Noctua cooler causing electrical buzzing noise with both fans on now after 5 months

[DV2FOX]

(Sorry for the long post but the more info the better, right?)

 

First of all, it's mounted on an ASUS X570 TUF GAMING PLUS with a huge GIGABYTE RTX 4070 Super GAMING OC GPU and a gigantic Be Quiet! DARK BASE PRO 901. Previously i had a Noctua NH-U12S CB cooler

 

CPU cooler and GPU bought about 4-5 months ago in the same buy

 

The other day i was finding out the source of a weird noise from the PC (Turns out it was my HDD) and had to pull away the turned off PC from below the table and whenever i laid it down on the ground the Display Port cable did a pull and maybe a slight "crack" noise from the GPU. I thought i screwed up the GPU because the DP port where it was connected had an opening at the top golden plate thingy of the DP (However, even right now, the same port works with my monitor without artifacts on screen, etc)

 

However, a new , faint but kinda noticeable "Bee-eeeee(p)" ELECTRICAL noise/buzz was heard more the moment i turned the PC back on with the tempered glass on... So i was investigating. I thought it was the GPU due to the DP topic above, so i turned off the PC, removed the CPU cooler's middle fan using a flat screwdriver to pull off the holder closer to the GPU (The GPU is so huge and the CPU cooler is SO HUGE it cannot be removed that easily with the fingers) then grabbed a long screwdriver to push down the PCI-E's eject button, making sure it didn't touched the motherboard (although maybe i hit the MB once but lightly some time before, see later), removed the GPU and disconnected all cables from it and then removed the CPU fans to clean them up along the fins with a dry brush. Tons of dust came out.

 

However i wanted to try something first... I placed the GPU outside the tower  without cables connected to it and turned on the PC. The noise was there... My left ear could hear it and my right one barely (sensitive ears but slight tinnitus doing it's stuff), so i used my left ear to explore the PC again from all sides with the tower's fans at MINIMUM until i reached the CPU... The sound was coming from  there!...

 

Placed and held a tad bit tight my right index finger to the fan above the RAM's "circle" and the noise was GONE....I've noticed the heatsink's fins were BENT OUT from pulling the middle fan with the screwdriver but also the "above RAM" fan's area but with the FINGERS...The bottom side (aiming to the GPU) of the fins from both heatsink towers were mostly bent out from the holders' positions. So i grabbed the flat screwdriver and leveled em up some (Of course with the PC off). However even still the noise was still there when the PC turned on and beeped the POST...

 

I already tried changing the fans' placement, changing the CPU FAN headers' positions, mixing the previous 2 things around too... However, if i left the middle fan there using it's cable with both CPU FAN headers (while the above RAM fan removed) the noise was GONE.... If i placed the removed fan , turned on along with the middle fan, without the holders, hand holding it against the fins, the noise was there again...

 

So my questions are:

1. Are the heatsink's bent fins the issue?

2. Could it be that the motherboard is affected by this?. If i go to the BIOS and lower the CPU fanS to the minimum the noise is gone. Could it be that maybe one of them light screwdriver hits caused the motherboard to malfunction when fans are at close to high speed?.. But if so, how come with just the middle fan connected first to one CPU FAN header and then the other didn't caused this issue with the speed i've set up (Below 1500RPM), same if you put the middle fan to the OPTIONAL CPU FAN header and the Above RAM fan to the main CPU FAN header?

3. Are the fans really causing some kind of electrical noise instead of errr "turbulence"?

If the CPU cooler is the blame to this and maybe not the motheboard (Please, not the MB...), could i replace the cooler with another one of the same or even go to the NH-U12S i had before (Would have to buy it again tho)?

 

Here are some photos of the motherboard if that helps identify things out. Note that the "Above RAM" fan is NOT touching the RAM at all and the RAM sticks on A2 B2 were reseated and cleaned properly, slots too, same goes for the GPU

 

https://x.com/DV2THEFOX/status/1831190878934663451

https://x.com/DV2THEFOX/status/1831190891270168819

 

Vid proof https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9A2yIVHn3Q

 

Sorry for the long text. Thanks in advance!

[MadAnt250]

Sounds like nothing or just the sound of air going through things.

 

Maybe it's in your head?

[DV2FOX]

Not everyone can hear it. A friend of mine did while another one couldn't. And if it was a sound in my head then how come i can make it stop by putting my finger against the fan to stop the noise?... Yet i can't be holding my finger there all the time...

