Question Desktop humming loudly

[Sean16]

Hi there.

I recently replaced the front case fans on my PC but have noticed a very loud hum while it's on. I actually replaced the fans twice; the first time with Corsair fans, then I switched back to the original fans for a while due to issues with the Corsairs, and then I replaced them again with Cooler Master fans. The loud humming seemed to have begun around the time I removed the Corsair fans and replaced them with the old ones. I also replaced my rear fan. I didn't replace my radiator fans.

The humming is not a buzzing or bubbling but more of a loud "idling" noise, like you'd hear with most machines, only heightened. My PC did make a very low hum before but it was barely audible. The noise doesn't seem to be caused by the fans as I've tried turning all of them down, and yet the loud humming still persists. When replacing my fans, I unscrewed my radiator which is mounted to the top of my case to give myself more space. I thought it might have been the radiator sitting against the RAM but even with the radiator fans off the humming persists.

I opened my case and used a rolled up piece of paper to try to pinpoint the noise, and it seems to be coming from my AIO pump. I didn't touch this while installing my fans but I thought that maybe unscrewing the radiator has caused a trapped air bubble. I've tried running my radiator fans at full speed and tilting my PC to remove any bubbles, but it doesn't seem to have made any difference.

The PC seems fine aside from the strangely loud noise that it's making. I can hear it humming away to itself while standing just outside my room, my desk is on the other side by the wall. I'm quite sensitive to noise and it's very distracting without headphones, I can't sit and relax without thinking that there's something wrong. There doesn't seem to be any oscillation, it's a constant huuuuuuuum, though there have been moments where I've thought it's gone away momentarily.

I've tried reseating my radiator and even switched back to another GPU bracket that I'd swapped out, but I'm thinking it's the AIO pump. When putting my ear to the top of my case, the humming is louder directly above the CPU. I'm stumped and not sure what to try next short or taking it to a repair shop and seeing if they can figure it out.

My specs are:

• Case: Cooler Master Masterbox TD500 Mesh
• Front case fans: Cooler Master Mobius 120P x3
• Rear case fan: Corsair AF120 Elite x1
• Motherboard: ASUS Rog Strix B550-F Gaming
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
• CPU cooler: Corsair iCUE H150i Elite
• Radiator fans: Corsair AF120 Elite x3
• GPU: Palit GeForce RTX 3080
• RAM: 32GB Corsair Vengeance Pro (2 x 16GB)
• SSDs: 1x 500GB Samsung 980 Pro, 1x 2TB Samsung 980 Pro
• PSU: Corsair 1000W RMx Series Modular 80 Plus Gold
• OS: Windows 11
• Monitor: Samsung Odyssey G7

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Ralston18]

7 fans - correct?

Try temporarily unplugging each case fan just by itself and listen.

Determine if the hum stops or changes with respect to any given fan.

 

[Sean16]

7 fans - correct?

Try temporarily unplugging each case fan just by itself and listen.

Determine if the hum stops or changes with respect to any given fan.

Hi there, yep, plus the 3 in my GPU.

I have fan control software and have been able to turn off the fans completely. Even with all fans at 0 RPM, including the GPU, the loud humming continues. I'm beginning to think it's not a fan.

 

[Ralston18]

Use the paper tube again to carefully "listen around" inside the case to pinpoint the source of the sound.

Is there an internal speaker?

 

[Sean16]

Use the paper tube again to carefully "listen around" inside the case to pinpoint the source of the sound.

Is there an internal speaker?

There is yup, it's plugged into one of the bottom headers on my mobo and rests at the bottom of my PC case. The humming comes from much higher up inside my case. Could there be some kind of interference?

 

[Ralston18]

Accoustics perhaps. Resonance.

Power down, unplug the computer, unplug the speaker.

Restart and again determine if the hum is present. And again search for the apparent location.

If the source is not discovered then you will need to take a closer look at everything.....

FYI:

https://www.hifireport.com/the-science-of-hum-in-audio-understanding-the-causes-and-effects/

Look for coils and capacitors. Especially any that may have a blob of glue on them.

