9377 GPU fan squealing when spinning low RPM

Is there any known fix for this?

My machine sits on a table and doesn't get moved yet last night I noticed my fan was starting to squeal on low RPMs. If I kick it up to max and then back down, it stops for a few minutes but the high pitched squeal the fan makes hurt my ears.

I had the same problem with my Alienware but this is worse and it took 3 years to start on my Alienware, this hasn't even been 6 months.

Is there some sort of a lubricant I can use or do I have to buy new fans or what?

Man, I'm having no luck with this damn machine!

 

I don't have this issue, so you could tell Xotic and ask for replacement fans, most likely. Ask them for their cross-ship feature if possible; they should ship you new fans first and then you could send them back the old ones if it fixes the problem, etc.

 

This is just so irritating. Another thing to add to the list when I send my machine in to get replacement cards. >_<

 

Believe me, I know the definition of the word irritating >_>.

 

You know what's more irritating? I took out the bottle caps and the noise went away but I am too used to having it angled so I stick them back under and it hasn't come back. Lol.

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Foldedddd toiletttt paperrrrrr MASTER RACEEEE *waves flag around*

 

AAAAAAAND... again.

This is what it sounds like...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvaQQIKKH7Y

Notice that when I kick up my fans and kick them back off again, it stops entirely.

 

I actually DO hear it. Which is interesting... yeah looks like you might as well get an entirely new shell and keep your internals/screen and be done with it at this rate. I honestly feel your pain. I had to send my computer in twice and the problem never got fixed, and I still have it... just waiting. Existing. Almost ready to pop out and screw me over. I swear, I have PTSD from the sound of windows shutting down. Every time I hear my sister's netbook turning off I get a mini panic attack (even though she has windows 7 and I have windows 8) and have to calm myself down, the problems have been going on so long >_>

 

I don't know man, this sucks. I don't want to email Xotic again and let them know yet another thing went wrong but at the same time, the video is proof...

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You under warranty? Your JOB is to harass them until things work out for you. Don't ever compromise unless it involves you paying $200+ USD every time they have to check the machine. >_>. I still haven't gotten my new PSU or battery because it's going to run me over $300 USD >_>

 

I figured I will just deal with it a bit longer... They will have my machine soon anyway to get rid of these 880s.

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Just make sure you tell them EVERYTHING that needs fixing. It's all for naught if you keep getting back broken stuff.

 

Do you know which fan it is? The master GPU fan seems to be particularly prone to this problem. 3 months in and it developed a high pitched ringing/whine when at high rpms, but was otherwise fine at low rpms. At first I thought I was going crazy because I kept hearing this metallic ringing sound when I was gaming, and I honestly thought it was my tinnitus LOL. But then I bought a replacement fan from RJTech and the noise went away. Then it came back again another 2 months later.

So yeah I highly suspect it's the master GPU fan. As for how I figured it out... let's just say it involved an upside down laptop without its back cover XD

 

It's the master. I stuck my ear to the left of the machine and it was further away, traced it right to the master.

That sucks that this is a common problem, these fans are not cheap unlike the alienware fans I had to replace.

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So THAT'S why you asked me if I heard a whining noise and I told you I couldn't find any... I'm usually sensitive to random noises but I thought I was just incapable of hearing it XD.

 

These things are like any other fan; it's squeaking because the axle's in direct contact with its retainer (grease is all used up). Just needs a drop of lubricant and the noise goes away. Remove the small screws and thin plate cover so you have access, then pull on the plastic fan part. It'll move a little but halts after half an inch or so, keep pulling and it'll 'plop' free so you'll see the fan's coils. Drop in plenty of heavy-oil in the bushing, replace fan and you're good.

 

Oh wow, I didn't know that you could actually take apart these fans. That sounds like much less hassle.

Since it doesn't happen when the laptop is flat though, is it possible its a balance issue caused by my machine being propped up? Since I removed my bottle caps, its not done it once.

My roommate works on vacuums and has some oil that is safe for electrical components so I'll look into that. +rep

 

Vaseline took care of it. Oh and when I went to clean off the old grease? There wasn't any... I watched a few tutorials before doing it. The alcohol pad didn't discolor in the slightest when I was cleaning the pin. I did the spin test on all three fans before I started and that fan didn't want to spin on its own. Right after the Vaseline before it even had a chance to warm and become less thick, it still spun much better. Mad props, that was a really simple fix.

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Vaseline would not be my first choice but at least it's all working now. Sometimes it does depend on what you have to hand.

 

Yeah I couldn't wait for the white lithium grease. On my M17x I just turned off the dGPUs but obviously not an option here. It wasn't my first choice but it worked exceptionally well so I'll stick with it and get some lithium grease next month since I know vaseline will work for a few months tops.

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Let us know when you do and how you get on.

 

Will do.

Technically vaseline should work pretty well. I just took apart the machine to give CLU another try and I checked that fan and it now spins better than the slave fan does.

I swear its like the fan had no grease to begin with.

 

And now I am wanting to see if I can spin my fans better with vaseline... >_>...

 

Vaseline of everything XD

 

Hey man, I haven't heard a single squeak since I did it and that fan on max now sounds slighter quieter than the slave fan on max which leads me to believe there are factory defective fans that aren't greased.

You make do with what you have on hand. Vaseline was actually really nice to work with too. No mess.

 

I'm just surprised that something as thick as Vaseline would work even better than regular fan grease. Although I guess if you spread it out thin enough it does become very fluid-like.

 

Vaseline turns into a grease when it's heated from the friction. I was shocked too but I was reading about it everywhere.

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Sounds a bit like spraying wd40 on everything.

 

No WD40 is actually a degreaser

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