Help with hissing noise!

ghop

ghop

ghop

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I got an i5 and a P55A-UD3 the other day, and when the CPU temperature goes above 80 or so, a hissing noise, a bit like bacon cooking eminates from around the CPU area. My first thought was sizzling thermal paste, which seems a bit unlikely, second thought was that it was a capacitor and lastly I thought it may be the heatpipes.

It's quite a low hissing and I only heard it when the side was off the PC. I wasn't too worried at the time but now I'm getting really paranoid, thinking it's a leaking capacitor that's going to take out my motherboard and my CPU.

Is it anything to worry about?/what is it? I'm thinking it's something on the motherboard making the noise which worries me, as it's brand new and nothing is supposed to make a noise really. I need to know if I need to RMA it, if I do, what a pain! It's only above a pretty high temp and other than hissing everything runs fine.
 
I was at 1.425v stress testing 4ghz in IBT and it was getting rather hot. At the moment I'm at 3.8ghz 1.325v and load temps aren't exceeding 60 in Prime95 and 50 under normal load.

I'm running a CM 212 Plus.

But anyway, what could be causing the hissing and is it a cause for concern?

EDIT: And I haven't heard it since the stress testing at 4ghz.. I think it's to do with the high temperatures.
 
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kidscruff said:
Could it have been a capacitor near the CPU?
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That's what I'm thinking, but does it mean this capacitor is on its way out? That it didn't like the heat? I don't know a lot about capacitors but from what I've read, they're not supposed to hiss. I want to know otherwsie I'll be constantly fearing my motherboard is going to blow up.
 
AMG said:
only way to find out is to take a close look at all your caps

if one looks "expanded as in like a bollon" than you in **** street, it may involve taking heatsinks off through :S which in tern voids warranty unless you put them back on properly with no damage
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neblemak said:
I once had a 4850 that made a similar sound to the one you're describing under load, that was caps as I recall.

If it only happens when stress testing at 4ghz, I doubt you've caused any permanent damage but that your caps are 'stressed'. If it were me I'd back it down a bit and call that the limit of my current setup.
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Yeah, I've found my sweet spot now :) 3.8ghz and under full load, no hissing! I just want to make sure I haven't caused permanent damage, or if my motherboard is faulty and at risk of taking out my CPU.

I'll take a close look at the caps tomorrow. It might mean removing my CPU cooler, but I want to reseat anyway. What I'm worried about is if the hissing means that the cap is definitely damaged.
 
What do you reckon I should do then? Leave it and hope for the best, or request an RMA?

And it only happened when the the temperatures went above about 80-85, and they only went above 80-85 when I had the volts up at 1.4ish.
 
Pauljl said:
if it is a component burning out, you should be able to smell it...

its not easy to put into words how it smells, but im sure you would realise if it was..
the smell gets you right at the back of your throat
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Thanks, I'll be opening my PC up soon and checking for bulging and that smell. Gives me a reason to reseat my heatsink too :p

kidscruff said:
If it's working fine, then it's unlikely an RMA will be an easy option. Most likely it will be tested and returned to you.

If you tell them you're returning it because it's hissing at 80+ degrees, I presume they'll ask you what on earth are you doing at 80+ degrees! :p

It's possible capacitors can get too hot (normally through overvoltage or reverse polarity) and effectively boil off the electrolyte contained within - which might explain the hissing noise. You can tell if it's really bad as the capacitor top will bulge out.

I would say it's probably fine, now that you're running back down at 3.8GHz. Keep an eye on it, and if it stops working in the next couple of months then RMA your board.
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The thing I'm worried about is if it goes and takes out the motherboard AND the CPU. If this happens, can I RMA both?

I'm going to open up my PC and have a good look now, perhaps take a few pictures :) I'll report back what I see.
 
Took a couple of pictures of the capacitors closest to the CPU (with great difficulty, couldn't find my Isopropyl Alcohol so I decided not to reseat the heatsink) and they 'look' fine, but then again I don't know what to look for. No dodgy smell either but I'm guessing that would have dissipated long ago anyway..

