I bought a used PC containing an MSI RTX 5060 8G SHADOW 2X OC. The card has a 0 RPM fan-stop mode, but whenever the fans start spinning, they make a noticeable clicking or rattling sound. The noise appears as the fans ramp from 0% to 50%, 75%, and 100%, then stop again. I tested with the case side panel on and off, with the PC both vertically and horizontally, and confirmed that no cables are touching the fans. Since the sound follows fan speed rather than GPU workload, coil whine seems unlikely. Could this be a worn fan bearing, or is there another common explanation? The same noise also occurs during normal gaming, not just when controlling the fan speed manually.
1 Answer
It sounds more like a mechanical fan issue than coil whine, especially since it changes directly with fan speed. A worn bearing is possible, although fan blades or the motor assembly can also resonate at certain speeds. As a temporary workaround, disable the 0 RPM mode and set a low constant fan speed so the fans do not repeatedly start and stop. That may reduce the clicking, but it will not repair a damaged fan. If the card is still covered by a seller warranty, replacement or servicing would be the safest option.
Thanks. So you think the sound is probably related to the bearing rather than just normal fan behavior?