Squeaking Noise Coming From My Pc

[Alex374]

A sort of squeaking noise has been coming from my PC for a while.
Im honestly not sure where the Squeaking noise is coming from, Its been an ongoing problem for a few months. Whenever I play games or its under heavy load i start to hear the sound.

Quick Response would be much appreciated.

 

[TheMagicalWallaby]

Can you list your system specs?

It is probably the PSU, but could be the GPU as well. What you hear, I believe, is coil whine.

 

[King Kevain]

Did you check your Mouse?

Ba-dum-tsshh!

ha ha, but seriously, it's likely your CPU or GFX fan winding up under load. Silly question, but when was the last time you cleaned the fans and Heatsinks inside the case?

If you clean the Heatsinks, it will lower temps under load, fans wont have to go so fast
If you clean the fans, they will be better balanced and make less noise

If its a fairly old system, maybe easier just to replace the CPU Heatsink and Fan - most PC shops have buckets of stock coolers lying around and they're pretty cheap.

Wouldn't hurt to take it to a shop for a service and clean if you're not comfortable doing it yourself - better to spend $50-80 on that than have it die on you in another month.

 

[Alex374]

Can you list your system specs?

It is probably the PSU, but could be the GPU as well. What you hear, I believe, is coil whine.

Intel i5 Quad Core 3.5ghz
GTX 760 2gb
Rosewill 630 watt

 

[Alex374]

Did you check your Mouse?

Ba-dum-tsshh!

ha ha, but seriously, it's likely your CPU or GFX fan winding up under load. Silly question, but when was the last time you cleaned the fans and Heatsinks inside the case?

If you clean the Heatsinks, it will lower temps under load, fans wont have to go so fast
If you clean the fans, they will be better balanced and make less noise

If its a fairly old system, maybe easier just to replace the CPU Heatsink and Fan - most PC shops have buckets of stock coolers lying around and they're pretty cheap.

Wouldn't hurt to take it to a shop for a service and clean if you're not comfortable doing it yourself - better to spend $50-80 on that than have it die on you in another month.

I cleaned it like around 6-8 days ago. Not sure if i cleaned it thoroughly to be honest.

 

[TheMagicalWallaby]

Can you list your system specs?

It is probably the PSU, but could be the GPU as well. What you hear, I believe, is coil whine.

Intel i5 Quad Core 3.5ghz
GTX 760 2gb
Rosewill 630 watt

If you open your case and put your ear to the GPU, and then the PSU, you will be able to tell. I'm betting its the PSU.

 

[Alex374]

Can you list your system specs?

It is probably the PSU, but could be the GPU as well. What you hear, I believe, is coil whine.

Intel i5 Quad Core 3.5ghz
GTX 760 2gb
Rosewill 630 watt

If you open your case and put your ear to the GPU, and then the PSU, you will be able to tell. I'm betting its the PSU.

ok actually i checked it a bit more and now i think its either the power supply or video card (hopefully not)

 

[Alex374]

Can you list your system specs?

It is probably the PSU, but could be the GPU as well. What you hear, I believe, is coil whine.

Intel i5 Quad Core 3.5ghz
GTX 760 2gb
Rosewill 630 watt

If you open your case and put your ear to the GPU, and then the PSU, you will be able to tell. I'm betting its the PSU.

is there a way to use the power supply and graphics card separately to check where its coming from, i know its one of the 2 but cant figure it out.

 

[TheMagicalWallaby]

Can you list your system specs?

It is probably the PSU, but could be the GPU as well. What you hear, I believe, is coil whine.

Intel i5 Quad Core 3.5ghz
GTX 760 2gb
Rosewill 630 watt

If you open your case and put your ear to the GPU, and then the PSU, you will be able to tell. I'm betting its the PSU.

is there a way to use the power supply and graphics card separately to check where its coming from, i know its one of the 2 but cant figure it out.

Try running a stress test on your CPU such as prime 95 or Intel burn test (your CPU will get really hot so monitor the temps just in case). also, When you put your ear up to it, use the back of the PSU to test as the sound will be more clear if it is that.

 

[Alex374]

Can you list your system specs?

It is probably the PSU, but could be the GPU as well. What you hear, I believe, is coil whine.

Intel i5 Quad Core 3.5ghz
GTX 760 2gb
Rosewill 630 watt

If you open your case and put your ear to the GPU, and then the PSU, you will be able to tell. I'm betting its the PSU.

is there a way to use the power supply and graphics card separately to check where its coming from, i know its one of the 2 but cant figure it out.

Try running a stress test on your CPU such as prime 95 or Intel burn test (your CPU will get really hot so monitor the temps just in case). also, When you put your ear up to it, use the back of the PSU to test as the sound will be more clear if it is that.

its my video card actually. from what it sounds. Can i get it replaced for free off of the company website?

 

[King Kevain]

Ok, you mentioned you cleaned it a few days ago - what's your definition of clean?

