[SOLVED] Suddenly loud computer - not sure which component/fan ?

[loudnoisesfrompcguy]

Been using my computer for years

Today I decided to mess around the casing, moved a few cables around (and even tilted the computer 45+ degrees, long story)

Now everytime my computer is on, I hear a constant whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr noise.

I'm not an expert (unlike you guys) so I can't tell if it's the CPU, GPU, cooling or PSU

but here's some info

1] WHEN THE COMPUTER STARTS UP - THE NOISE ISN'T THERE!
when the computer is in bios - THE NOISE ISN'T THERE!

2] shouldn't be any hard drives because i removed one by one (except the small system one but i doubt it'd be this loud)

POSSIBLE hint:
when looking at "monitor resources" i noticed that my CPU's max frequency was at 110%.
i don't remember checking this at all so i'm not sure if this is the big change
but it might be?
i went to "power saving mode" and it dropped to 40%, noise is still there


would i be right in assuming it might be GPU?
the noise doesn't get louder/quieter depending on what i do on my pc

it's just a constant whrrrrrrrr


any ideas?

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

(and even tilted the computer 45+ degrees, long story)
You've come this far, might as well share it here for us to get some more context on the matter.

What OS are you working with? If you're on Windows 10, what version(not edition) of the OS are you on? As for your point about Task Manager, might want to parse a screenshot of what you see in Task manager's Resource monitor. Chances are you might've had a memoryleak issue which is averted by a reinstall of the OS(since the OS is corrupt and resulting in what's known as a memoryleak).

Side note, might want to parse the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:

 

[loudnoisesfrompcguy]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

(and even tilted the computer 45+ degrees, long story)
You've come this far, might as well share it here for us to get some more context on the matter.

What OS are you working with? If you're on Windows 10, what version(not edition) of the OS are you on? As for your point about Task Manager, might want to parse a screenshot of what you see in Task manager's Resource monitor. Chances are you might've had a memoryleak issue which is averted by a reinstall of the OS(since the OS is corrupt and resulting in what's known as a memoryleak).

Side note, might want to parse the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:

AMD Ryzen 5 2600
A320M-A PRO (MS-7C51)
16 GB ram
SSD/HDD: too many to list, but the standalone windows system drive is a kingston 120 gb (pathetic, i know, my first drive ever)
GPU: nvidia geforce gtx 1660
PSU: corsair cx750 i think
chassis: don't know what it is
OS: windows 8.1

and just to let you know - i've never stumbled upon "memoryleak" as a possible reason, so that's interesting, but if that's the case, then there's really nothing that I can do

because my system doesn't allow me to reinstall the OS

 

[Lafong]

it's just a constant whrrrrrrrr


any ideas?

Open the case up and put your best ear to work at very close range. Prime candidates would be drives or fans. Fans can be stopped for a second or two to see if the noise disappears.

 

[loudnoisesfrompcguy]

Open the case up and put your best ear to work at very close range. Prime candidates would be drives or fans. Fans can be stopped for a second or two to see if the noise disappears.

I've used a decibel measuring app to see the loud spots

peak decibels are on the CPU fan & the fan to the left of it (basically at the back of my computer case), they go up to 59-60 dB [is this considered normal?]

regarding hard drives:
I had disconnected ALL except the 120 gb ssd - and it still did the noise
today i found out SSD drives are actually silent, so, as old as it may be, it's definitely not hard drive related

 

[Lafong]

peak decibels are on the CPU fan & the fan to the left of it (basically at the back of my computer case), they go up to 59-60 dB [is this considered normal?]

Can you detect anything you might call a rotational varying component to the noise...as opposed to a steady monotonic whine?

Stop those fans one at a time for a second or two.

Sound disappears?

Or not?

 

[loudnoisesfrompcguy]

Can you detect anything you might call a rotational varying component to the noise...as opposed to a steady monotonic whine?

Stop those fans one at a time for a second or two.

Sound disappears?

Or not?

tough question but i've always felt like it sounded "fanny" as in the sounds are caused by rotation, but it seems to be going so fast to give off the illusion of a constant noise. should I maybe record the sound?


yesterday I tried to stop the fan on the back for a bit, i only managed to slow it down a bit, too fearful because i'm not an expert!

(I just tried again, don't have the courage, the readouts on my pc say they spin at around 983 RPM (sometimes up to 1k+)

question: can the CPU fan go at a different speed relative to all the other fans? or is it hardcoded to have the same RPM?

 

[Lafong]

Recording the sound isn't likely to tell us much. Your live ear is the best judge.

There is some possibility that it is NOT related to a fan, but all you've said indicates that is most likely.

Some fans will vary in speed depending on load and some will spin at a constant rpm. That's not important right now.

The back fan.....I assume that is a case exhaust not directly connected to the CPU cooler. Your internal temps would not vary much if that fan were totally removed.

So I wouldn't have any qualms about stopping it totally with a fingertip.

The fan on the CPU cooler is more important, but you can stop it for 2 or 3 seconds...long enough to confirm whether or not the sound stops.

Or.......

You can ignore it all and go about your business, waiting for developments in the noise that may never come. If so, monitor temperatures and fan speeds....which you should be doing periodically anyway, noise or not.

 

[loudnoisesfrompcguy]

Recording the sound isn't likely to tell us much. Your live ear is the best judge.

There is some possibility that it is NOT related to a fan, but all you've said indicates that is most likely.

Some fans will vary in speed depending on load and some will spin at a constant rpm. That's not important right now.

The back fan.....I assume that is a case exhaust not directly connected to the CPU cooler. Your internal temps would not vary much if that fan were totally removed.

So I wouldn't have any qualms about stopping it totally with a fingertip.

The fan on the CPU cooler is more important, but you can stop it for 2 or 3 seconds...long enough to confirm whether or not the sound stops.

Or.......

You can ignore it all and go about your business, waiting for developments in the noise that may never come. If so, monitor temperatures and fan speeds....which you should be doing periodically anyway, noise or not.

I just realized I was going about stopping the fans the wrong way - now I've done it, by placing force on the center of the fan and waiting for it to stop

Did it on the "case exhaust" one - nothing
Did it on the CPU one - nothing

[obviously by nothing I mean: the noise is still there]

the GPU sits closely to both case exhaust & cpu...
and I realized.. the GPU has fans too!

so I look underneath it and................... one is not moving at all.
would I be right in assuming that this could be the cause of this problem? maybe the other one spins up 2x overclock to compensate?
i haven't tried to stop the 2nd one but let me know!

 

[Lafong]

I am clueless on GPU fans.

I'd guess they can be stopped at will just like the other fans, but you might wait for another comment.

 

[loudnoisesfrompcguy]

I am clueless on GPU fans.

I'd guess they can be stopped at will just like the other fans, but you might wait for another comment.

just managed to fix it thanks to your ideas of narrowing the area down (to see where it's loudest) and stopping fans to eliminate which ones it can't be

had narrowed it down to the cpu/case exhaust fan, tried to stop both, didn't work

realized the gpu had two fans, and also realized only one worked
(apparently online some say that it's supposed to be like that? that the others only kick in if necessary? no idea)

so I shut down my pc to see if I can see the switch (from bios to system, which is when the noise starts and never stops) and the gpu fans

and.... pretty anticlimactic but i noticed that there was a small wire "going inside" the second gpu fan
therefore not allowing it to move

glad it got resolved this way because i've had a few hard drive scares in the recent days and I was fearful of keeping my pc on too much because the noise definitely scared me


thank you very very very very much