[CommanderAlex]

11 minutes ago, DV2FOX said:

Not everyone can hear it. A friend of mine did while another one couldn't. And if it was a sound in my head then how come i can make it stop by putting my finger against the fan to stop the noise?... Yet i can't be holding my finger there all the time...

Anyway to get a video of this sound? 

[DV2FOX]

It's the last link in the OP...

[RevGAM]

19 hours ago, DV2FOX said:

It's the last link in the OP...

I listened and I can hear it. You didn't specify if this is the original D15 or the gen 2. Gamers Nexus interviewed a Noctua engineer where they talked about this sort of problem being caused by two fans that are exactly the same, resulting in odd noises that irritate some people. I suspect this is the original because the gen 2 is outfitted with a pair of fans that theoretically "sound" better together, although I personally didn't feel that way about it.

[DV2FOX]

It's the Noctua NH-D15 Chromax.Black (Gen2 released this year doesn't have the CB version yet)

 

Glad to know you can hear it too. Some people says they can't, only the air whoosing from the fans. I'm 38 years old and the older one gets probably the more the ear develops a finer noise detection sensitivity or whatever along those words.I have a tiny tinnitus, but i can tell the difference...

 

Right now the fans are manually set to 60% all the time in the BIOS but i prefer the noise of fans higher to "feel safer" and to camouflage the noise of my HDD (Wich i'll replace someday for a 4TB M.2/SATA SSD, but i gotta find the safest buy)

 

i know 60% should be enough but then if you set the curve so that fans go higher when going 75-90C welp, the sound would come back and that's not good for my ears.. As you said: IRRITATING

 

The fact is that, if the fans are at 80% as i've set in the first days (Again, 4-5 months ago), the noise is there... , if i turn off the PC, unplug the GPU's cables and from the motherboard, turn on the PC, the noise is there for sure coming from the CPU Cooler...  (Here i thought the GPU had coil whine even on idle now, but nope, discarded)

 

HOWEVER, if i grab the "fan above the RAM" , unclip it from the heatsink, hold it with the hand against the heatsink while the noise is on and sloooooooowly separate the fan from the heatsink, then there's a distance where the noise is GONE...I checked it with a measurer and below the number 1 in the measurer it was at around the 3rd and 5th line, like 0.3/0.5cm (European meter, not inches/feet). I gotta check it again with my dad to make sure to get the correct distance etc

 

The plan is, if that's the culprit, then i'd have to find some kind of "heat resistant spacer" (Wich Noctua funnily doesn't sells compatible with this cooler's NF-A15 fans, only up to NF-A14 fans that are attached to the tower) in the sense of circular, rubber pads or whatever to stick at the fan's rubber pads (Not a permanent one, else, if it fails, i'm screwed if it destroys the Noctua's rubber pads when trying to unstick em) then attach it again with the holders (Hopefully they can reach the heatsink!) and if it works then DIY problem solved!

 

Unless there's a "fan gasket" that could fit this monstruousity of a fan i have and call it a day...

 

Any suggestions tho?

[freeagent]

If it helps I had a D14 that had loud fans.

 

Dont even get me started on how loud iPPC fans are

[DV2FOX]

Well, think you can help me out with the post above yours?...About the fan gasket or rubber rings fitting my NH-D15's RAM fan to prevent the irritating noise?...

[RevGAM]

2 hours ago, DV2FOX said:

I'm 38 years old and the older one gets probably the more the ear develops a finer noise detection sensitivity or whatever along those words.I have a tiny tinnitus, but i can tell the difference...

Actually, hearing tends to get worse as we age, although it doesn't work that way for everyone.

 

2 hours ago, DV2FOX said:

Any suggestions tho?

There are gaskets for 140mm fans. Frozen CPU, ModMyMods, ModDIY, Performance PCs and others sell them. There are also complete silicone sleeves that will fit over the fan frame that you could use. Unfortunately, this isn't going to help.

You should buy a different fan to replace one of the 2 on the D15, which could regular or reversed spin fan to deal with the noise. It's a matter of harmonics. If you watch the GN video, it'll become clear what's happening. It's like when you play 3 tones that are of a specific chord, you'll hear a single tone that is lower than the lowest of the 3 because of how the 3 interact. Harmonic dissonance.

Does that help?

