

- Connect the loud fan into a chassis fan header on the motherboard --> still loud.

 

It's hard to see if there is something wrong inside the plug since its covered in plastic, but based on this I think it's safe to say that the loud fan is simply defect and that I should replace it?

Sounds like the PWM input is defective on that fan. So yes - I'd replace it or contact Fractal for a warranty replacement.

 

If the noise is annoying you could just leave it disconnected for now as long as the temperatures during gaming are OK.

[freeagent]

Is it loud like full speed loud, or is there another problem?

[Epsolon]

It was indeed a fan that was spinning faster than it should. I disconnected the fan for now and increased the rpm of the other fans by a little to make up for the other fan (my gpu does get a bit hotter now that there isn't a fan blowing against it at max power :P). I contacted Fractal customer support and they said they would send me a replacement fan within a few days. As long as installing the new fan won't cause any more issues then this problem can be considered resolved. Thank you all for the help, I learned that broken parts can also be a reason why something doesn't work as intended.