[SOLVED] Is this noise something to worry about?

[aronopo]

I hope this is the correct section of the forum for this post, if not please let me know!

I just recently built a new rig (hooray!), however it has been producing a slightly worrying noise. The only moving parts in this PC are the fans, and I've checked to make sure no wires are getting caught. It initially happened when I was performing R/W operations on my older SATA SSDs, but I heard it a few times after restarting and getting to the Windows login screen.

I've ran Cinebench as well as FurMark and did not hear the noise during either stress test. I've also gamed on it for a few consecutive hours and didn't notice the noise, though I did have headphones on. I plan on running some more demanding games for the next few hours with the headphones off to see if I notice the sound again. I also plan on replacing these older SATA SSDs and seeing if that helps.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what could make this type of sound? I'm hoping that it's coming from the SATA SSDs, however I'd like to make sure that it's not a sound that the PSU / motherboard is making.

Just heard it happen again, but this time while writing to an NVMe drive. Could this be the motherboard making noise? Is it something to worry about?

 

[Lafong]

All I can hear is a very faint and quick chirping at about the halfway point.

Is that what you are referring to?

Have you made any attempt to ID the source, such as using a megaphone type instrument or temporarily stopping all fans?

Are you merely curious? Or are you seriously worried that it's going to lead to a failure of a major component?

I suspect its an intermittent fan noise and dismiss it, waiting for further developments if any. But you may be highly anxious and can't ignore it.

 

[aronopo]

Yes I am referring to that noise. Someone else said it could be the PSU, so I'm thinking of getting a replacement PSU to see if that solves the issue.

I am trying to replicate the sound, however I'm having issues getting it to happen on demand, so it would be difficult to identify the source while waiting for the intermittent sound to occur.

It doesn't sound like a fan to me, however that is my next step - halting all fans and seeing if it still happens.

I'm curious though, what makes you think its a fan noise? They're all brand new, and there are no wires or cables nearby or touching any of the moving parts. Do fans make that type of sound without any external influence?

I am both curious and anxious - this is my first expensive build and I would hate for anything to happen to it, especially after the 2 week mark, when I'll be unable to return or exchange any components without dealing with the manufacturer RMA process.

It's possible that it's a sound being made by the VRM, in which case a motherboard return would be in order... I really hope not though, because it's such a hassle

 

[Lafong]

I don't know if it is a fan. Could be anything. There are "electrical" noises of various types.

You say fans are the only things in there with moving parts.

I heard nothing that sounded like a fan blade ticking something like a wire.

Power supplies have fans.

That chirp implied rotation or moving parts to me. Could be totally wrong.

Fans have bearings. Bearing noise is common wherever there are bearings. You can hear them in a car engine with anything resembling a stethoscope.

The fact that you can't replicate it makes it hard to chase.

You have to decide on your next few moves....spend 5 minutes or 50 hours on it. That mostly depends on personality.

If you start replacing parts, I'd guess it will disappear if and when you hit the right part. Don't know how that will go over with your parts vendor. "Worth it" to you? I don't know.

Computer parts don't have the reliability of your average pocket knife or refrigerator.

 

[aronopo]

Hey Lafong,

I was able to reproduce the noise by running the stress CPU function in the CPU-Z program.

The sound appears to be originating from the motherboard power delivery area. Seems like when it switches power states it causes the noise to appear.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

What kind of cooling are you running on the cpu? It could be the cpu. I say that because I am running a 5900x on an old AsRock ab350 pro 4 board I’ve had for years. The 5900x is more recent. But it made some noises at times and to the point my usb Bluetooth connector would flake out.

I at first thought it was the board. Ended up turning off pbo and basically limited the cpu a bit and it got better. Just installed a water cooler tonight and turned on pbo again and all seems perfectly fine, cpu running quite a bit cooler. You may very well not be giving the cpu enough cooling to help it out.

I went for the Arctic cooling liquid freezer II 240mm. It actually has a small vrm fan as well to help the board out.


Is that a vetroo v5 cooler? If so that’s the cooler I was using when I started noticing things.

 

[aronopo]

I have a Noctua NH-D15 on an i9-12900K. The sound is 100% reproducible by running CPU-Z stress function, and when I hit start, the noise occurs. I think it's the motherboard causing the noise. I don't know if it's something to worry about, but I'm going to replace the current motherboard.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Can’t hurt. Those noises are disconcerting. I’ve built systems for years and rarely heard those types of sounds.

 

[aronopo]

Can’t hurt. Those noises are disconcerting. I’ve built systems for years and rarely heard those types of sounds.

I feel so freaking stupid guys... it turns out it was a FAN -_- I thought I had set the fan curves flat in BIOS, but I guess it didn't save properly or something... I'm so sorry for wasting your time, but THANK GOODNESS. It was just the fan bearings making noise when the fan started spinning up.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Quick way to test that is when you start up a system, use your finger in the middle of the fan to slow down or stop the fan for a few seconds. If noises stop then replace the fan. Good deal that you found what was happening. Always start small and work up.

 

[aronopo]

Quick way to test that is when you start up a system, use your finger in the middle of the fan to slow down or stop the fan for a few seconds. If noises stop then replace the fan. Good deal that you found what was happening. Always start small and work up.

Yeah, I thought it was something else because I had set the fan curves flat, but I think it either didn't save properly or was overridden, and I've never heard a new fan make that sort of noise before.
Thanks for your help everyone, I'm glad it's nothing serious.