New PC loud fans/cooling

[OmaxOG]

Hello, last night I got around to setting up my new PC. As soon as I turned it on it sounded like someone was hoovering in my room or a jest was warming up his engines. The fans were fast and loud and there was some sort of low humming noise.

My previous pc only had case fans and a small cpu fan, so maybe I am not use to proper fans and AIO being run in the system.

After installing windows and doing the basic drivers updates the pc was still very loud. I went into BIOS and the AIO + pump were set to full speed. I changed it to standard settings and the noise has reduced but still fairly noticeable compared to my old pc. The humming noise turned into a faint pulsating humming.

To note, changing fan setting from stabdard to quiet in BIOS or iCUE makes no difference to noise levels.

Due to lack of experience with proper cooling systems I would like to know if this is normal or do I need to tweak some other settings? Do AIO need to run for a few days before they quiet down? Should I be contacting support directly?

I can provide a video later on in the day after work if needed. Also worth noting maybe, during testing of my system PCs run into an issue with the cooler, what the issue was and how the fixed it I do not know.

PC specs:

Case
CORSAIR 3500X ARGB TEMPERED GLASS MID-TOWER (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X870-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB GIGABYTE RADEON™ RX 7800 XT GAMING OC - 2 x HDMI, 2 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W RMx SHIFT SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
1 x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fan
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Miscellaneous
PCSpecialist 2023 Holo Sticker Sheet
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book

 

[SpyderTracks]

After installing windows and doing the basic drivers updates the pc was still very loud. I went into BIOS and the AIO + pump were set to full speed. I changed it to standard settings and the noise has reduced but still fairly noticeable compared to my old pc. The humming noise turned into a faint pulsating humming.

Windows was already installed and configured, so you mean just running through the initial account setup, or did you actually clean install windows yourself?

You wouldn't control the cooler through the BIOS, it's controlled within Windows in a Program called iCue

Fans will run at full speed at boot, until the iCue service is loaded in windows and it takes control, that's normal.

I would revert your BIOS changes

When you say you updated drivers, by what method did you do this?

 

[OmaxOG]

Yep the initial set up/updates. Not a clean install.

The fans were at full speed/power constantly even after full boot and updates. iCue controls didn’t seem to make any difference apart from completely stopping the fans. In BIOS I went into Q fan controls and the fans were preset to full power there which when changed to standard presets reduced their speed/noise somewhat.

So far I only updated the drivers through windows updater and amd adrenaline.

 

[SpyderTracks]

The fans were at full speed/power constantly even after full boot and updates. iCue controls didn’t seem to make any difference apart from completely stopping the fans. In BIOS I went into Q fan controls and the fans were preset to full power there which when changed to standard presets reduced their speed/noise somewhat.

So this is what you need to troubleshoot then.

Don't change any settings in the BIOS, revert those. Everything should be managed through iCue

I suspect you may be confusing sound of case fans with the cooler fans, or pump speeds with fan speeds. But if the fans are registering in icue ie listed individually they will register changes. If the sound isn't changing when you change the speed of that fan in iCue it's likely because it's another fan causing the noise.

Are you seeing the case fans in iCue?

 

[OmaxOG]

In bios I could see both cooler fans and pump speeds, changing those is the only thing that made difference so far. But I will try revert when I get back home.

I don’t think I can see case fans in iCUE. I can see 3 fans and a pump in there. However my cooler only has 2 fans… I am able to stop those 2 with iCUE but the third one does nothing when I stop it, meaning all other fans remain operational.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I don’t think I can see case fans in iCUE. I can see 3 fans and a pump in there. However my cooler only has 2 fans… I am able to stop those 2 with iCUE but the third one does nothing when I stop it, meaning all other fans remain operational.

So you need to identify those fans firstly, and then troubleshoot from there, it should only be the 2 cooler fans addressable from iCue, as far as I'm aware the 3500x doesn't come with an icue controller of it's own.

The case fans are likely what's addressable from the BIOS config, which would suggest it's not the cooler making the noise, but the case fans.

Case fans don't need to have dynamic speeds, you set them at a static speed, usually fairly low, they're just required to keep the airflow moving in to out in the case to cycle the air available for cooling for the GPU and CPU, but it doesn't need to do any actual cooling of it's own.

You need to isolate the cause of the noise first, then troubleshoot which specific fan that is in the software / BIOS, from there you can set fan curves / static speeds as required.

 

[OmaxOG]

Could there be an issue with iCUE software? Since it’s showing 3 fans + pump instead of 2 fans.

I’ll take a picture of bios fans when I get home and set the 2 I changed back to full speed.

What would be my next steps to take?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Could there be an issue with iCUE software? Since it’s showing 3 fans + pump instead of 2 fans.

I’ll take a picture of bios fans when I get home and set the 2 I changed back to full speed.

What would be my next steps to take?

As above, you need to identify the fans first.

 

[OmaxOG]

So I did a little looking around as I got home now. I think the third fan that appears in icue might be the extra fan I have in the back of the case, however apart from showing up in the software I don’t seem to have any control over it.

It seems the noise is controlled by “w_pump+” in bios. When set to full speed as it did when the pc arrived, it’s very loud. On standard setting the noise is somewhat less but still fairly noticeable.

