Fan noise only when mounted

[Degaium]

Being this my first post I'd like to say a warm Hello to all of you. I have been a visitor of this site for many months but now I feel the need to really be a member, in the true sence of the word.

Now onto my problem...
I own an Antec Titan 650 Server Case and I'm using two front fans Antec 80mm TriCool.
When the fans are running but not mounted they don't make a sound. Small vibration but that's all.
If I mount them, they start making this humming noise, like the sound comming from your vacuum cleaner; something like that just less noisy.

I've made some rubber garments out of an old hose, as I thought keeping them at a distance from the case will reduce the sound. Sadly, I does not work and the fans are now like approx. 1cm apart from the fan grill. Doing this operation by hand, I discovered that the noise reduce itself at 3-4 cm away from the fan grill.
Obviously, keeping the speed at low does make any noise but it doesn't help my case temp.

How may I be able to fix this?

Thank you for any help you may provide.

[CA_Steve]

Welcome to SPCR.

You could try silicone fan mounts. This is just one example.

If it's specifically noise created by the interaction of airflow and the cases' fan grill, you could cut out the grill. Maybe you could post a picture of it on your 3rd post.

Doesn't that case accept 92mm fans? You could replace the 80mm tricools with 92mm fans that have better dbA @ a given cfm.

How much money do you want to throw at this?

[Degaium]

Those silicone mounts are the same as my custom made garments.

If it's specifically noise created by the interaction of airflow and the cases' fan grill, you could cut out the grill

That's kind of a drastic measure to take.

Doesn't that case accept 92mm fans? You could replace the 80mm tricools with 92mm fans that have better dbA @ a given

I know I tried an 120mm fan in there and didn't fit. So a 92mm fan will probably work.

How much money do you want to throw at this?

I wouldn't want to spend too much. If possible to find something, my range is about 12$.

[xan_user]

dump the two 80's and put the biggest (spcr recommended) fan you can afford in the back, using silicon grommets (or in a pinch, dabs of silicone glue/caulk in the mount holes like a retail grommet would work)...and maybe cut the rear grill out. - a 120 might fit if you cut a custom hole.

[Pappnaas]

dump the two 80's and put the biggest (spcr recommended) fan you can afford in the back, using silicon grommets (or in a pinch, dabs of silicone glue/caulk in the mount holes like a retail grommet would work)...and maybe cut the rear grill out. - a 120 might fit if you cut a custom hole.

+1 get a decent exhaust fan

In addition, put away the 80mms. If you are worried about hdd temps, you could suspend a 120mm on the inner side of the hdd cage (inside of the case, above the GPU card, pinned to the drive cage) and run it at 7v instead of those dreadfull front fans, which get severly choked by the restrictive fan grill.

[Degaium]

dump the two 80's and put the biggest (spcr recommended) fan you can afford in the back

The exhaust fan is a Zalman ZM-F3 120mm, it's better than Antec anyway and less noisy.

In addition, put away the 80mms. If you are worried about hdd temps, you could suspend a 120mm on the inner side of the hdd cage (inside of the case, above the GPU card, pinned to the drive cage) and run it at 7v instead of those dreadfull front fans, which get severly choked by the restrictive fan grill.

I'm worried about the overall airflow in the case. In your example the fan is beating towards the HDD RACK. That means I'll have two exhaust fans killing each other as there won't be any intake fan in the case.

What is the purpose of the fan grill? Is it dust or something else?
I'm asking if it'll be safe to remove it.


I've also attached an image of the case. It was taken a long time ago but nothing changed except some minor cable management.
The HDDs are located at the very top (where those red sata cables are).

[CA_Steve]

I like Pappnass's solution. Yank out the front 80mm fans and get a nice $10 fan, like the Antec True Quiet 140mm. Use it to draw air from the front of the case through the drive cage. The fan measure 5.5 in on a side - measure to be sure it'd fit.

[Degaium]

Thanks to all for your valuable input. I'll do just that.