Soprano Thermaltake loud fans problem

[SE14man]

Has the Case now for about 3 years and the PC has been switched off like.... twice.
The PC has 1 side fan and an exhaust fan and front fan.
For a while now the fans have been quite noisy and sluggish. It takes a flick to make them functiopn properly but then after an hour they play up again. It's even worse when turning on the PC sounds like a plane taking off (well not quite that bad) but very noisy!
Is there a spray i can buy for it or something or am i due for new fans and if so, how do i know which ones to get?

Thank you.

[redwudz]

I've never had much luck lubing fans. You might fix them temporarily, but it sounds like the bearings are going, so best to just replace them. There are a lot of fans on the market. Try to chose ones that have double ball bearing or, even better, barometric or similar bearings. Those are magnetic, so basically no wear.

You might be able to see what ratings the original fans have on their labels, so you can get similar rated ones. Usually noise ratings below 20 dB are very quiet. But they may not move enough air for decent cooling.

For new fans, pay attention to both the fan noise ratings and CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) of air they pass. If your case can handle them, the 120mm fans are usually quieter. I would also pay attention to internal case temperatures. They usually determine how much cooling you need. This is also a good time to blow out any accumulated dust inside the case. Do this outdoors as you don't want to breathe that stuff.

But if you want to give it a try with lubing, you can pull the fan out and put it on a flat surface and usually under the paper label on the non-rotating side, the bearing is accessible. I have used a Xacto hobby knife to cut a small hole at the center through the label, then put in a few drops of light machine oil like 3-in-0ne oil or similar, spin the fan a few times, then put a patch over the hole to keep the oil from leaking out. The problem is the bearings are probably already damaged and the seals shot, so this may not last long.

[jagabo]

Fans are inexpensive. Just buy new ones.

[Nelson37]

Agree, just replace them. Lube is a short-term solution, almost always.

You may want to look into adding air filters, I've had the same case for many years with filters and no problems on any of the fans.

[SE14man]

Ok ill look into those thanks so much everyone for your help. Is most appreciated.

[ranchhand]

As long as you are changing all the fans anyway, why don't you consider a water cooled unit? You probably will need only one additional fan (if any) after that, and water coolers are extremely quiet. They are quite reasonable in price, install easy, and come in a kit. Newegg has a pretty good selection.