How loud should the fan be?

Will certainly give it a try on mine.

Larger fans don’t really cool things like a dsp better, it’s more about specific airflow for a given area. The case doesn’t need that much cooling.

Think of it like this, if you have a bite of hot food do you open the windows to cool it off? No, you just blow on the bite your about to take.
 
Neither of my III's sound like that video. Sounds more like vibration from an iffy bearing as opposed to the sound of air moving.
 
Wow that’s terrible!

It's certainly unpleasant.:(

hmm. That sounds more like a pitched drone to me. I bet Brian Eno could make an album out of it....

:) The pitched part is what makes it really annoying.

Is the fan still in the ceiling on the 3? My understanding is that not all computer fans fare well in that position (mounted so they push air downwards) and in my computers fans mounted in the case ceiling have been the ones that have failed the most.

On the Axe-Fx 2 the biggest issue with the fan by far is that it resonates with the top cover. I've mounted my 60mm fan in MK I between the mounting pots wrapping the an in some rubber band style things meant for hanging computer hard drives so they don't transfer vibrations to the chassis. Would't use it like that if I moved it around a lot though but for home use it really helps a lot.

I still wonder if the Axe-Fx would be perfectly fine with just big passive heat sinks and some ventilation holes in the back.

The fan is no longer attached to the top.

The video sounds more like case vibration than air movement noise. Hopefully Fractal addresses this for you and future shipments.

If I press down very hard on the top, the noise improves a little, but there is not really any vibration from the enclosure.


Neither of my III's sound like that video. Sounds more like vibration from an iffy bearing as opposed to the sound of air moving.

Thanks for telling me that your units sounds better. It sounds like an actual fan problem to me too, but your post and the following gives me hope that it just needs to be remounted.

Like @AlbertA, I opened up the case on my III to see the fan specs. With so much open space inside I'm really surprised they didn't go with a 120mm fan - more airflow, better back pressure performance, less RPM, and less noise. I was also concerned with the aluminum mounting plate as others have mentioned. When I checked the stock fan in free air it seemed OK though, so I was surprised it sounds so bad in the case. Lo and behold, I reassembled things and the low-pitched drone was gone. At least in my case, it seems like @kartman was spot on talking about uneven or excessive torque on the fan frame.

A word of caution - I am not advocating anyone take their Axe apart. I'm not sure what this means for your warranty. Also, there are several small parts in the fan mounting that are a bit fiddly to get back together. If you do want to replace the fan, I offer a bit of advice: Stay away from sleeve bearings, as the horizontal mounting will cause them to wear out faster. Also, keep back pressure in mind along with CFM and power draw.

I've been planning to try that when I have some time, so thanks for the update.

Danny W.
 
I found if I place my palm on the lid, on the left side, the noise is reduced significantly. Still hear the air moving sound from the vents but there does seem to be some vibration or resonance from the lid.

It’s kind of weird really, just pressing a finger or two doesn’t change anythjng but the whole palm, not even pressing hard, totally takes at least some of the noise away

Wasn’t a high pitched vibration but very noticeable when you dampen it. Next to try to figure out what is too tight or maybe not tight enough
 
Lo and behold, I reassembled things and the low-pitched drone was gone. At least in my case, it seems like @kartman was spot on talking about uneven or excessive torque on the fan frame.

Opened up my unit and removed the fan/fan plate... I loosened the 4x screws/lock nuts that are holding the fan to the grommets JUST to the point where the screws are not rattling in the fan housing. (i.e. absolute minimum compression of the rubber grommets) Also, when reinstalling, the plate, I added a small rubber mount between each of the 4x hex standoffs that support the fan plate.

Not forgetting to reconnect the fan itself, I closed up the lid, plugged it back in, and flicked the power switch.

Noise is now essentially zero.... as in 99% improvement. YMMV but I think the fan housing was over compressed at install.

I hope this helps others!
 
Opened up my unit and removed the fan/fan plate... I loosened the 4x screws/lock nuts that are holding the fan to the grommets JUST to the point where the screws are not rattling in the fan housing. (i.e. absolute minimum compression of the rubber grommets) Also, when reinstalling, the plate, I added a small rubber mount between each of the 4x hex standoffs that support the fan plate.

Not forgetting to reconnect the fan itself, I closed up the lid, plugged it back in, and flicked the power switch.

Noise is now essentially zero.... as in 99% improvement. YMMV but I think the fan housing was over compressed at install.

I hope this helps others!
uh...this is excellent work, no? :)
 
uh...this is excellent work, no? :)
Actually, it is. Though I get nervous about loosening screws "JUST to the point where the screws are not rattling in the fan housing." That could get away from you at the worst possible times. :)
 
Hey Kartman,
I respect your authorotieeee
Thanks
Pauly

Opened up my unit and removed the fan/fan plate... I loosened the 4x screws/lock nuts that are holding the fan to the grommets JUST to the point where the screws are not rattling in the fan housing. (i.e. absolute minimum compression of the rubber grommets) Also, when reinstalling, the plate, I added a small rubber mount between each of the 4x hex standoffs that support the fan plate.

