Noise Coming from PC

[mmgbilska]

I have noticed fairly loud and weird noise coming from my PC whenever there's a large temporary file generated. This occurs when: I'm recording a long video in high quality, I'm exporting a long video from my editing software, I'm playing highly demanding games. The noise is sort of rattling. I have tried testing my fans, by running them all at full speed, and none of them made the noise, so it's not the fans. Any ideas what could be making a loud strange noise within a PC, when there's a large temp file generated?

 

[CountMike]

HDD ?

 

[mmgbilska]

Assuming it were, is there anything I could do personally to try to diagnose it and/or fix it? If I have to, I'll take it to a place that fixes computers, but if there's anything I can do on my own first to try to figure out what exactly is causing the noise with HDD, or maybe fix it, I'd love to try that first.

 

[CountMike]

I would check the HDD first, many utilities including http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/hddexpert.html
and one that matches HDD's make: http://www.majorgeeks.com/mg/sortname/hard_disk_drive_(hdd)_tools.html

 

[mmgbilska]

I have ran a series of tests and here's what I've concluded:
- the noise is NOT coming from the HDD (it is in fact coming from the opposite side of the PC)
- the noise is NOT coming from the fans (I ran them at full speed, no noise)
- the noise only happens when there's large temp files being generated
- the noise only happens if the case is on (no noise with the case off)
- the noise seems to be coming from the power supply.

So in conclusion, my best guess is the noise is coming from the power supply, if the case is on, ONLY when there's a large temp file being generated. Not sure how the cause and effect works here. Any guesses? Is this a: replace your power supply sort of situation? Just asking for advice, I'll probably go to a proffessional about this anyway.

 

[CountMike]

The only thing in a PSU that can make noises is it's fan or occasionally a high pitched sound called Coil whine. That usually happens under high loads.

 

[mmgbilska]

I believe it is coil whine, might just have to replace the power supply, since I don't really see fixes for that issue.

 

[CountMike]

If it's coil whine, any repairs are just temporary. Nail polish on offending coil can stave off coil whine.

 

[mjslakeridge]

I wouldn't recommending opening up a PSU, unless you know how to properly discharge the capacitors, as they contain high voltage, even when the PSU is unplugged.

What is the specific make and model of your PSU?

 

[mmgbilska]

It's a Corsair CX Series 600W ATX. I stress tested it now to see if it'll cause the noise, and stress testing the PSU made the noise appear again. It sounds like coil whine (I checked recordings on youtube). And apparently the CX Corsair series is known for loud coil whine :/

 

[mjslakeridge]

The reason I asked about the brand and model of the PSU is that if it was a quality unit and you could live with the coil whine, I would say to keep using it. However the CX series are not very high quality, and if it fails it may not have the necessary protections to prevent your other components from being taken out.

See the attached link, your PSU is Tier 4:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

 

[mmgbilska]

Thanks! I will look into replacing it as soon as I can afford to, and until then I'll avoid everything that causes it to make the noises. Luckily I know fairly well what can cause the coil whine.

 

[mjslakeridge]

I am a fan of the Tier 2 Seasonic PSUs. I bought a G series 450W early last year to replace a generic PSU I had been using and am happy with it.

 

[mmgbilska]

Thank you for all your help! The post about PSU Tiers helped me a lot, I think I have my eye on a good one (hopefully no extremely loud coil whine on that one), and I'll replace my current one soon. Thanks again!

 

[mmgbilska]

Well.. I have replaced my PSU, ran a test today and the noise is still there. So I'm guessing that leaves the GPU or motherboard. Unless someone can think of a clever way to determine which one it is, the PC will go to a service centre, cause I'm at a loss.