Abnormal Fan Noise

Article ID Code:GK-FAN-02

Hardware Faults

Excessive cooling fan noise is often caused by hardware faults, which typically require opening the device for repair.

• Aging Cooling Fan

  • Abnormal noise generated by prolonged operation of the fan. Lack of internal maintenance and dust cleaning in the machine has led to the aging of the cooling fan components, which is common in devices that have been used intensively for over a year.
  • Solution: Disassemble the device for dust cleaning and maintenance.
    Please use a soft brush to remove dust or a can of compressed air to blow out the vents. After thorough cleaning, restore power and test the device.
  • GEEKOM products have a simple internal design without complex structures, making disassembly straightforward. If you are unsure about performing this yourself, it is recommended to take the device to a nearby repair shop for maintenance.

• Internal Parts Rubbing Against Fan

  • It may be due to an inward dent in the product casing, where the indentation happens to press against the internal cooling fan bearing. When the fan starts rotating, the central bearing continuously scrapes against the inner wall of the casing, producing abnormal noise. (This issue commonly occurs in products with all-metal casings or dual Ethernet port models.)
  • Solution: Slightly loosen the four motherboard fixing screws. When the machine is placed upright, the distance between the cooling fan module and the inner wall of the casing increases, and the abnormal noise disappears.

  • After disassembling the device, you can refer to the following video tutorial for installing the Wi-Fi card antenna.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g4yu3W2N5zDV8GOaKWxDoEA2vQDI3e4j/view?usp=drive_link

  • 

• Dried-Out Thermal Paste (Common After 2+ Years of Use)

  • After extended use — typically 2 years or more — the thermal paste between the CPU and the heatsink can dry out and lose effectiveness. This reduces heat transfer from the CPU to the heatsink, causing the CPU to run hotter than normal. The cooling fan then spins at high speed continuously to compensate, producing persistent loud noise even at low CPU load.
  • How to identify this issue: Download Core Temp and check the CPU temperature at idle (no active workload). If the idle temperature is consistently above 70°C and the fan is running loudly, dried thermal paste is the likely cause. This is particularly common on the Mini IT11 (11th Gen Intel Core i7/i5) and other models used intensively for 2+ years.
  • Solution: Replace the thermal paste.
    1. Power off the device and disconnect the power adapter.
    2. Open the bottom cover (4 screws on the underside).
    3. Remove the heatsink screws and carefully lift the heatsink away from the CPU.
    4. Clean the old thermal paste from both the CPU surface and the heatsink base using isopropyl alcohol (90%+) and a lint-free cloth or cotton swab.
    5. Apply a small amount (pea-sized) of new thermal paste (e.g. Arctic MX-4, Noctua NT-H1) to the center of the CPU.
    6. Reattach the heatsink, reassemble, and test.

    Note: Opening the chassis may affect your warranty. If your device is within the 3-year warranty period, contact GEEKOM Customer Service before proceeding — they can arrange a repair. If you are not comfortable performing this yourself, a local computer repair shop can do it for a small fee.

• Optimizing Heat Dissipation Methods

  • Under normal circumstances: High-speed noise caused by increased CPU temperature. As hardware resource usage rises, the CPU temperature and cooling fan speed increase accordingly, leading to progressively louder noise.
  • Optimize system load: Close background programs (end high-usage processes via Task Manager).
  • Improve ventilation: Ensure the ventilation ports on the bottom/sides of the computer are not blocked, and use it on a flat surface.
  • Long-term maintenance:
    If the device is used intensively in a dusty environment, it is recommended to clean the dust every 6 months.
    For normal usage in a standard indoor office environment, cleaning every 12 months is sufficient.
    (Use a soft brush to remove dust or a can of compressed air to blow out the vents.)

    For devices used for 2 years or more, consider replacing the thermal paste as part of regular maintenance — even if no symptoms are present yet. This is the single most effective way to restore cooling performance on an aging GEEKOM Mini PC.