In icue I can turn off the cooler fans and the noise is still there. So my best guess currently is that it’s the pump or the 3 rgb case fans(which I can’t seem to control).

 

[Martinr36]

So I did a little looking around as I got home now. I think the third fan that appears in icue might be the extra fan I have in the back of the case, however apart from showing up in the software I don’t seem to have any control over it.

It seems the noise is controlled by “w_pump+” in bios. When set to full speed as it did when the pc arrived, it’s very loud. On standard setting the noise is somewhat less but still fairly noticeable.

In icue I can turn off the cooler fans and the noise is still there. So my best guess currently is that it’s the pump or the 3 rgb case fans(which I can’t seem to control).

If you've got it down to that, then just stop each fan briefly and see if the noise stops, you can stop them just by touching them

 

[OmaxOG]

I figured out a few things!

It seems my case fans are labelled as w_pump or water pump. Not sure why or if it makes any difference?

I have installed armoury crate software and was able to access my case fans through there. After auto tuning them through the app and running them in a standard/smart mode my pc is nearly silent now when idle. However, my fans still go “jet engine mode” when I restart and boot up the pc, I need to open armoury crate and set their profile each time. Can this be done automatically? Is this a fix or just a bypass? Should i be doing something else to sort this?

 

[TonyCarter]

I can't find a BIOS manual for the X870 motherboards, but do you not have any fan control in your BIOS settings, which would initiate on boot, rather than needing Windows and Armoury Crate to launch?

Might be QFAN from the BIOS front page (to set a static fan speed, not for RGB)?

 

[OmaxOG]

Update: Seems after few restarts and windows updates armory crate is kicking in at startup, just as windows loads up. Fingers crossed this is sorted now.

In noticed my icue software constantly showing a message “please restart your computer to complete the installation” even after I reboot multiple times. Any ideas about this?

 

[TonyCarter]

Update: Seems after few restarts and windows updates armory crate is kicking in at startup, just as windows loads up. Fingers crossed this is sorted now.

In noticed my icue software constantly showing a message “please restart your computer to complete the installation” even after I reboot multiple times. Any ideas about this?

Was it already installed when you got the PC, or did you have to install it yourself?

Anyway, it probably doesn't matter, but I'd do a uninstall and reinstall to see if something's gone a bit wonky - although I also know Armoury Crate can cause issues in itself (and part of it is installed automatically by the Asus motherboard - and has to be turned off in the BIOS if you don't want to use it).

 

[SpyderTracks]

It seems my case fans are labelled as w_pump or water pump. Not sure why or if it makes any difference?

I'd be very surprised if that's the case, that isn't a fan header, it's an AIO header, that should be the cooler fans.

 

[OmaxOG]

Was it already installed when you got the PC, or did you have to install it yourself?

Anyway, it probably doesn't matter, but I'd do a uninstall and reinstall to see if something's gone a bit wonky - although I also know Armoury Crate can cause issues in itself (and part of it is installed automatically by the Asus motherboard - and has to be turned off in the BIOS if you don't want to use it).

Was pre installed and had the error before installed armoury crate. I’ll try reinstall another day and see.

I'd be very surprised if that's the case, that isn't a fan header, it's an AIO header, that should be the cooler fans.

All signs seem to point to it. Bios + armoury crate have those lables and they affect the case fans when altered. Something I should be concerned about or ok to be left?

 

[SpyderTracks]

All signs seem to point to it. Bios + armoury crate have those lables and they affect the case fans when altered. Something I should be concerned about or ok to be left?

They need to be on a CH_Fan header, not the w_pump one

 

[OmaxOG]

They need to be on a CH_Fan header, not the w_pump one

So potentially they have been plugged in incorrectly? And still able to function? Should I be contacting support about this? I wouldn’t really have a clue where fans should be plugged in.

I also just installed first game on this pc. The gpu fans are idle when not in the game but as soon as I play they spike to 2k+ rpm, with temps being about 50-60. This is also quite loud. Is this normal or do I need to adjust something in adrenaline? Game is Fortnite at max settings, if that matter, I will try more when I download some.

 

[SpyderTracks]

So potentially they have been plugged in incorrectly? And still able to function? Should I be contacting support about this? I wouldn’t really have a clue where fans should be plugged in.

Just move the motherboard headers, they're clearly labelled, can't go wrong. The W_Pump header will just run them at full tilt, it's not designed for fans.

I also just installed first game on this pc. The gpu fans are idle when not in the game but as soon as I play they spike to 2k+ rpm, with temps being about 50-60. This is also quite loud. Is this normal or do I need to adjust something in adrenaline?

It's normal. GPU's tend to have agressive fan curves at factory settings, you just apply your own fan curve to suit your needs. You want stress temps under max of 84c sustained to keep within limits, but really you want them more around 75c max, you can stress with furmark

 

[OmaxOG]

The top of mb, no aio pump connected? Im no expert but this looks wrong right, i dont have a cpu fan but an AIO.

The bottom, case fan wire does seem to sit in w pump spot. Im guessing this is where i need to swap things?

I might be wrong, but feels like the fans/cooling wiring has been done wrong. I hope im mistaken and there is an easy solution, as im far from technical when it comes to all these wires.

As for the game, I have switched from dx 12 to 11 and it made a huge difference. But am I shouting my self in the foot quality wise? Should I just ticker with fan settings?