Scythe Shuriken - SCSK-1000 - noise!

[selder]

I have recently bought a new setup (CPU, CPU cooler, memory and motherboard, complete specs here: Weyland.be Specs

That new Lian Li case is ultra-silent with all the fans in the lowest speed setting, but ...

... that CPU cooler makes noise sometimes! It's not a constant noise, more like 30seconds noise, 2 minutes nothing, 30 seconds noise, 2 minutes nothing ...

It's hard to describe the noise, it's like there is something loose on the cpu cooler, something iron that is vibrating.
Putting my finger on the fan of the cooler, and thus make the RPM drop a bit, makes the noise go away immediately.

This is after I disabled Q-fan and all other fan-controlling utilities on my computer (they were never active for that matter)

Now what? I don't want this noise at all, my previous Zalman CNPS7700-Cu didn't have this at all. Is this a known problem? Can I fis this myself? Do I RMA the thing?


-edit-

I just noticed this: Normal operation of the fan (and when it makes no noise at all) it's running at 2100/2200 RPM, when it makes the noise it's running at 100-1200 RPM.

I don't have anything (software, hardware fan controller) that "manages the RPM automagically" on my system. The scythe is plugged in correctly on the CPU_FAN1 connecter on my motherboard.

Where does this difference in RPM come from?

[Oli]

If you have Q-Fan disabled the fan shpuld always run with full RPM.

Shuriken uses a PWM controlled fan. If this fan is connected to a 4-pin fan header on the mainboard AND the PWM feature is activated in BIOS (Q-FAN for Asus) than the fan is regulated by the board based on temps.

This PWM regulation explains the difference in RPM. But as stated it should not happen if Q-FAN is off.

You should do some testing if 1200 rpm is sufficient to cool your system to acceptable temps at full load. If yes then do not use q-fan but use a manual fan controller like Fanmate 2 or something similar to set a fixed rpm rate for Shuriken's fan.


Cheers, Oli

[selder]

Indeed, with Q-fan disabled all fans connected to the motherboard should always run at full RPM.

I can clearly see the RPMs drop from ~2200 to ~1100 in speedfan, lavalys Everest and other tools, and I don't know where this comes from.

~1200 RPM is sufficient to cool the CPU, it's idling at 17°C, (core 1 at 27°C, core 2 at 19°C - that's something else I'll have to investigate, why is this difference so big?)

I will do the following test: I'll install the Intel Stock CPU cooler, and look what his RPM will do. If they "fluctuate" too, then there is a problemen with the mainboard, if this is stable, then there must be a problem with the Shuriken...

[Oli]

What is your room temp?! (CPU at 17 degrees). Difference in Core Temps could be a result of an uneven heatspreader = different contact of cooler socket to CPU.

[selder]

No idea about the roomtemp ... could be as low as 16°C, I'll check tonight. (at work now, RDP'ing to my machine at home)

Here is a screenshot: http://weyland.be/temps-e8400-idle.jpg

[Oli]

Please remember the thermal diode of most E8x00 models is faulty. It delivers false values to real temp / core temp / BIOS. Most of the time those diodes report temps that are way too high but it could also be the other way around in your case.

I was surprised as 17 is very low (must be quite cool in this room) cause with even a very very good cooler the cpu should idle some degrees above the room temps.

With 21/22 in the room my Mugen cools the E6700 down to 30 degrees. The E8400 stays much cooler than E6x00 so I'd guess idle temps should be around 5 degrees above environment temps.

[selder]

Well indeed, those diodes are never accurate, but they give a raw indication ... with a CPU temp of 70°C idle there will probably be a problem with the CPU, IHS contact or the CPU cooler itself.

Anyway, I'll test my Intel stock cooler tonight and update this thread afterwards.

[selder]

Ah, here you are, I thought I had lost you, my dear thread.

Anyway, I did some more testing.

I installed my stock Intel cooler (from my E8400) and had 0 (that's "zero") issues with it. Rock solig stable RPM, no fluctiations whatsoever. A tad higher idle temps than with the Shuriken, but that was to expect.

Reinstalled the Shuriken, and then:
- resetted bios to default > same issue
- disabled Q-fan > same issue
- enabled Q-fan in mode "performance" > same issue
- plugged the Shuriken in "chassis_fan1" instead of cpu_fan > same issue (apart from the "CPU fan 1 error press F1 to continue)

But then ... yesterday I saw the fan of the shuriken come to a COMPLETE STOP!!! Luckely my E8400 isn't overclocked and my Lian Li PC-V1010A is a case with a very good airflow. Temps of the e8400 never came over 30°C (idle that is, didn't stress it)

Because I have the same issue when I connect the Shuriken to chassis_fan1 or cpu_fan, I'm thinking it is really a problem with the Shuriken, and not the mailboard.

How do I handle this? I know the Shuriken didn't cost a lot, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't work perfectly!

Ah, here is the behaviour of the Shuriken for the past hour or so (this is with Q-fan disabled in BIOS):

[hiroshige]

Hello selder,

did you see if the Shuriken-Fan stops oftenly? If yes, maybe it is just broken and you have to send it back for RMA.

Could you please try to connect it directly with your PSU?

Cheers,
Stefan

[selder]

I have connected the Shuriken directly to my PSU (using the 2pins<>Molex connector.

Offcourse I can't read the RPM value anymore in SpeedFan, but I can see - and most importantly HEAR - the fan variating in RPM. I can see it turning as slow as 500rpm, and also at 2000RPM. (estimated values offcourse)

So I have to say: same issue connected directly to the PSU...