Guys, am I doing it wrong?
Have you had similar problems with this model of fan?
I decided to replace front fans on my fractal define 7 XL. I have 12 HDDs in front and their temperature was a bit too high for my liking.
I’ve bought arctic p14 fan Wendell recommended a while ago.
Upper fan got caught and shuttered.
Middle fan was scratching metal of the case but I managed to fix that with cardboard spacers.
It’s the build quality (specifically the material) of the fan housing. The plastic is just too soft. Thermalright fans are like that too (except for their B series fans), hence the cheap price. Does not help that Arctic does not have great QC, so some batches are considerably worse than others. Basically, if you apply too much torque while screwing them in from the intake side, the housing will deform causing the impeller to swift out of place. Cases with front fan mounts like yours make the problem worse due to the metal tabs and rails for fan mounting. Either use spacers (2-5mm) or be extra careful when mounting them (apply the minimal torque necessary or use silicon fan mounts).
I’ve purchased another P14 fan from third seller.
This time I tried to be extra gentle while making last few turns with screwdriver. Fan works as expected without extra spacers.
Gently relaxing screws on one of the older fan didn’t help. I’ll still have. I guess it your bad batch/soft plastic theory is correct.
I’ve tried contacting Arctic support last week but they haven’t responded yet. I’ll try again this week