DSC09486.jpg


DSC09464.jpg


I'm thinking it's maybe more to do with Voltage than heat now, because it was as soon as the 100% load went on the CPU, and stopped instantly after the load was taken off. How long does OCUK let you RMA for? And yes, I bought all 3 items off of OCUK :)
 
There's no fishy smells and I can't see any bulging capacitors. Does this mean my mobo is in the clear? I really need to put my mind at rest :p

Thanks for all the advice so far btw.
 
BUFF said:
doesn't the UD3 have solid caps though so no electrolyte?
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They are indeed all solid. I don't know anything about capacitors so assumed they all had electrolyte in them :p. Is it possible that solid caps can make a hissing noise?
 
MikeHunt79 said:
Those look like Sanyo OS-CON caps which are computer grade caps which use some sort of organic compound I think, which is supposed to be more durable than a normal electrolyte cap.

They should not hiss however...
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Is it actually possible for them to hiss? I mean, I didn't pinpoint it to the capacitors. It could have been the PSU for all I know. I wasn't really thinking about it much at the time so I didn't try to listen to exactly where it was coming from. I'm half tempted to try it again and try to listen to where it is coming from, but I fear I'll cause further damage if it is infact the capacitors :( I'm in an annoying situation here.

Currently though, the system is very fast and completely stable at 3.8 with load temps not exceeding 60 (usually don't pass 50 when playing games). I'll be very happy leaving it at this freq, I just want to make sure my motherboard isn't a ticking time bomb. I can't really relax until I know for sure.

EDIT: I might email Gigabyte about it. Does anyone have an Email address for gigabyte where I could ask this sort of question?
 
Just taken the case off and am running prime95 at the moment. It still makes the noise at 1.35v under load. It's just a lot quieter. I've been shoving my cameras mic in various places on the computer, and the sound is definitely the loudest in front of the CPU so my guess would be the bunch of capacitors in front of the CPU are causing the noise, or possibly the ones running down the side of the CPU socket. I would say the CPU is a possible culprit, but I don't think it's even possibly for a CPU to make noise? Could it possibly be the heatpipes of my cooler? Temps are not exceeding 65 at the moment while priming, which is well within the temp limit and 1.35v is well within safe voltage :( yet it still hisses.

The sound is a hissing/buzzing sort of noise. Will upload a video of the sound if required.

If anyone knows anyone with a P55A board, could you please direct them to this thread :D I'm just getting really confused and worried now. The board is stable, but this hissing noise is making me really nervous about the long-term. I'm starting to get convinced this isn't normal and it's only going to worsen and eventually break my motherboard and possibly take the CPU and other components with it. I really need to know whether I'm going to need to send this board back.
 
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kidscruff said:
My bad about the solid caps! Should have remembered all the "100% Japanese Solid Capacitors" printed on the Gigabyte boxes! :)

The comments in the review seem pretty similar to your experience. Guess there's some variation between boards, or maybe you've got super hearing!?
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Well, my board has no heatpipes but obviously my CPU cooler does... Perhaps it's that? Who knows. I'll get a video of the sound posted up soon :) I've also emailed gigabyte
 
Sent a web note and was asked if it was definitely the motherboard making the noise, so I sent this.

I'm pretty sure it's the motherboard. The sound was definitely louder over the motherboard (in between the CPU and the rear case fan) than the PSU (used a microphone to see where the sound was the loudest) and it's definitely not the graphics card. I would suspect the heatpipes on my cooler, but the noise sounds quite electronic. The noise is quiet at low volts but still there, and from what I've heard, capacitors should not make any noise at all. Is this noise normal, or is it a sign of imminent failure?

Thanks, George

and I've just received an RMA request saying this:

Products on RMA:

Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard


Please only return the products listed above on this RMA. Any products returned that are not on this RMA will be rejected and subject to a £10 + return shipping + VAT charge.

Problem / Fault description: Faulty [cap whine],
Desired action: Replace

So it looks like it does mean that it is indeed faulty.. I'll definitely take it out the case and run it on my desk first, to be 100% sure it's the motherboard whining. Bit worried about them deeming it 'not faulty' and being lumbered with the 10 pound charge as they'll probably run a CPU at stock, then the noise won't be particularly loud.

Oh well, I'll see how it goes. Tempted to change motherboard as well, to the P7P55D perhaps. I don't know though.
 
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