Occassional clicking sound from new computer

Occasional clicking sound from new computer

About three times over the last week, I've heard a clicking sound from the computer I just built
about three and a half weeks ago.
It lasts a little while and then quits.
I've taken off the side panel to try to locate the noise and it seems to be coming from the CPU fan.
I tried changing the performance mode setting of the CPU fan and the rear fan through the UEFI,
but that didn't seem to make any difference.
The clicking just stopped on it's own.

During the build, the only problems were with the internet connection and the two case fan connections.
Both the front and rear fans are the same and have 3 pin power connectors.
The CHASIS_FAN_1 motherboard connector is 4 pins and the CHASIS_FAN_2 two connector is 3 pins.
With the rear fan connected to CHASIS_FAN_1 it averaged between 1200 and 1250 RPM and was too noisy.
FAN_1 did not respond to any attempts to regulate the speed, although FAN_2 did.

My solution was to disconnect the front fan and connect the rear fan to the FAN_2 (3 pin) port.
That has worked well and the motherboard & CPU temperatures have remained the same as with two fans going.
The rear fan now hovers at about 1000 RPM.

I don't know if that configuration has anything to do with the clicking sound.

Do I need to replace the rear fan with one that has a 4 pin connector so it can be on the FAN_1 port?
What about the CPU fan?
I really don't want to have to replace it.

I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions.

 

Inspect your CPU fan again - with lots of bright light. It "sounds" (no pun intended) like maybe one of the fan power wires is being scraped by a blade.

While fan noise can certainly be an annoyance, you MUST NOT reduce fan speeds without CAREFULLY monitoring temperatures. If you cannot reduce fan noise and maintain cool temps, you either need to add additional case fans, or replace your existing case fans with better quality fans. The better quality fans use precision ball or fluid bearings and proper aeronautical designs (fan blades are like rotating wings).

The reason to connect case fans to the motherboard is to allow fan monitoring. You can power fans directly from the PSU - but unless you have an in-line speed control, they will run full speed - and loudness.

If you need to replace your case fans, buy the largest fans your case will support. Large (120mm and larger) case fans move massive amounts of air, but with a slower RPM so noise is greatly reduced.

I would ensure you CPU fan settings in the BIOS have been returned to the default settings.