Hardware Replacing the fans in computer tower?

[the_randomizer]

So, my custom PC has the Cooler Master HAF 912, right? Well I noticed that every now and then, one of the fans makes an occasional squeaking sound (almost chirping like sounds), and I figured one or maybe a couple of the fans need to be replaced, I don't know.

The case support the following fans

Front: 2 x 120mm fan, 1200 RPM, 17 dBA (one is optional sold separately, can be swapped for one 200mm fan)
Top: 2 x 120mm fan or 1 x 200mm fan (optional, sold separately)
Rear: 1 x 120mm fan, 1200 RPM, 17 dBA
Side: 1 x 120 / 140mm fan (optional, sold separately)

I currently don't have any of the optional fans, so far the only fans I have are in the front, the back, in the PSU, the CPU cooler and video card. I used to have a 200 mm fan on top, but that didn't work out too well because the grill atop the case got bent somewhat and the fan would grind against it, so I was forced to remove it, but I still have it in my room somewhere.

What do you think I should do as far as replacing fans is concerned? I've been looking on Amazon (since I have a gift card with 25 dollars of credit), I figured since fans are so reasonably priced, I figured, why not?

120 mm fan for the front intake
http://tinyurl.com/hleuvoa

200 mm fan (no idea how that can possible fit in the front of the case as per product description, no idea how to take that front face plate off either)
http://tinyurl.com/hbhzohb

140 mm fan, which can somehow fit in the side panel where those holes are, no idea how they would mount or if any of these additional fans would adversely affect the airflow
http://tinyurl.com/hasf9hj


So to sum up, I can in theory have a total of six case fans, which might be overkill, but either way, I know the fan in front for sure needs to be replaced, just have no idea how to actually swap it out because I'd have to remove that face plate somehow.

 

[nero99]

It's probably best to replace it. Just to make sure it doesn't die on you. Look up your user manual for the tower and it should tell you how to remove the front panel

 

[the_randomizer]

It's probably best to replace it. Just to make sure it doesn't die on you.

Would it be conducive of me to replace the front fan (again, no idea how to actually take the front off and replace it, unless I do it from the inside), but add another fan or two for better airflow? I see grooves or holds for a 120 or 140 mm fan on the side of the case, but I'd have to get some kind of mounts, not sure.

 

[nero99]

Would it be conducive of me to replace the front fan (again, no idea how to actually take the front off and replace it, unless I do it from the inside), but add another fan or two for better airflow? I see grooves or holds for a 120 or 140 mm fan on the side of the case, but I'd have to get some kind of mounts, not sure.

More fans means better air flow. If I were you, I'd either use all 6 fan mounts or at least 4 of them. If you really want it to be cool on the cpu side, get a corsair water cooler. That aside, what tower model do you have?

 

[the_randomizer]

More fans means better air flow. If I were you, I'd either use all 6 fan mounts or at least 4 of them. If you really want it to be cool on the cpu side, get a corsair water cooler. That aside, what tower model do you have?

Model posted in OP, the Cooler Master HAF 912

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

It's not 100% exact as they ran out of the specific model I have, as the side looks a bit different, no idea how I'd mount the side fans, unless the fan(s) I get come with screws or similar to hold it in place. Heck, not even sure if I have spare connectors, I'd have to see and hope I can hook them up to my PSU. That being said, I'll need to look more to see if I can find the real product info for my case since I can't find that particular design anymore. I definitely need more fans for sure.

 

[nero99]

Model posted in OP, the Cooler Master HAF 912

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

It's not 100% exact as they ran out of the specific model I have, as the side looks a bit different, no idea how I'd mount the side fans, unless the fan(s) I get come with screws or similar to hold it in place. Heck, not even sure if I have spare connectors, I'd have to see and hope I can hook them up to my PSU. That being said, I'll need to look more to see if I can find the real product info for my case since I can't find that particular design anymore. I definitely need more fans for sure.

not sure why i thought that was your fan model lol. it looks like you should be able to just pull it off the tower, or pull it off after undoing the locks or whatever holds it in there. as for the mounting, unless you buy a used fan, all new fans come with screws. some even come with power connectors for you molex psu cables. also, heres a youtube link that shows how to take the front off, if its your model that is. fast forward to 7:26 for removal of the front panel.

 

[the_randomizer]

not sure why i thought that was your fan model lol. it looks like you should be able to just pull it off the tower, or pull it off after undoing the locks or whatever holds it in there. as for the mounting, unless you buy a used fan, all new fans come with screws. some even come with power connectors for you molex psu cables. also, heres a youtube link that shows how to take the front off, if its your model that is. fast forward to 7:26 for removal of the front panel.

Alrighty, and yeah, I plan on getting the fans all new from Amazon, since I can save a lot of money with the Amazon credit that I have on there already, the model isn't exact, but it's very very close to what I have, as I can't find the exact one for some reason, so the principle should be the same as far as my case goes, thanks, man

 

[nero99]

Alrighty, and yeah, I plan on getting the fans all new from Amazon, since I can save a lot of money with the Amazon credit that I have on there already, the model isn't exact, but it's very very close to what I have, as I can't find the exact one for some reason, so the principle should be the same as far as my case goes, thanks, man

you're welcome. glad i could be of some help

 

[the_randomizer]

you're welcome. glad i could be of some help

I'll keep researching fans and seeing how to take them out/replace them and then report back here.

 

[FAST6191]

It might just be that the fan needs a drop of oil. What you have to do varies between fans but it is usually just a matter of removing the sticker, maybe a spring or retaining washer and then you are there to drop some oil in.

Waste your money on new fans if you want though.

 

[the_randomizer]

It might just be that the fan needs a drop of oil. What you have to do varies between fans but it is usually just a matter of removing the sticker, maybe a spring or retaining washer and then you are there to drop some oil in.