My definition is a little anal I suppose, but i'd remove the GFX card from the PC, remove the Heatsink and Fan, clean off any TIM, use an air compressor to clean the Heatsink after removing the fans, then clean the fan blades with Plastic safe solvent, blow the dust out of the fan motor and/or oil if it's that sort of fan.

The fans are usually just attached to a PWM header on the card, if you want to see how they are going after you clean them, just plug them into a PWM header on the mobo, plug your screen into the onboard GFX port, jump in the BIOS and using the PWM controls throttle them up and down to see if they are balanced and running nicely again (alternately you could boot to Windows and use something like Fan Expert, but you'll have to install GFX drivers and may have driver issues once you put the main card back in later).

Once you are satisfied the fans are running nice and smooth again or you have replaced them with new ones if they were fatally damaged, reattach them to the Heatsink, apply some TIM and reattach to the GFX card and put it back in the system.

Job done properly - you'll get twice as much life out of your components if you clean them thoroughly at least once or twice a year.

 

[TheMagicalWallaby]

What GPU brand do you have and when did you buy it?

 

[Alex374]

What GPU brand do you have and when did you buy it?

I bought it at the middle of summer last year and the brand is EVGA.

 

[King Kevain]

Ahh good - no need to reinvent the wheel then - have a go at this - http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/42769-how-to-clean-a-evga-760blower-cooler/ - you'll need to create an account to look at the pics, but only takes a sec.

Seriously, proper servicing of your components is very important to avoid "squeaking"- you don't have to be a professional cleaner to keep house, same with your PC, you don't have to be an expert to look after your bits and bobs

FYI - "Squeaking" is so my new term for fan noise from here on in 😉

 

[TheMagicalWallaby]

Ahh good - no need to reinvent the wheel then - have a go at this - http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/42769-how-to-clean-a-evga-760blower-cooler/ - you'll need to create an account to look at the pics, but only takes a sec.

Seriously, proper servicing of your components is very important to avoid "squeaking"- you don't have to be a professional cleaner to keep house, same with your PC, you don't have to be an expert to look after your bits and bobs

FYI - "Squeaking" is so my new term for fan noise from here on in 😉

It could be coil whine that he is experiencing.

 

[TheMagicalWallaby]

What GPU brand do you have and when did you buy it?

I bought it at the middle of summer last year and the brand is EVGA.

EVGA will replace it for you if you filled out the warranty in the first 30 days after purchase. Just make sure it is the GPU and not the PSU.

 

[Alex374]

Ok, you mentioned you cleaned it a few days ago - what's your definition of clean?

My definition is a little anal I suppose, but i'd remove the GFX card from the PC, remove the Heatsink and Fan, clean off any TIM, use an air compressor to clean the Heatsink after removing the fans, then clean the fan blades with Plastic safe solvent, blow the dust out of the fan motor and/or oil if it's that sort of fan.

The fans are usually just attached to a PWM header on the card, if you want to see how they are going after you clean them, just plug them into a PWM header on the mobo, plug your screen into the onboard GFX port, jump in the BIOS and using the PWM controls throttle them up and down to see if they are balanced and running nicely again (alternately you could boot to Windows and use something like Fan Expert, but you'll have to install GFX drivers and may have driver issues once you put the main card back in later).

Once you are satisfied the fans are running nice and smooth again or you have replaced them with new ones if they were fatally damaged, reattach them to the Heatsink, apply some TIM and reattach to the GFX card and put it back in the system.

Job done properly - you'll get twice as much life out of your components if you clean them thoroughly at least once or twice a year.

Thanks actually. I will try this but if it dont work i will see if i can get it returned.

 

[King Kevain]

Ahh good - no need to reinvent the wheel then - have a go at this - http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/42769-how-to-clean-a-evga-760blower-cooler/ - you'll need to create an account to look at the pics, but only takes a sec.

Seriously, proper servicing of your components is very important to avoid "squeaking"- you don't have to be a professional cleaner to keep house, same with your PC, you don't have to be an expert to look after your bits and bobs

FYI - "Squeaking" is so my new term for fan noise from here on in 😉

It could be coil whine that he is experiencing.

True, true, I did think about that, but he said it's squeaking, not whining, and the card has been in the system a while, which would suggest dirt/dust in the motor. Coil Whine usually happens with new devices before they're run in...usually.

Does it still squeak when fans are at 100% - you should test that

 

[TheMagicalWallaby]

Ahh good - no need to reinvent the wheel then - have a go at this - http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/42769-how-to-clean-a-evga-760blower-cooler/ - you'll need to create an account to look at the pics, but only takes a sec.

Seriously, proper servicing of your components is very important to avoid "squeaking"- you don't have to be a professional cleaner to keep house, same with your PC, you don't have to be an expert to look after your bits and bobs

FYI - "Squeaking" is so my new term for fan noise from here on in 😉

It could be coil whine that he is experiencing.

True, true, I did think about that, but he said it's squeaking, not whining, and the card has been in the system a while, which would suggest dirt/dust in the motor. Coil Whine usually happens with new devices before they're run in...usually.

Does it still squeak when fans are at 100% - you should test that

A coil whine can sound like a squeak depending on the pitch.