Droning sound coming from my case

[Elcs]

I noticed this with my Antec SLK3000B too but never thought anything of it.

There is this droning noise coming from my case. Its a repeating sound lasting about 1.5 seconds, starting low, getting a little louder then going low to go loud again. This cycle goes on and on. Sometimes it will stop and I dont understand why.

I am now in my Centurion 590, brand new Seasonic PSU after RMA'ing the old one and this sound still eminates from my case.

For testing, I turned off every case fan and cpu fan in my case. The sound is still present.

The only other idea I have is my PSU making this noise. It would be odd if my older S12 600W and this new S12 EnergyPlus 650W made the same noise.

I would appreciate any help available to troubleshoot this problem.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Hard Drive.

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
Hard Drive.

Some elaboration would be nice

If it is the hard drive, how do I tell 100%? How do I fix it?

 

[mpilchfamily]

If its a noisy drive then you'll know by placing a load on the system causing it to access the drive. But if it is justy a noisy drive there isn't much you can do about it other then replacing it.

It could also be a system fan. If you have a fan connected to the motherboard and the board is able to control the fan speed based on temps then there may be an issue with the boards control causing it to throttle the fan up and down.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

If it's the hard drive the only way to completely silence it would be to completely suspend it. Best way to tell is to fire up the system with no power going to the hard drive and see if it's still there. I would have normally said it's just a worn out fan as they'll come off balance or sleeves can wear unevenly and you'll get a wobble in the fan but, you said you've already ruled them out. If it's not the hard drive then it's got to be the power supply fan. You said you turned off every case fan and the cpu fan, what about the chipset fan?

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
If it's the hard drive the only way to completely silence it would be to completely suspend it. Best way to tell is to fire up the system with no power going to the hard drive and see if it's still there. I would have normally said it's just a worn out fan as they'll come off balance or sleeves can wear unevenly and you'll get a wobble in the fan but, you said you've already ruled them out. If it's not the hard drive then it's got to be the power supply fan. You said you turned off every case fan and the cpu fan, what about the chipset fan?

The noise happens whether the HDD is stressed (reading/writing). The system can be idle and still have the sound.

No chipset fan on my system. I have turned off every single fan inside my PC not including PSU fan.... so the PSU fan is the next one to look at.

If I remove fans from the equation, the only moving parts would be the PSU fan and HDD surely?

A Seasonic S12 EnergyPlus and a Samsung Spinpoint...meant to be quiet

The thing that throws me is that the sound is not always present. It is most often there but not always. Ill try to cut out my PSU fan and see what becomes of it. I really hope it is the HDD, easier to fix

 

[Marty502]

Suspend the hard drive, you won't believe it. That dropped the noise massively on my computer. You will need more HDD cooling though, since the chassis transfers some heat. So keep a nice fan near it.

 

[imported_Scoop]

What does your ear tell you? Can't you locate the source with your ear next to the case? Do you have multiple HDDs or just one?

 

[Zepper]

Yeah, if you can't locate the source with your naked ear when it's present, then try a mechanic's stethoscope (auto supply store). I have an old 10k SCSI drive that has a dynamic imbalance that may not be noticed when it is running on its own but in certain conditions a resonant coupling can be established that can be felt throughout the case and becomes intolerable to the ear (it's like a thrumm that regularly rises and falls in amplitude over some period). So if you have more than one drive, try running one setting outside the case and one as normal in the case. Then reverse the positions (when inside, make sure the drive is mounted in its original position at all times). If your noise goes away when only one is in the case, then there is a mutual amplification going on. It could also be a resonant coupling between fans or even a fan and a drive - change the speed of a fan to see if the noise changes. Weird things can happen in a closed system...

Another anecdote- The Rocketfish case has an H-shaped chassis-metal grill in the front fan opening that causes a noise thru interaction with the front fan. Any piece of hard material close to a fan blade can interact negatively (see my recent thread "a filter to avoid" or such for another instance of a noise generator). Straight material like the legs in that filter housing will cause more interaction than curved ones like the spokes in the Qualtek housings. Best is nothing at all in proximity to fan blades, but you can't always have what you want...

.bh.

 

[WoodButcher]

Loosen the all screws on your hds a couple of turns. If the noise changes you found the culprit. Another fix I would do as well is to find the panel (s) that are amplifying this vibration and sound proof them. I put rubber on every panel in my cases and the difference is amazing, from a Pinto to a Porshe.