[DV2FOX]

Sadly it's not a wind blown "Wooo wooo woooo" but an electrical/whistling one. It's been shown in the last link from the OP (I suggest you to raise up the volume more than normal. Can be hard to hear for some people. Yes, i know you said you heard it but the vid you just sent me was only directed to the "Wooo" one, not the other one i talk about in bold text above...Unless there's more sounds in that long vid)

 

While doing some tests when it comes to put the middle fan's height lower than the heatsink top (Like, 3-4 heatsink fins) yes, i could hear that wooo sound when both fans ran at 80% in the BIOS. If only the center fan was on the wooo was kinda not there but at least the whistling noise was gone

 

Like i said, if i grab the right fan (RAM one) and separate it sloooowly from the heatsink, there's a moment where the whistling noise is gone, hence the asking for the gaskets thingy. However i live in Spain so we don't have those shops ya said. Only Amazon has something similar but not sure if it'll work (Unless i place to the heatsink and then smoosh it with the fan, adjust it and then clip on the holders)

 

https://www.amazon.es/Hopbucan-juntas-silicona-antivibración-ventiladores/dp/B0BTN8MYYX/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_es_ES=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&crid=2AZ71IY0M3ZQ4&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.OXUT0pV1nIRIdmxXPxmPRoYpgRWiHlpV0E5QmI2U8NyIVKm6M9rE07CCT5Jsm3wTqpWVFiQFqr9Im1EzhgYhqWQy8s2BR9pc0I3Kgpzedhxj_BOEGFLNusCQH6Q3cyBk_OI-78lxNVtRmQCZUxCkFlxpv2nZpoU-MZEF_YWl8KyonWxuWJ_dkUnkwP1hBtxiTjkcCzuEoeKgjHL0Oi1ovTHIjPGZnmDjx57_yVEK2SC98kFwQz7Jh9po6vlFvWFeFq4_hztRSDC1Kbq2a7mmgNj3V7vYjWacZ8czTb7XCAA.-61-NWLqD32QflanhjcVERrhI6MWQ-hQLaXDiUs0dbE&dib_tag=se&keywords=junta+silicona+antivibración+140mm&qid=1725641311&s=industrial&sprefix=junta+silicona+antivibracion+140m%2Cindustrial%2C85&sr=1-1

[freeagent]

Or stick some nice Thermalright fans in there. They have 140mm fans with 120mm spacing.. like yours.

 

The TL-D14X is a good fan for that.

[DV2FOX]

....120mm spacing like mine?.. What do you mean by that?

 

And i've checked that TL-D14X fan and the 4 corners have the same kind of thickness rubber like mine

 

Sadly they don't sell that in Spain

[RevGAM]

That gasket is the type I was referring you to find. Good job!

 

Did you watch both videos, or just the GN video? Please watch the Veritasium video and let me know if that matches what you're hearing.

 

I recommend that you contact Noctua for support.

[DV2FOX]

Just the GN. Just watched the other one and no, it's not a "Hmmmmmmmmm" sound but like an electric siren going "EEEEEEE oooooo EEEEEEEEE oooooo" in a whistle way or something

 

I did a new video test 2 days ago, maybe this one you can hear it but for me it seems i wasn't cautious enough... Your left speaker might make it sound more. Just raise your volume high, please.

 

 

[RevGAM]

With the middle fan, I hear a subtle shift in speed, which is probably just the PWM doing its job, since I didn't hear it at 100%. It was pretty hard to hear at 90%.

 

Please note that I'm not hearing "EEEEEEE oooooo EEEEEEEEE oooooo", just the windspeed pulsing. It could be because of my speakers. If you play this back, do you hear it? I heard something a bit different with my headphones, but not really what you wrote, either. It was more of an on-off sound at 90%, and I couldn't hear it at 50% with my headphones. I suspect you have sensitive ears. I have minor tinnitus, too, which may be blocking what you're hearing although I can't hear the tinnitus now.

 

The noise I was talking about was regarding the two Noctua fans, not the Noctua and the be quiet!. If it's stronger with both Noctua fans on, can you do a recording of that?

Is the bq! SW4 120 or 140? Do you have a 140 you could put on the cooler in place of one of the Noctua fans?

[DV2FOX]

Did the new vid with both fans full speed and slightly less speed. The noise comes and goes (Also, something i forgot to say: Tower's fans at minimum speed, aka 400 RPM)

 

 

I repeat just in case:

 

-This was already tested without the GPU connected to the motherboard. And even if connected i did it with and without the PSU cable connected to the GPU

-The heatsink fins were bent down at the rear heatsink (and part of the front one) due to the tiny space between GPU and fan holders/heatsink, using a flat screwdriver to pull it off (And even if i just pulled off the top side of the fan to later somehow move the bottom side's holder, it'd still have bent out the fins due to the small space due to shaking/pressing), wich could also be part of the issue because maybe the fans' spinning is whooshing through the bent fins and causing such issue

 

However...Could something from the motherboard be causing the noise from the air or something?...