Question Coil whine? or something else

Jan 10, 2022
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It only happens in low load (using a cpu stress test tool completely stops it.) The noise is always the same frequency, it only varies in duration (sometimes is short, other times its a lone droning tone.)
The PSU is proprietary, so I can't swap it out for another one. I put my ear against the PSU, and it doesn't seem to be that.
This PC is (mostly) a headless system, so the only thing that could be on the GPU is a command line, no graphical user interface.
This hard drive was in a different PC, so it can't be that

Here's a link to an clip showcasing the issue (its an audio file with a static image)
https://rainynight.city/linkz/terrible-sound.mp4
 
I think this sound may be one of two: Coil whine or a fan with bad bearing. Most probably coil whine since you've established that the issue seems to corresponds to low cpu load.

Note that there are also voltage regulators on the motherboard itself so it doesn't have to come from within the power supply box.
 
Jan 10, 2022
6
0
10
Kicking the CPU up could possibly theoretically cause the fans to increase speed slightly, so I'll still test the fans. If it is coil whine though, its probably nothing to worry about right?