 

[RallyMaster]

I would also blame the hard drive. In Vista, one of my hard drives spin down and doesn't vibrate (assuming you're referring to the OHHHHNN....OHHHHNN....OOHHHNN noise) unlike in XP. That's the hard drive that makes all the noise and drove me nuts. Vista shut that drive up hard. Oh, one thing...Creative MP3 software made the hard drive vibrate all over again. If you have it, uninstall it and see if resolves the problem.

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
I would also blame the hard drive. In Vista, one of my hard drives spin down and doesn't vibrate (assuming you're referring to the OHHHHNN....OHHHHNN....OOHHHNN noise) unlike in XP. That's the hard drive that makes all the noise and drove me nuts. Vista shut that drive up hard. Oh, one thing...Creative MP3 software made the hard drive vibrate all over again. If you have it, uninstall it and see if resolves the problem.

You described the sound perfectly.

The fact that it does not make that noise 24/7 could be attributable to software. However, I will try the "loosen the screws, isolate it and other stuff first.

Now once thats done, all I have to do is figure out why my Slipstream 1600 @ 900 on the side panel is so loud compared to the other 1600's at 900.... and its not vibration, holding the panel solves nothing.

 

[WoodButcher]

The fan noise is an attribute of the grill, and the goodies behind it breaking the air. Running w/ the side off, as far as the fan wire will allow does the noise go away? the sound may be another interior fan causing the disturbance, vid card? Toss the vid and the noise goes away. Try reversing, removing or even blocking those side vents, with the front, top and back fans alone you'll still need to keep it tied down to prevent liftoff.

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: WoodButcher
The fan noise is an attribute of the grill, and the goodies behind it breaking the air. Running w/ the side off, as far as the fan wire will allow does the noise go away? the sound may be another interior fan causing the disturbance, vid card? Toss the vid and the noise goes away. Try reversing, removing or even blocking those side vents, with the front, top and back fans alone you'll still need to keep it tied down to prevent liftoff.

Removing the panel with the fan attached and pointing it in any sort of direction does very little for the sound signature. It still sounds pretty much the same.

There is no fan on my video card. This side panel fan was my Video Card fan

The top fan which is an identical speed fan on an almost identical fan spot... blowing air through the grill instead of sucking it through it... perhaps that is why?

I think I'll turn the fan off, pull it off the side panel and run it free. If it still makes a noise... dodgy fan and Im happy with that because they are being replaced. If that doesnt solve it, I'll reverse airflow and see what happens.

 

[WoodButcher]

While playing with a slipstream I have, a 1900, in free air I noticed a major sound difference just moving my fingers in front of the air flow. I can't recall now which, in or out made the biggest difference but the sound blew me away. I had never heard such a change.

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: WoodButcher
While playing with a slipstream I have, a 1900, in free air I noticed a major sound difference just moving my fingers in front of the air flow. I can't recall now which, in or out made the biggest difference but the sound blew me away. I had never heard such a change.

Front intake = fine. Little noise increase through the tiny holes in the front.
Rear exhaust = fine. Blowing air out of the honey comb with minor noise increase.

Side intake = noisy pulling air through honeycomb. Reversing airflow to make it push air in reduces noise significantly but not totally.

Looks like the problem is the honeycomb grill. Sucking air in over the grill makes the noise.... pushing it in does not have such a profound effect.

Got my new fans en-route. I'll be replacing the side panel fan with something slower so that'll help. Probably going to cut that honeycomb away.... then I need to make motions to fix my resonating HDD!!!!

EDIT:

WoodButcher: If you have 2 minutes, try this with your 1900 slipstream.

1) Listen to it move free air at 12v
2) Listen to it sucking air through your fingers
3) Listen to it pushing air through your fingers

I would also test it at lower voltages to see what happens to the noise signature at lower levels.

In my testing with my case grill and my 1600 @ spinup voltage (approx 900) then 1) was silent... 3) was a little noisier, notably so in an open environment but not bad at all and 2) was terrible.

I am replacing that side fan with a PWM Scythe Kama which I hope to control with my graphics card (see my other thread) which should run quieter. If I still have this grill issue, I will be dremelling at the weekend.