occassional strange random noises from case

regulator86 · 16 Jan 2012 at 15:22

Guys,

I occassionally get random noises coming from my case, mainly:

whining, assumed it's PSU
clicking, no idea what it is
rattling, assumed it's fans but have checked them multiple times and they are screwed on tight

Strange thing is - the noises aren't correlated with load computing or gaming. I've played games without sound to see if the noise is coming from my case, but they are as random under load as they are on idle. Sounds last between 10 seconds to 1 minute, maybe once per couple hours of computing (but again, completely random).

Is this normal?

Specs:

i5-2500k
h60
4gig ram
z68ap d3
gtx560
antec 300
gentle typhoon x 4
antec 300 140mm case fan x 1
ocz 550 psu

only other reason i can see is that my cables are mostly loose (courtesy of antec 300 non-existent cable management) and it could be those rattling at times. I've opened up the case when the noises are present but they are difficult to localize.

Cheers

Razargh · 16 Jan 2012 at 15:24

Probably a defunct or broken fan.

regulator86 · 16 Jan 2012 at 15:25

Any easy way to localize?

regulator86 · 16 Jan 2012 at 15:26

also - i use occt to monitor rpm and temps, and everything is rock solid steady - h60 at just over 4k rpm, and both gt's at circa 1800rpm

Daichin · 16 Jan 2012 at 15:32

Maybe it's cables getting trapped in fans? Does your case get moved around much?

Whining is typically capacitor whine I guess, so nothing to worry about.

I don't think they measure the speed of the fans as physical speed, just theoretical speed, so I don't think the rpm matters if something is trapped in a fan.

wazza300 · 16 Jan 2012 at 15:36

Is it an electrical squeal noise?

stueng · 16 Jan 2012 at 15:44

leave the side off the case and wait for the noise to occur.. then unplug various fans

Hyburnate · 16 Jan 2012 at 15:47

bearing in the fans + coil whine

regulator86 · 16 Jan 2012 at 16:33

WIll try all the above.

Definitely not the wires getting caught as have a good couple inches clearance from the fans, and have opened/closed the case many times during operation and the wires are well clear.

It's a very subtle sound most of the time, almost wouldn't hear it unless you concentrate well - so i'm guessing it's fan bearings. Shame as I really like the GT's. Hopefully it's only one of them.

Cheers guys

wazza300 · 16 Jan 2012 at 16:38

A little wd40 might stop bearing noise,only if you know what your doing ect,power off remove gpu ect,could be CPU power saving states causing mb/psu squeal,test by turning off Intel speedstep and c1e eist and c3/c6 states in BIOS,if still noise turn them back on

Adam_101 · 16 Jan 2012 at 16:43

double check all fans in your case again, and as said leave case open and your computer running and when noise occurs again you can narrow it down abit. Long as your temps as cool tho!