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Ok, I've never seen or heard this before, but my PC seems to have started making a faint but very annoying whistling sound which varies with CPU usage (when the CPU is intensively used the pitch of the whistling changes).
What in the world could be causing this? Can the CPU itself emit a whistling sound? It's an AMD Athlon 64 3000+ or 3300+ or something like that.
Anyone have any idea where this sound can be comming from? It's really starting to drive me insane.
Thanks
Cpu fan would be the first thing to check.
May just need cleaning.May be going bad.
I thought so at first, but as I said the sound changes immediately with CPU usage (even if a minimize a window, during the half second of the minimization animation the sound changes instantly at the start and end of the animation), so it almost would be impossible for the fan to be doing that, it certainyl couldnt change speeds that abruptly and spontaneously.
Vibrations from failing Mosfets just don't seem likely but,who knows.
Does this help: I turned off the PC, all fans stopped, the noise continued, I unplugged the PC, the noise continued, I pressed the power button with the PC still unplugged to drain all remaining power and the noise stopped.
I also wanted to add that it's a very high pitch and faint sound, many people cannot hear it at all, but I hear it enough for it to be really annoying, but then again, I can also hear when someone closes their car door from quite a few houses away and even through the sound of a fan, PC and movie playing which also no one else hears. Often we're watching a movie on my projector and I say "the delivery is here" and my friends say like "the doorbell didn't ring" but I had just heard the car stop in front through the sound of a movie, fan, and inkjet printer printing, one was like "how the hell did you hear that?" and my other friend said "oh he has super hearing" or something like that lol.
OMG please help! It sounds like a god damn siren to me! Is it the mosfets? Are those in the psu or on the mobo?
Have you looked into the possibility of EMI being picked up by either the onboard speaker\beeper or your sound system, it's a problem I have come across from time to time and find rerouting of soundcard in\out wires and the addition of a ferrite core around the motherboard to case connections can make it go away, I'm thinking interferance since it is still there when eveything is turned off, which eliminates a lot of potential causes.
This super sensitive hearing issue needs attention.Read all of the below site.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched-mode_power_supply
In thinking back you could have a loose mounting screw anywhere in the mounting
of your hard drive any optical drives like CD or DVD etc.....
Many times a hard drive with loose mounting screws can cause a whine of a sort from the vibration.
You could get the similar noise from a fan mounting bracket or screw.
I posted too close to (gemstone)the speaker/beeper is a solid issue I didn't think about.
street1: What do you mean by this super sensitive hearing issue needs attention?
I think what Street means is that if you insert a pair of knitting needles into your auditory canals until you encounter painful resistance, and then push them in another quarter inch more you'll have resolved lots of annoying noise issues. But, I could be wrong.
Another possible solution is to check your BIOS and see if you have any utilities like Asus Q-Fan enabled. These settings will adjust fan speed based on CPU load, and will cause the kind of symptoms you describe.
[QUOTE=slgrieb]I think what Street means is that if you insert a pair of knitting needles into your auditory canals until you encounter painful resistance, and then push them in another quarter inch more you'll have resolved lots of annoying noise issues. But, I could be wrong.
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That is :grin:
The PSU is brand new and doesn't feel hot, it is a quality Antec SmartPower 450 watts, but the sound does seem to be comming from the PSU, could this noice be normal? Remember it is very faint, most people don't hear it at all, to me it sort of sounds like a far away siren from a few streets away but I can tell it's comming from the PC, similar to the high frequency sound old analog TVs made that also I can hear and many others can't.
The whining comes from a vibration of the windings on a transformer or coil. The transformers are supposed to be "glazed" with a sealant to keep them from whining, but if there's any loose windings, it'll whine.
If it's the motherboard coils making the noise then touch any coils on the MOBO with a match or lolly stick and see if the noise stops. If you suspect the PSU then you'd have to open it to do the same test and so void any warranty. Personally I'd just try another PSU first, 90% chance it'll be that.
Sorry ,it was you not I who made an issue of your very keen hearing.Quote:
Originally Posted by ClickHere2Surf.com
I in know way meant to offend you.I think it is wonderful to have
A gift but, sometimes in unique cases it is annoying to the one who
is gifted.
I really don't think you would hear your CPU.The vibration between your CPU and heatsink may be remedied by cleaning the CPU and heatsink and reapplying thermal paste.
I saw a similar post months back at techspot.com and the person in that case had issues like you are having with your computer.
http://www.techspot.com/vb/all/windo...erd-noise.html
slgrieb and xpuser357 all I can say is...... :grin: :grin: :grin:
Been watching this thread, has made me chuckle.
When i lived in Paris, i had a 'meowing cat' for about the last year in my appartment.
It drove me nuts. Every 30 mins or so in the evening i heard it. A distinct 'meow'. I could never see the bugger!
I asked the neighbours if they maybe left their cat out on the balcony overnight. no neighbours had cats. I spent a few nights looking from 5 floors up into the garden below, no cat to be seen.
I moved back to the uk and forgot about it.....until i picked up the old pc from Paris a few months later.......back came the 'meow'.
yes, its a strange world, but my Athlon XP 2400+ actually does 'meow'. the only thing left of that original pc is the processor. Everything else has been changed.