Or signs of swelling or leakage. Damage of any sort. Loose or missing screws. Anything bent or cracked.

A bright flashlight will prove helpful.

 

[Sean16]

Accoustics perhaps. Resonance.

Power down, unplug the computer, unplug the speaker.

Restart and again determine if the hum is present. And again search for the apparent location.

If the source is not discovered then you will need to take a closer look at everything.....

FYI:

https://www.hifireport.com/the-science-of-hum-in-audio-understanding-the-causes-and-effects/

Look for coils and capacitors. Especially any that may have a blob of glue on them.

Or signs of swelling or leakage. Damage of any sort. Loose or missing screws. Anything bent or cracked.

A bright flashlight will prove helpful.

Thanks, will do.

 

[Sean16]

Accoustics perhaps. Resonance.

Power down, unplug the computer, unplug the speaker.

Restart and again determine if the hum is present. And again search for the apparent location.

If the source is not discovered then you will need to take a closer look at everything.....

FYI:

https://www.hifireport.com/the-science-of-hum-in-audio-understanding-the-causes-and-effects/

Look for coils and capacitors. Especially any that may have a blob of glue on them.

Or signs of swelling or leakage. Damage of any sort. Loose or missing screws. Anything bent or cracked.

A bright flashlight will prove helpful.

Dumb question but could it even be due to a missing drive cage? While replacing my fans the first time I needed access to the PSU to plug in a controller and removed the drive cage for easy access. My PC doesn't have any HDDs though, only SSDs, so I left it out.

 

[Ralston18]

Not a dumb question at all.

The drive cage may have been providing physical support and/or some accoustical impact that prevented or masked the hum.

Reinstall the drive cage - just as a matter of elimination.

And keep in mind that sometime in the future you may want to add a drive. There are many inexpensive adapters available to allow installing a SSD into a HDD cage. Plus you will know for sure where the drive cage is.....

 

[Sean16]

Not a dumb question at all.

The drive cage may have been providing physical support and/or some accoustical impact that prevented or masked the hum.

Reinstall the drive cage - just as a matter of elimination.

And keep in mind that sometime in the future you may want to add a drive. There are many inexpensive adapters available to allow installing a SSD into a HDD cage. Plus you will know for sure where the drive cage is.....

Okaydokes thanks for your help, will double check that too. Cheers.

 

[Sean16]

Not a dumb question at all.

The drive cage may have been providing physical support and/or some accoustical impact that prevented or masked the hum.

Reinstall the drive cage - just as a matter of elimination.

And keep in mind that sometime in the future you may want to add a drive. There are many inexpensive adapters available to allow installing a SSD into a HDD cage. Plus you will know for sure where the drive cage is.....

Hi there. I reinstalled the drive cage and did a once over of everything with my screwdriver just to be sure everything was tightly secured. The humming does seem to have reduced quite a bit but it's still quite audible, though as badly as before. I dunno if it just might take a few days before I get used to it again or if the case needs to settle a bit. I'll see how things go over the next couple of days.

If it continues or gets worse again, I'm not sure what I could try next. It definitely seems to be coming from the AIO pump which I made sure was tightened.

 

[helper800]

Hi there. I reinstalled the drive cage and did a once over of everything with my screwdriver just to be sure everything was tightly secured. The humming does seem to have reduced quite a bit but it's still quite audible, though as badly as before. I dunno if it just might take a few days before I get used to it again or if the case needs to settle a bit. I'll see how things go over the next couple of days.

If it continues or gets worse again, I'm not sure what I could try next. It definitely seems to be coming from the AIO pump which I made sure was tightened.

This may be something called coil whine. I would google a video of it to hear what that sounds like. If it is indeed coil whine, there are very few options available to fix it. Let us know!

 

[Sean16]

This may be something called coil whine. I would google a video of it to hear what that sounds like. If it is indeed coil whine, there are very few options available to fix it. Let us know!

Ah okaydokes, thanks. I think it could be coil whine. I'll try a few things and let yous know. Thanks for the help!