Lian Li 011 Dynamic XL - Vibration (Pulsing Hum)

stryfex

Weaksauce
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Nov 12, 2020
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Does anyone have this case and experience a pulsing humming sound - seemingly caused by vibration of some kind?

I've been feeling around in there all day trying to pinpoint this hum and I just can't seem to figure it out - driving me nuts

I've tried tightening all the fans or even just touching them or pushing on them to see if I can isolate one...and it doesn't seem to be a fan imbalance thing it's the actual case itself - like the entire thing is experiencing a vibration of some kind (and not always but often). I've tried hugging the case (like leaning on the top of it and holding the 2 side panels and pushing on the front one all at the same time) and it stops - but i can actually feel the case trying to vibrate while i do that (it's pretty slight but it's annoying nonetheless)

could this be caused by too much air in vs out (or vice versa) ? I have 3+3 intake fans and 3+1 exhaust fans
 
Sounds like vibration from the fans, resonating and traveling through the case. Check to make sure there aren't any loose cables touching the sides or front of the case, make sure all four feet are touching the floor/desk and not missing the rubber pad.

Also, see if disabling any of the fans causes the vibration to stop. Disconnect all of them, and reconnect one at a time until it starts again. If you disconnected all and it still vibrates, it's likely the gpu or psu fans. Make sure both are secured to the case properly, see if touching the gpu shroud or psu fan grill stops the sound.
 
I have the case, no vibrations for me. Running 2x360 rads, 10 fans. I did put a water block on my gpu, but even before didn't have an issue with vibrations. I hope you can track it down and take care of it. Let us know what you find though, in case it does pop up later.
 
I've been reading a bit that the vibrations from hard drives can travel through the case due to the way the hot-swap cradles are connected - so I'm going to try taking all 4 drives out tomorrow and seeing if that helps (my 4 hard drives are all just raw storage...SSD does the actual work so removing them is definitely doable for troubleshooting purposes)
 
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well it's definitely not the hard drives - all 4 are sitting on a desk beside me and case is still vibrating up a storm
 
I'd suggest trying what I mentioned in post #2, and additionally if you have any unused drive trays I'd pull them out.

Anything loose could vibrate and cause noise, especially near the side panels, so that's where I'd focus my attention.
 
I'd suggest trying what I mentioned in post #2, and additionally if you have any unused drive trays I'd pull them out.

Anything loose could vibrate and cause noise, especially near the side panels, so that's where I'd focus my attention.

Agreed - will be my project during/after my 1:30 meeting. I suspect the PSU is a good chance the culprit as it's old whereas everything else is brand new. GPU is old too i guess but vibration happens even when GPU fans aren't running
 
I second #2 (just unplug all fans with exception of cpu fan) as quite recently had realization that my gentle typhoon fans resonated at around ~700-850 RPM. There's not that many moving parts in a PC so elimination is best bet. And just to be sure – you fastened the screws firmly? Loose panels also can lead to vibration.
 
If that doesn't isolate the problem, it's probably just the side panels vibrating. Check the tabs along the edge of the panels. If any are bent out too far, the panel will hang off the side slightly and vibrate. Carefully bend them back, a little at a time, until it no longer vibrates.
 
No vibration, or hum with my 011d xl. Similar setup, but most of my fans run around 40% most of the time.
 
i took this thing out and so far i've only heard the faintest of hum - barely even noticeable

so i'm closer - obviously this metal panel wasn't the cause of the hum but it was helping amplify/spread it

IMG_20210205_142309.jpg
 
I've been reading a bit that the vibrations from hard drives can travel through the case due to the way the hot-swap cradles are connected - so I'm going to try taking all 4 drives out tomorrow and seeing if that helps (my 4 hard drives are all just raw storage...SSD does the actual work so removing them is definitely doable for troubleshooting purposes)
Do you have any issue with HDD noise as well?
 
i took this thing out and so far i've only heard the faintest of hum - barely even noticeable

so i'm closer - obviously this metal panel wasn't the cause of the hum but it was helping amplify/spread it

View attachment 326439
I'll take this out of mine and see if it helps. I also have experience pulsating noise. I just thought it was motherboard related.
 
I'll take this out of mine and see if it helps. I also have experience pulsating noise. I just thought it was motherboard related.

i noticed my case came with a couple little 3M strips of rubber i put one at the top and bottom of the panel and re-installed it - so far so good but it's only been like 2 minutes

also note that for me at least (probably everybody?) that metal panel touches the PSU unit a bit...so supports the theory that PSU vibration is the root
 
i noticed my case came with a couple little 3M strips of rubber i put one at the top and bottom of the panel and re-installed it - so far so good but it's only been like 2 minutes

also note that for me at least (probably everybody?) that metal panel touches the PSU unit a bit...so supports the theory that PSU vibration is the root
Can you send a pic of the 3M placement? I can't picture what it is you did in my head.
Also what type of HDD are you using? WD blue/green/black or Seagate? And what rpm?
 
Can you send a pic of the 3M placement? I may have to do the same thing.
Also what type of HDD are you using? WD blue/green/black or Seagate? And what rpm?

3x WD Green (5400 RPM) and 1x WD Blue (i think it's also 5400 RPM?) they are all quite old

i don't want to rip the case open at the moment but i'll annote the other pic I sent in a sec
 
Can you send a pic of the 3M placement? I can't picture what it is you did in my head.
Also what type of HDD are you using? WD blue/green/black or Seagate? And what rpm?

this is what i did - i haven't been running long enough to confirm this works though - but so far it's working nicely


IMG_20210205_142309.jpg
 
Is the purpose of the 3M tape to avoid using screws to attach this panel to the back of the case? Just to be clear, is this panel now inside the case or outside?

Panel is in the case as per typical installation

the rubber pads were my attempt at prevening the metal panel from causing a vibration against the top and bottom (also metal) - the vibration originates from the PSU (just a theory) or something else but the metal "carries" it and then the hum happens. the rubber dampens the metal on metal touch at both connection points. I'm still using screws to attach it to the case - the only purpose of the rubber is to buffer between
 
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