Fan making a clicking noise randomly. help?

[Xiael]

Hey guys, one of my fans has been making an annoying clicking noise almost like it was hitting a wire or something.. but I was able to identify which one it is, and there doesn't seem to be anything obstructing the fan. It also doesn't happen all the time. is it dying? what do I do? I had my computer custom made.. so I haven't actually put a computer together before and I'm not very experienced with how it works. I've done minor things like adding a sound card, but that's about it. Here's some pictures.. What is this fan for?
P.S I know my computer is dusty but I know how to fix that

 

[chugot9218]

If you cannot find an external, physical reason for the click, it is probably the bearings going bad or an electrical issue, I would say probably the bearings. That is your heatsink fan, which is very important in keeping your CPU cool. I would buy a new one and replace it, you will simply have to unfasten it (it probably has small metal clips), taking note of where it is plugged in (probably a header labeled CPU-FAN), you will then clip the new fan on and plug it into the previously occupied header. Obviously, make sure the PC is off and that you ground yourself before touching anything. Also, fans are pretty cheap, but the more you pay the higher air pressure it will provide and lower noise levels as well.

 

[wanderer11]

212 evo I see. My evo fan started vibrating/grinding a couple days ago. Call coolermaster to ask for a replacement fan. They come off/on the heat sink really easily. Just 2 brackets with 4 clips and 1 wire.

 

[Moltoeser]

It's possible that somehow the magnet inside the fan has been displaced. Have you dropped or moved the case lately?

 

[Xiael]

nope its been in the same place until it started making noise and I had to open it up. Also since I made this thread it's been getting more frequent, it's almost never quiet anymore. I'm hoping for an alternative solution but I probably will end up doing what wanderer11 said and contacting coolmaster for a replacement. I really don't want to / dont know how to replace the entire heatsink just because of the fan.

Are there any other fans I could attach to the heatsink instead of the current kind? I'm kind of disappointed that in a computer just over a year old I'm having to replace a fan.

 

[wanderer11]

They will send you just the fan. It is super easy to replace, the heatsink stays on the cpu. You unplug the fan from the mobo and gently pull it off the heatsink. Move the clips from the old fan to the new one then put that on and plug it in. Simple as that.

 

[Xiael]

I tried contacting coolmaster and they never responded.. ended up buying a gentle typhoon http://www.amazon.com/Scythe-Gentle-Typhoon-120mm-25mm/dp/B001Q6RUVO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363795605&sr=8-1&keywords=gentle+typhoon+1850 Seems to have worked out well.. was simple enough to remove the clips from the old fan. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[zetherox]

i recently had this issue, try dusting. somehow the dust in my fan resulted in a clicking sound similar to what you are describing. looks like you have quite a bit of dust on the fan

 

[Iordan_1]

hey if you own a pc, you want to reapply thermal paste to your CPU+GPU atleast once a year

 

[EagleHasLanded]

I bought a new pc box. When I turned it on the the front fan was making a noise. (Brand new fan). I've looked if it was hitting something, but nothing. I've read that magnets was maybe displaced a bit. So I forcefully moved the center left and right a bit and the ticking was gone. Hope this helps.