Is it bad if my CPU cooler rattles?

[john01dav]

Hello,

 

I have an old FX-8350 computer, and of course being stuck with such an old cpu is frequently infuriating. But, because money is expensive, I can't upgrade. As such, I decided to try to overclock my FX-8350, as a first time overclocker, and the first step in doing that is to ensure my cooling is as good as it can be. I have a Hyper 212 Evo, and I changed the bios settings to ensure the fan is always at the maximum speed, but that induced a rattling noise. The CPU fan is mounted on the bottom of the heatsink, and moving it to the top of the heatsink eliminates the noise. The problem with keeping it there, however, is that it is then fighting with a case fan that is incredibly difficult to remount (I tried), and that produces a measurable difference of ~7°C under identical synthetic loads. As such, I would like to ask if this rattling sound is a cause for concern, or if it is harmless. I would also like to know if there is anything I can do about it, other than moving the CPU fan for that severely hampers my overclocking.

 

Thank you.

 

EDIT: I have made sure that there are no wires in any fans.

[Pyramiden]

Buy a new fan? For less than 10 euro/dollar you can have a decent fan. Especially if you look on Ebay or get one from Aliexpress.

[it_dont_work]

check all the screws/nuts on the system, tap on things and listen to see if any make noise or 'sing'. After that if somethings still making noise it might just be the fan is cactus and need to be replaced, if money really is an issue just repurpose a case fan from exhaust in your system, or grab a cheap pwm from ali/ebay. 

[Alcam]

The only thing I can suggest is to find out why it's making the rattling noise when mounted in your default config. There has to be a margin for error in how close the fan is sitting flush with the heat-sink for it to be making a 'rattling' noise, try find some compatible anti-vibration mounts on ebay or maybe even some foam material lying around in your home that  you could put between the fan and the heatsink to try and find the source of the noise. Personally I don't think its a cause for concern unless it gets louder and temps start to rise, but I can appreciate that this constant noise is super annoying. 

 

I would say if all else fails buy another fan but its clearly not the fan causing the issue if it doesn't make a noise when mounted alternatively. 

[WoodenMarker]

Are you facing the fan so that it blows air upwards when the it's mounted at the top?

[john01dav]

Thanks everyone for your help! It turned out that one of the screws holding the CPU cooler assembly in place on the motherboard was stripped. Fiddling with it a little bit fixed it.