Laptop "vibrates"

I have an Alienware m17x R4, a couple of days ago i've had my GPU and heatsink replaced due to a manufacturing defect after 8 months of use.

Ever since then the laptop has a slight vibration to it, i feel it whenever i put my hands still anywhere on the chassis, and this vibration increases to a more noticeable level when the GPU fan maxes out (during heavy gaming) and it's really annoying. (not a violent vibration where i can see the keyboard keys moving, more like a buzzing feeling)

the fans sound normal, act normal, and my temperatures are normal.

i've tried tightening/untightening the fan screws, i've tried reseating the hard drives, and the heatsinks, but the "vibration" still exists.

Any idea what i'm looking at here?

 

So did this start to happen after the GPU was replaced ?

Kind of think the issue is with the fan, it may not be seated properly.

 

i reseated the fan again but it still exists.

i should mention the vibration also comes from the CPU fan (not as intense as GPU fan though), when the technician was replacing my GPU i asked him to take out the CPU fan to clean it.

 

It may be the fans themselves. If they're not balanced correctly, then they will vibrate when they spin. It's the same with all fans and propellers. And the faster they spin, the greater the vibration. Unfortunately for computer fans, the only way to fix them is to replace them.

 

Look at the fans to see if there is a clump of crud on one side of one or both fans. If they were super dirty and did not get thoroughly cleaned one or both fans may be out of balance with one half clean and the other half still dirty. It would take very little difference in weight distribution for you to feel it.

 

both fans are thoroughly cleaned and they don't seem to be out of balance or cracked anywhere.

 

It may be there is dust or buildup inside the fan armature. You could try lifting the fan motor/vane hub up and shooting the inside with a quick blast of canned air to see if anything shakes loose. Other than what Fox said, it could be the fan bearing are going bad or the fan itself it out of whack. Trust me, you can't always tell just by looking at it (I learned that the hard way with a REALLY big fan).

 

i cleaned the fan already, and i can't see anything wrong, it just causes the vibration.

 

Vibrations of a processor fan can cause two problems:

1) The vibration can eventually cause failure of the fan bearings, causing failure of the fan. And the processor can burn itself out when that occurs (it takes less than 10 seconds to damage a processor after its fan fails).

2) Vibration can cause thermal paste to migrate out of the thermal interface between the heatsink/processor. This reduces the effectiveness of the cooling system over time, causing the processor to run at higher temperatures. Cooler electronics live longer.

Fan shafts sometimes fit more loosely with age, but dust packed around the shaft can actually hold them in place. So vibration can occur after cleaning a fan. Or the fan may be developing a bad bearing. Or it may have dust/debris on it causing an imbalance. If the fan is clean, is properly fastened, and it's making a vibration that it didn't make before, and is making a vibration that other M17x users don't experience, then you likely have a problem on your hands.

So it's in your interest to have any such vibrating fan replaced while the machine is still under warranty. Fans are cheap. Processors are not.