Waste your money on new fans if you want though.

They're not terribly expensive, luckily, just don't know how to take the front cover off, gonna watch that video though on how to do it; the other problem is I don't know which fan is causing the squeaking, I can hear it, but I can't pinpoint it.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

So, my custom PC has the Cooler Master HAF 912, right? Well I noticed that every now and then, one of the fans makes an occasional squeaking sound (almost chirping like sounds), and I figured one or maybe a couple of the fans need to be replaced, I don't know.

The case support the following fans

Front: 2 x 120mm fan, 1200 RPM, 17 dBA (one is optional sold separately, can be swapped for one 200mm fan)
Top: 2 x 120mm fan or 1 x 200mm fan (optional, sold separately)
Rear: 1 x 120mm fan, 1200 RPM, 17 dBA
Side: 1 x 120 / 140mm fan (optional, sold separately)

I currently don't have any of the optional fans, so far the only fans I have are in the front, the back, in the PSU, the CPU cooler and video card. I used to have a 200 mm fan on top, but that didn't work out too well because the grill atop the case got bent somewhat and the fan would grind against it, so I was forced to remove it, but I still have it in my room somewhere.

What do you think I should do as far as replacing fans is concerned? I've been looking on Amazon (since I have a gift card with 25 dollars of credit), I figured since fans are so reasonably priced, I figured, why not?

120 mm fan for the front intake
http://tinyurl.com/hleuvoa

200 mm fan (no idea how that can possible fit in the front of the case as per product description, no idea how to take that front face plate off either)
http://tinyurl.com/hbhzohb

140 mm fan, which can somehow fit in the side panel where those holes are, no idea how they would mount or if any of these additional fans would adversely affect the airflow
http://tinyurl.com/hasf9hj


So to sum up, I can in theory have a total of six case fans, which might be overkill, but either way, I know the fan in front for sure needs to be replaced, just have no idea how to actually swap it out because I'd have to remove that face plate somehow.

I have the same case, I took off the front once to clean out the dust that had gathered there, I don't remember exactly how to do it but it wasn't particularly hard, I think it was more or less just pulling it off starting from the bottom. Can't remember if there were any screws, there might have been a couple small screws on the sides, you'll spot them easily. I didn't even need to look in the manual.

The fans in my case also tend to be noisy and sometimes start making a grinding noise like they're brushing up against something (they're not), the top fan is especially bad. I think it's just normal with these fans, but replacing them might be a good idea anyway if the noise is bothering you.

Since you're replacing the fans anyway, put some dust filters on them while you're doing it, the damn thing absorbs dust from across the other side of the universe. I wish I would have gotten a case with slightly less massive air vents, nothing needs this much air flow anyways. The front fan already has a dust filter on it but if you're upgrading to a larger fan you might need a larger dust filter, not sure.

And remember, the fans have LEDs in them (or at least the front fan does), so if you like that feature and want to keep it make sure the replacements have LEDs in them as well. Unless I'm completely wrong about that and the LEDs are actually attached to the case itself, I haven't checked TBH.

Edit: The case I have is actually the HAF 922, not the 912. Whoops. It looks like it's just a smaller version of the case I have, so everything I said should still be mostly accurate.

 

[the_randomizer]

I have the same case, I took off the front once to clean out the dust that had gathered there, I don't remember exactly how to do it but it wasn't particularly hard, I think it was more or less just pulling it off starting from the bottom. Can't remember if there were any screws, there might have been a couple small screws on the sides, you'll spot them easily. I didn't even need to look in the manual.

The fans in my case also tend to be noisy and sometimes start making a grinding noise like they're brushing up against something (they're not), the top fan is especially bad. I think it's just normal with these fans, but replacing them might be a good idea anyway if the noise is bothering you.

Since you're replacing the fans anyway, put some dust filters on them while you're doing it, the damn thing absorbs dust from across the other side of the universe. I wish I would have gotten a case with slightly less massive air vents, nothing needs this much air flow anyways. The front fan already has a dust filter on it but if you're upgrading to a larger fan you might need a larger dust filter, not sure.

And remember, the fans have LEDs in them (or at least the front fan does), so if you like that feature and want to keep it make sure the replacements have LEDs in them as well. Unless I'm completely wrong about that and the LEDs are actually attached to the case itself, I haven't checked TBH.

Edit: The case I have is actually the HAF 922, not the 912. Whoops. It looks like it's just a smaller version of the case I have, so everything I said should still be mostly accurate.

It wasn't so much of a grinding noise, but a squeaking/squealing noise, with each note scaling to a higher note, usually three or so notes and then it stops, it's really weird and annoying, I don't even know where it's coming from, and I hope it's not the CPU cooler, but I doubt it. Dust filters would be good to have too.

 

[Joe88]

are you sure it not coil whine?

https://youtu.be/HP73edpQwgc?t=108

 

[the_randomizer]

are you sure it not coil whine?

https://youtu.be/HP73edpQwgc?t=108

I wouldn't even know what that meant, but I do hear an occasional whining/squealing from one of the fans, lasts a couple of seconds and goes away. Don't even know which one it's coming from, but it's not constant.

 

[Pluupy]

Just open up the case, identify each of the fan cables, and unplug them one by one to determine who's the trouble maker. Don't waste your time and money on a whole new set of fans.

Follow this guide (it has pictures)
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/quiet-noisy-computer-fans-with-a-drop-of-oil/

Buy a bottle of 3-on-1 household oil (it looks like this) at hardware stores, open up the wee fan, and give it a drip or two. Or hell, open up all the fans and give em a drip just to make sure they're all running optimally.

In the future, be sure to keep your computer on a raised surface, dust it periodically with dust cleaner spray, and away from heat sources.