Hardware making oscillatory sound

[becometheavatar]

I have Corsair PSU 450W, AMD Phenom X4 955BE, Gigabyte 880GM USB3 motherboard with onboard ati hd4250, and 1 TB WD blue hdd.

Don't know if it is called as resonance. It's a oscillating sound but the intensity of humming is of varying frequency.

I recorded this to give you an idea if in case I am not able to explain it well: http://puu.sh/duk2X/ac76a01f98.mp3
This resonating noise isn't always there, it comes, stays for a random time and it goes. The frequency of resonance also isn't the same, it is random, so sometimes it resonates fast, n sometimes slow.
And this same kind of noise comes in a constant tone (without resonance/oscillation) when i start my PC, with a higher intensity.

I am not sure if it is a fan or the hard drive. If it is a hard-drive then I'd need to be careful bout it.
PS: I am sure it is not my CPU's fan cause I know what it's sound is like. It could be my PSU's fan or the HDD or either of 2 fans on my cabinet.

 

[Bubbaleone]

Welcome to the forums, becometheavatar. What you're hearing is the result of harmonic resonance caused by one (or more) of the rotating assemblies in your computer. There's no such thing as a perfectly balanced rotating assembly and, generally, the mechanical components in a typical custom build that cause this condition are new cooling fans with cheap bearings, old cooling fans with worn out bearings (whether new or old, this also includes the CPU, PSU, and GPU cooling fans), and cooling fans that don't incorporate rubber isolators between the fan housing and the case.

Since modern HDDs are manufactured to extremely close tolerances, and utilize very high-quality ball bearings on the spindles, their contribution to any harmonic resonance is generally the result of a poor mounting arrangement. This can be mitigated by using a HDD mount that incorporates rubber vibration isolators betweem the HDD mount and the internal computer case structure the HDD mount is attached to.

And then there's the case itself; inexpensive light-gage cases that are assembled using slots, tabs, and screws will amplify any vibration to a much greater degree than a case constructed from a heavier gage material that's been assembled with rivets.

A good course of diagnosis would be to first thoroughly inspect that all fasteners are properly torqued, and then begin disconnecting the power to one fan at a time for just long enough to see if the harmonic resonance decreases or increases. You'll immediately hear the difference and can be quite certain that fan is a contributor, if not the culprit. Note that the case cover needs to be re-attached as usual, as you test each individual fan. Leaving it off while testing will cause the system to resonate at a completely different frequency, making it difficult (if not impossible) to accurately identify the offending component/s.

.

 

[becometheavatar]

Alright, I will do the testing after completing my assignments. Thanks for a detailed answer!

 

[Bubbaleone]

You're quite welcome...enjoy the forums!

 

[inachu]

I had pc that did that it was not the psu but came from the motherboard.
My pc was not tweaked or overclocked. It would squeal if it was hot or cold.

I googled it and found out other people who had my brand suffered the same thing.
The company got out of the motherboard making process due to the cut throat competition. I ended up throwing it away since they refused support for it.

In my case the squealing came from near the cpu where there were no moving parts other than the cpu fan. I guess one of the mosfets were out of spec for the board.

 

[haggggler]

I had something similar, turned out to be bad Caps in the PSU.

 

[inachu]

I had something similar, turned out to be bad Caps in the PSU.

I'll have to record the sound next time I run into this.

 

[phasseshifter]

sounds like a fan to me..it also sound`s like if you have an air cooler that it is prolly the fan in subject your mobo bios settings in h-ware monitor for your fan control is throttling the fan..check fan settings in your bios set all fans to full on state and see if you get any difference..on the other hand also go to direct opposite see if there is a difference you may be able then to pick out what fan is in question..

 

[phasseshifter]

I had something similar, turned out to be bad Caps in the PSU.

this is possible too as bad filtering/regulation can cause many different faults .. for example is the noise at switch on or does it appears after time..if it is after time or during running your processor hard ..capacitors can change there status with more load the power supply ones especially as they work the hardest ..the conductive compound inside a electrolytic capacitor electrolyte drys up wears out ..without getting to technical here..so it may well be time for a new supply..also look at the big caps on the mobo if they have plastic covers that have moved or bulged up an over the top of the cap this is not good..also tops the very top has it domed out or risen....

 

[becometheavatar]

Sorry for taking so long. I have found the source of NOISE. I disconnected it and there is only sound, it is kinda resonating as of now, but not unpleasant. I have sharp ears, gotta check what others at home have to say about this tomorrow in the morning.

When i disconnected the fan located near the power button (bottom of the cpu in my case), the noise was gone. I connected it back and grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr; during the boot.
Like i had said, sometimes there is this huge noise when I started my PC, and it was this fan. I have disconnected it for now, I can't see major temp differences yet.
There is still resonance, like I said. Is it something to worry about?

 

[phasseshifter]

the fan may not be mounted correctly or something is wrong with it it may be out of balance...i would try to replace the fan if it is an intake one..because it prolly blows air over your hdd`s ...if this is the case..but it`s not a huge problem it may just be annoying to live with..as for other resonance cheek to see if other fans are tightly secured...

 

[becometheavatar]

the fan may not be mounted correctly or something is wrong with it it may be out of balance...i would try to replace the fan if it is an intake one..because it prolly blows air over your hdd`s ...if this is the case..but it`s not a huge problem it may just be annoying to live with..as for other resonance cheek to see if other fans are tightly secured...

Rest fans are set tight, but can't be sure with the one inside the PSU.
And the architecture of my cabinet is bad, I can't check that fan's screws too.

 

[phasseshifter]

i doubt very much if it`s the power supply fan ...i run corsair`s in all my machines and they are almost silent..but am going to get a seasonic for my next build ..see what there all raving about..time will tell...

 

[becometheavatar]

Is it safe to keep the fan above the CPU off?

 

[MongGrel]

You need a CPU fan normally, that would be one you should never turn off.

Unless you're doing like a HTPC passive radiator type thing, which I doubt is what you're doing.

 

[phasseshifter]

Is it safe to keep the fan above the CPU off?

pls never turn that fan off..save u and us all here at the forum

 

[Ketchup]

Sorry for taking so long. I have found the source of NOISE. I disconnected it and there is only sound, it is kinda resonating as of now, but not unpleasant. I have sharp ears, gotta check what others at home have to say about this tomorrow in the morning.

When i disconnected the fan located near the power button (bottom of the cpu in my case), the noise was gone. I connected it back and grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr; during the boot.
Like i had said, sometimes there is this huge noise when I started my PC, and it was this fan. I have disconnected it for now, I can't see major temp differences yet.
There is still resonance, like I said. Is it something to worry about?

Thanks for getting back to us. Glad you found the cause. I only use a front fan if I have more than one hard drive mounted. In every other build I have not noticed a difference with/ without a fan mounted up there.

 

[becometheavatar]

And yeah, the temps look kinda normal, so nothing to worry about, i think.

You need a CPU fan normally, that would be one you should never turn off.

Unless you're doing like a HTPC passive radiator type thing, which I doubt is what you're doing.

pls never turn that fan off..save u and us all here at the forum

I was to do it for testing if it's that fan, that too for a short time.
But nevermind, the sound isn't much noticeable now, all seems good now.

 

[phasseshifter]

some times new fans have like a wear in cycle as i have oftern found that they bind in after some use..this does not always happen but it is not uncommon...