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What in a computer can make audible noise?

C

CTho9305

Elite Member
I'm getting a chirping/buzzing noise under certain applications... one example is Prime95. When running the benchmark mode, it makes one buzz for every iteration (e.g. about 72 fast chirps, about 61 slower, about 54 slower, and so on - the benchmark does 72 short iterations, 61 longer iterations, 54 even longer iterations, and so on... and I can count the slower tests... buzzes exactly match iterations) Another example is a winamp plugin called Milkdrop, when used with transparent windows - I get one chirp per frame. The milkdrop chirps are much louder than the prime95 buzzes.

1. CPU - my reasoning is if any part of it was vibrating enough to produce audible noise, the CPU couldn't work.
2. Motherboard - already RMAd it once for this problem. I have tried holding each of the capacitors, inductors and power transistors to see if that would stop the noise and nothing changes.
3. RAM - nothing that could move, same reasoning as CPU. Also, tried grabbing all chips to stop vibration, but no effect.
4. Video card - tried multiple cards
5. Power supply - tried multiple power supplies
6. Fans - stopped them all by hand
7. Hard drive - first off, prime95 and Milkdrop don't touch the disk. Nor does scrolling in web pages. Second, I've unplugged the hard drive. Third, the hard drive doesn't make any abnormal noise when hooked up in other systems. Fourth, I have the motherboard on one power supply, and all the other components on another so that current draw variations by the CPU won't affect stuff like the hard drive and vice versa (I set it up like that when I needed to make sure a power supply wasn't being overloaded).

What am I supposed to do? I have swapped out every component except the CPU and RAM (noise is same at 1.3ghz, 2.2 ghz, seems gone at 500mhz. FSB speed has no effect. I don't have any other DDR RAM sticks). I would normally suspect a faulty voltage regulator (since its parts are generally things that CAN move around a little bit), but TWO different motherboards (Asus A7V8X-X) with the exact same fault?

XP 2100+ @ all sorts of speeds, from 1.3ghz to 2.2ghz
512MB PC3200 Corsiar CAS2.5 @ 200, 266, 333, 400 mhz
Asus A7V8X-X @ 100, 133, 166 fsb
Other stuff (which has been swapped out repeatedly to no avail)

edit: There is also quiet buzzing when scrolling in web browsers and dragging windows around the screen.
edit2: Added hard drive thoughts.
edit3: This happens even without a soundcard, and this motherboard doesn't have a built in speaker. I disconnected my speakers when testing.
edit4: I am 100% sure that it is NOT the monitor, NOT speakers, NOT my keyboard, NOT my mouse, or anything else outside of the case.
 
you didnt mention anywhere in your post (unless i completely missed it) about your hard drive. try defregmenting, and see if that noise sounds anything like the noise you hear from those tests. your hard drive would be my first guess for the source.
 
Sound card/speakers? Try unplugging your speakers real quick and see if it still does that. Sometimes they pick up interference and then make noise they shouldn't.

Monitor? They also sometimes emit buzzing type sounds. Try unplugging it and see if that has any effect.
 
Switching frequencies can generate subharmonics (rolling) which frequently occur in the audible range around LC circuits on fast mainboards. The fields are augmented with current so they are most pronounced at high processor loads and with processor loads that flucuate wildly. I had a few Asus P4S8X boards that would make this noise. The onboard NIC will do it to a lesser extent. I don't think there is anything to remedy this.

The good news is higher frequencies are easily controlled with the chassis covers. Unless your system is dead silent, you shouldn't hear these sounds eminating from a totally closed case.

-DAK-
 
My system is fairly quiet, but it isn't the noise itself that bothers me - it is the concern that someone underengineered something and a capacitor is waiting to shoot its guts into other parts of the computer, or something else will fail. Are you saying that I don't have to worry about that?
 
Well if the sound is coming from a solid state device, the chances are that holding or touching even the exact source of the sound will cause it to change or go away are slim. I'm just wondering what it could be....if it matches the iterations, I wonder if it is just a voltage regulator doing that.

What about your monitor? Could the sound be coming from it?
 
Originally posted by: shuttleteam
Switching frequencies can generate subharmonics (rolling) which frequently occur in the audible range around LC circuits on fast mainboards. The fields are augmented with current so they are most pronounced at high processor loads and with processor loads that flucuate wildly.

-DAK-
Click to expand...

Yeah, what he said. 😛

Seriously, on my Linux box you can hear it when it's hitting the RAM hard. I thought I was going nuts.
 
my fan on my Abit siluro GF4 made a odd squeeky noise, more directly the fan unit was moving and squeeking. i replcaed that unit with a thermaltake unit and it worked fine and quiet
 
My system is fairly quiet, but it isn't the noise itself that bothers me - it is the concern that someone underengineered something and a capacitor is waiting to shoot its guts into other parts of the computer, or something else will fail. Are you saying that I don't have to worry about that?
Click to expand...

:Q

I wouldn't worry about it.

Capacitors do go on occasion, more with a whimper than a bang. This problem was actually a manufacturing defect and was corrected.

-DAK-
 
Like others have mentioned, are you sure it's coming from the case and not the monitor? If you've swapped everything in your case out, and it's still doing it, perhaps you should try some different resolutions/refresh rates on your monitor and see if that changes anything ...
 
It could be your monitor. I've noticed mine occasially makes a high pitched humming noise when I'm surfing the net. It's wierd 'cause I can be visiting 1 page and all will be quiet then I'll load up another page and it will start humming. If I minimize the page the noise stops, and if I restore the page the noise starts up again.

It's not by any means as loud as a banshee but when it's dead silent at night I can hear it.
 
Originally posted by: Cougar
It could be your monitor. I've noticed mine occasially makes a high pitched humming noise when I'm surfing the net. It's wierd 'cause I can be visiting 1 page and all will be quiet then I'll load up another page and it will start humming. If I minimize the page the noise stops, and if I restore the page the noise starts up again.

It's not by any means as loud as a banshee but when it's dead silent at night I can hear it.
Click to expand...

Probably happens when you go from a lot of white to a lot of darker colors ... the guns have to work harder to produce the white, hence a "whine" from them. Changing the refresh rate normally helps get rid of this.

EDIT: Me stupid, it fixed now.
 
Probably happens when you go from a lot of white to a lot of darker colors ... the guns have to work harder to produce the white, hence a "whine" from them. Changing the refresh rate normally helps get rid of this.

EDIT: Me stupid, it fixed now.
Click to expand...


That's pretty much what I figured. I never hear it when I playing games (not that I play many games any more) but I assumed it was the white background on webpages causing the noise.
 
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