Weird, but true.
Best wishes,
Parismouton and his Digital Cat (in need of a name...)
The Cat IN A Box -By DR. parismouton Seuss.
That whine it is a whine I hear and not a dog or not a deer.
No ,I do not hear a dog or dear maybe a cat is very near.
But, cats don't live in little boxes only boogs and ragatoxics.
Surely,Surely it's a cat but, electronic ?think of that..............
:guns: :guns: Shoot um up Rhyming Simon excellent job. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by street1
This might be something you overlooked - Have you tried Disconnecting the Display? - I have quite few Screens in my lab that do High pitch (The pitch varies on what is displayed on the screen).Quote:
Originally Posted by ClickHere2Surf.com
Cheer,
Gabriel
I have an LCD screen but the sound is clearly from within the PC.
I just though of this, I just bought a humidifier a few days ago to bring the humidity from 20% to 60%, could this have something to do with it?
:grin:
Humidity certainly does not make your computer (or any electronic equipment) work better.Quote:
Originally Posted by ClickHere2Surf.com
I usually try to lower the Humidity - why have you put such a device?
Gabriel
Some people's hearing is unusually extended at the high frequency end (women usually have the best high frequency hearing), and they can find the whistle from switching power supplies very irritating. It's difficult to pinpoint the exact source of high frequency sounds.
I had a Gigabyte motherboard with "twitters" in the CPU regulators that were dependent on CPU activity. If the source can be positively identified as the PSU itself, then there have been some known whistling or squealing problems from active PFC (power factor correction) units, even in quality brands.
That suggests the whistle may be from the PSU's standby 5V supply, rather than active PFC, which will not be operating when the mains is unplugged.Quote:
Originally Posted by ClickHere2Surf.com
The standby supply will be operating while the PSU is in "soft-off" mode, and will continue to run for a while after the power is disconnected, while the reservoir capacitors hold charge. If you press the power button to give the PSU a start signal, the capacitors will be discharged immediately and the whistle will therefore stop.
If it is the standby, there may be a minor fault, such as an improperly potted coil or component off value, or the standby supply may simply be designed to run at a frequency you can hear eg 18KHz, in which case a different PSU would be the only solution.
I did research on the Antec SmartPower and it is a highly recommended PSU.
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/
The above site gives you a self test for power supply requirements.The more you max out your PSU..........it works hard and whines alot.Just like a man.
The GPU Fan
In my opinion, the fan on a video card is the single most obnoxious sound generator in the entire computer. These fans are often very small and thin and operating at insanely high RPMs, so instead of a whirrrr or a whooshh it's a high pitched whining squealy noise that makes ears bleed and dogs bark.
Why? Because low humidity damages your health, which cannot be replaced. Humidity must be at 40-60% to be healthy. Electronics can be replaced, our health cannot.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gabriel
hmmm, relative humidity is predicted to be 38% here tomorrow.
i had best go sort out something for me and the cat (who still needs a name).
Other than posting theory's here have you actually tried any of the advice the thread has thrown up? Have you tried the monitor, the psu, the MOBO coils, Nero???
gazzak-I just didn't know how to post a reply in the form of a question.Quote:
Originally Posted by gazzak
By Golly! You did it. :wave: :wave: :wave:
As I said:
-It is definately NOT a fan
-It is definately NOT my monitor (it's LCD anyway and the noise continues when it's off)
-The sound definately comes from within the computer case
-It may be a coincidence, but it seems to have started when I got my humidifier, but I also added a hard drive due to my recent crash
I'm pretty sure it's a coil as mentioned above but I haven't confirmed this yet.
I always thought that was the gimp you kept locked in your cupboard making that noise?Quote:
Originally Posted by parismouton
emr
gimp :grin: Good name for your cat parismouton.
emr you named the fantasy feline......Good choice!!!
Parismouton has never had pussy. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by street1
emr
says the man who was caught running around the appartment with my wifes knickers on his head...Quote:
Originally Posted by emr
:wave:
I thought we agreed never to talk about that? :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by parismouton
emr
I had a brand new powe rsupply put out a VERY high pitched squeal just a week or two ago.. My boss couldn't hear it but I certainly could and it was kinda painful... it did it as soon as it was plugged in. I'd replace the power supply with another one just to see if that solves it... oh and... don't forget to be double sure your SATA drive plugs are in before turning on yer computer RAID boy.. :P
Uh, Click, did you ever check the BIOS like I suggested? I could well be wrong, but you won't know if you don't go.
I tend to agree with Platypus about the PSU being to possible culprit, You may have one that is noiser than normal for your hearing
I too can hear and differientiate different sounds, Yes I hear the pizza driver pull up, I know when something is wrong with the car ( My rear axle rattles worse than on old hard drive )
I have an Asus p4p800 with chirping USB ports, whenever I use a USB drive it chirps away , Hard to RMA
I would try another PSU and go for more wattage, Antecs are good, I have a few of them, You may have recieved a noisey one
At least my computer does not meow, it just purrs away