Not forgetting to reconnect the fan itself, I closed up the lid, plugged it back in, and flicked the power switch.

Noise is now essentially zero.... as in 99% improvement. YMMV but I think the fan housing was over compressed at install.

I hope this helps others!
 
Opened up my unit and removed the fan/fan plate... I loosened the 4x screws/lock nuts that are holding the fan to the grommets JUST to the point where the screws are not rattling in the fan housing. (i.e. absolute minimum compression of the rubber grommets) Also, when reinstalling, the plate, I added a small rubber mount between each of the 4x hex standoffs that support the fan plate.

Not forgetting to reconnect the fan itself, I closed up the lid, plugged it back in, and flicked the power switch.

Noise is now essentially zero.... as in 99% improvement. YMMV but I think the fan housing was over compressed at install.

I hope this helps others!

Open up and DIY a 2500USD unit under warranty. Foolish or... I vote for this guy knows what he is doing. Great that it worked.
Is that "over compressed at install" done manually by workers?? (I dont know anything about these things). If so, this could be the reason the fan noise is very low or irritating for different units.
 
Actually, it is. Though I get nervous about loosening screws "JUST to the point where the screws are not rattling in the fan housing." That could get away from you at the worst possible times. :)

To clarify... the 4x screws that I left "just tight enough" run through the fan housing/grommets/fan plate... and then are capped by Nylock machine nuts. They are not going to come loose and float around inside the unit due to insufficient torque.

Should be good for life of fan now! :)
 
Is that "over compressed at install" done manually by workers??

I've not seen the line at the contract manufacturer in China (I was in China at a CM last week... for all I know, FAS product was on an adjacent line! :) ) but I can pretty much 100% guarantee that these screws and nuts are manually installed. The use of manual labour and standard machine screws means the grommet compression is going to vary unit to unit.

When I've done this type of isolation in my designs (fans, HDDs, etc), I've tried to opt of shouldered screws where you can torque the nut and the shoulder controls the grommet compression. This works well but the shoulder length can often mean a custom part (unless you get lucky).

All good though. My unit is now quiet and I'm hoping this works equally well for others! Happy Friday!
 
I've not seen the line at the contract manufacturer in China (I was in China at a CM last week... for all I know, FAS product was on an adjacent line! :) ) but I can pretty much 100% guarantee that these screws and nuts are manually installed. The use of manual labour and standard machine screws means the grommet compression is going to vary unit to unit.

When I've done this type of isolation in my designs (fans, HDDs, etc), I've tried to opt of shouldered screws where you can torque the nut and the shoulder controls the grommet compression. This works well but the shoulder length can often mean a custom part (unless you get lucky).

All good though. My unit is now quiet and I'm hoping this works equally well for others! Happy Friday!

Thanks, well that was my wild guess... Living 15 years in China now and seen most stuff but never got into electronics, high tech kind of stuff. Too bad I missed you last week, would loved to learn more about this industry
 
Mine will under go this process when I get home from work so hopefully will have good news to report, and everyone with a loud fan can have an easy means to resolve it

One of the selling point for me actually was that I read the fan is quieter than the XL so will be happy to make that prove to be true
 
I’m guessing Cliff is saying in regards to that factories are noisy and it wold be hard to hear a even a noisy fan

I understood his comment clearly.

I could imagine all kinds of alternative solutions (like a contact transducer), but I’m not going to presume anything (and not appear to be confrontational with the boss). There are many ways to skin that cat. I’m quite sure they are super busy right now.

I figure that FAS will do what they will to make things less buggy, and stay true to continuous improvement as always. Hopefully when my name comes up, most of this stuff will be fixed, incl. FCs.
 
Hopefully when my name comes up, most of this stuff will be fixed, incl. FCs.
Things like this make me nervous - if I had a crystal ball and knew that there would be an AxeFxIII-mk2 in a year with tweaks and fixes - i'd wait on pulling the trigger. Since fan noise was a topic for discussion in the Axefx2 (I think Axefx2-mk2 had a fan change), I'd hoped (expected actually) that the Axefxiii would be quieter than previous models. Doesn't popping the lid risk invalidating warranty?
 
Things like this make me nervous - if I had a crystal ball and knew that there would be an AxeFxIII-mk2 in a year with tweaks and fixes - i'd wait on pulling the trigger. Since fan noise was a topic for discussion in the Axefx2 (I think Axefx2-mk2 had a fan change), I'd hoped (expected actually) that the Axefxiii would be quieter than previous models. Doesn't popping the lid risk invalidating warranty?

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/ne9qdq/warranty-void-if-removed-stickers-illegal-ftc
 
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