Weird sound coming from the CPU socket

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markot86
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Weird sound coming from the CPU socket

Post by markot86 » Sat Oct 07, 2006 5:16 pm

Hey guys,

I just recently silenced my PC, but now that I have, i'm hearing several very concerning noises coming from my motherboard.

Whenever I play world of warcraft (for some reason, it only happens when I play world of warcraft and not when I use CPU burn-in) A strange churning noise is emitted from my CPU socket and I have NO idea what it is. It sounds literally like I have a pump in my cpu socket. I know it's coming from somewhere around there because I've stuck my head literally in my case and can hear it whenever world of warcraft runs. What the heck is my motherboards problem? I'm running a socket 754 3700+ clawhammer on an asus k8n4-E deluxe motherboard. Thanks so much.

Bobfantastic
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Post by Bobfantastic » Sat Oct 07, 2006 11:55 pm

Hmm... sounds like it could be case vibrations being caused by your HDD. That would explain why it occurs during gaming, but not under CPUBurn or similar tools- they dont really use the HDDs once they're loaded. WoW will be constantly cache-ing and streaming data to and from your HDD as you play. The case is likely transferring these vibrations through everything else inside. Do you have any suspension or softmounting of some sort for your HDD(s)?

Other than that, I think the only other alternative is that you caught a bug under the processor and he's not a WoW fan! :wink:

Tibors
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Post by Tibors » Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:02 am

It's probably coil whine. It's nothing to worry about, in the sense that it is not a sign of impending failure. But it is annoying to solve if you want to get rid of the sound. There are three approaches.
  • Get a new mobo. (Not really a viable solution, but....)
  • Try to silence the coils with electricians goop. (Only possible if you really know what you are doing.)
  • Close up all holes in your case that are not strictly needed for ventilation. Then stuff all the free space in your case with sound dampening foam. Of course leaving enough room for normal airflow.
It's not really stange you only hear it with WoW and not with CPUburn. CPUburn gives a constant high load. WoW gives a rapidly changing load. I have a PSU that make chirping noises, but only when I run Prime95. The noises change pitch depending on the size of the FFT's Prime95 is calculating.

nici
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Post by nici » Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:14 am

I would aslso say it's coil whine, i've had that on all my systems while stressing the GPU, thats on 5 ati cars and 2 nVidias on 6 mobos and 4 CPUs.. It's never constant, more like "waves", or actually somwhat like a very low frequency sine-wave with an annying tone. 0.5Hz or somehting like that. IMO this is one thing damping foam inside the case actually helps.

Edit: I think "Chirp" describes the sound pretty well. Or i might also be completely bonkers.

jaganath
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Post by jaganath » Sun Oct 08, 2006 4:25 am

I would aslso say it's coil whine
Coil whine does not sound like a pump; if the OP is describing the noise accurately it's not that.

nici
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Post by nici » Sun Oct 08, 2006 6:24 am

nici wrote:Or i might also be completely bonkers.
Quoting myself :lol:

I have no idea what else it could be though, there should be no moving parts in there. Coils don't always "whine" even if they make noise.

markot86
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Post by markot86 » Sun Oct 08, 2006 10:31 am

Well, it's a very weird noise, and i know it's not my HDD because A) i have a p180 and the hdds are VERY far away from the cpu, and B) it's coming from the cpu socket. I'm not being picky, but it's an absolutely horrible noise that changes (i.e. it doesn't stay as a constant tone). If I were to get a new mobo, would there be any guarantee that it would fix my issue? do I just have a crap mobo? would increasing the amount of cooling around the coil fix my issue?

jaganath
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Post by jaganath » Sun Oct 08, 2006 11:13 am

Remove the side panel and run WoW; put your fingers on the inductors (coils) next to the CPU and see if it makes a difference. A different motherboard might help, IMO if you get the same motherboard there is a risk of getting the same problem back. If putting your finger on the coils helps, try the goop thing that Tibors said.

markot86
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Post by markot86 » Sun Oct 08, 2006 12:22 pm

Is there any danger with actually touching the motherboard while it's running?

jaganath
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Post by jaganath » Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:33 pm

I've never been electrocuted from touching the inductors but you can wear a rubber or cloth glove for safety.

nici
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Post by nici » Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:57 pm

I would not be worried about me, i would only be worried about the mobo. Make sure you ground yourrelf by touching metal before you start. The computer case is fine if you have grounded outlets in your house, otherwise use a heater or something. The kitchen sink. And don't wear clothes that makes your hair stand up when you remove them :wink: Oh and you don't have to use your finger, you can use a pen or something too.. preferably one with the rubber eraser on one end.

markot86
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Post by markot86 » Sun Oct 08, 2006 8:18 pm

It's weird, but after the computer has been running for a while, the heavy chirping noise goes away... is there a warm up period with motherboards or something? anyways, there's a slight chirping noise, but it's only really noticable if I put my head physically near the exhaust. I know I sound crazy, but I swear that it's not just me halucinating.

psymanproductions
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Post by psymanproductions » Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:03 pm

i can almost definately say you have coil whine,

it will not damage your mobo however it is f...ing anoying.

the whine is caused by coils wich have a quickly alternating current passing through them. this causes the coil to vibrate under certain circumstances.

at a certain temp the whine may go away beacause of expansion locking the coil in place so it can no longer vibrate.

the problem is that coil whine is very hard to remove. properly designed circuits with good quality components and a high level of quality controll at the factory should not whine. for this reason i allways send stuff back wich has coil whine as i consider it to be faulty. i recomend you send it back too if possible... dont let them get away with it.

sending stuff back is a pain but a couple of weeks with no mobo is nothing compared to a couple of years with a whining piece of crap sat in front of you. especialy when you have put effort into making silent.

oh, and you wont be elecrocuted by pressing on the coils with your finger to test were its coming from, there will never be anything above 12v on your mobo. this voltage is not dangerous, you cant even feel it when its passed through you. exept for on your tounge... but when did you last accidently lick your motherboard :D

andyb
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Post by andyb » Wed Aug 22, 2007 4:25 am

but when did you last accidently lick your motherboard
Last Tuesday and it was no accident :oops:

Anyway, it sounds like coil whine, every MSI KT6 delta I have used made noises like the one that you described when the network was in use, you could litterally identify the noise when the light indicating that the network was being used was on. The noise tone fluctuated depending on how much the LAN port was being used.

Are you sure its not an internet (LAN) problem, as you would of course have to be on the net to play WoW. If you have an old PCI LAN card lying around give that a go and dissable your onboard LAN in the BIOS.

and try to avoid licking your motherboard until you have given it a good clean, the dust tastes pretty nasty and nearly ruins the wonderful experience :P


Andy

psymanproductions
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Post by psymanproductions » Sat Aug 25, 2007 4:45 am

lol

Badger
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Post by Badger » Sat Aug 25, 2007 3:02 pm

might also be your gpu as another has said. my nvidia does this too, sometimes even when doing something simple like scrolling down a webpage.

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