Crackling/sizzling/scratching sound coming from CPU/Heatsink??

[acousticdj]

Recently changed my stock heatsink to a cooler master hyper 212 plus because I wanted to try overclocking an old system. I haven't changed any settings in the bios yet. AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+. Asrock Alive NF6P-VSTA.

Unfortunately it wasn't until after installing it on my mobo that I realized it was too big for my case so I just left the side panel off for now. A new case is on it's way but ever since changing it, I'm hearing this random but persistent crackle/scratch/sizzle sound that sounds similar to a sound a drive makes when it's writing, only a little louder.

I know it's not coming from the hard drive or the PSU. It's definitely coming from the CPU or heatsink area. I turned off the lights to see if there was anything visible coming from the area and I don't smell anything. Performance lags a bit when the sound is happening.

I figured at first the performance issue was my hard drive. It's making other sounds but I've got a new one on the way so I'm not worried about that. I just upped my RAM from 2 to 4GB (made sure it was the right kind).

I guess it could have been happening before, but I think maybe I just didn't hear it before because the case was closed and now it's wide open.

Any ideas? THANKS.

 

[sarinaide]

well you can find out for sure if you have a defective fan, plug in the stock fan and see if there is any noise you refer to, also plug in the cooler+fan to a fan connector and see if the sound is in fact coming from the cooler. If so, RMA it, it is not unusual to have defective fans.

 

[acousticdj]

Thanks. Yeah I was hoping to not have to take out my mobo again to find out lol but that's probably what I'll do. Didnt realize it was common to have defective fans but definitely good to know. I'll post what I figure out from my detective work.

 

[sl4y3r]

Is your PSU mounted at the top or bottom of your case ?If top it could be that.If the caps in the PSU are weak it can cause a squeaky kind of sound.I say this out of first hand experience.

 

[acousticdj]

Top. It is an el cheapo PSU. I'll check it out too. Thanks.

 

[digdog]

idiot-proof answer (srry, not meaning to offend): when you installed the 212, did it have thermal paste (a graysh stuff like play-dough) on the bottom?
did anything else come in contact with the haetsink base / cpu ?
can you check your temps and make sure they are ok (under load - check that the cpu speed is maxed out)

 

[acousticdj]

None taken lol. Funny story. I actually bought and installed a different heatsink/fan before this one and had it all the way installed when I realized the guy at the store had handed me a 3 pin fan for my 4 pin connection on my board. So I uninstalled that one, reinstalled my stock one, then got the new fan a couple days later and installed that one. But yeah I used thermal grease every time. I did try to clean up the extra around the edges gently with a plastic spoon but nothing came in contact other than that.

 

[acousticdj]

And I used CPUID program to check temps and they're good.