Random clicking/ticking noise - PC/PSU Fan?

Associate
Joined
28 Nov 2011
Posts
1,710
Hi all.

Today out of the blue I started to hear a random clicking/ticking noise from the PC. This was louder near the back. The PC wasn't doing anything demanding, just sat at idle on Desktop.

I've rebooted the PC and the noise has gone, hasn't come back as of yet.

I'm thinking this was probably a fan issue?
  • GPU fans don't spin up until they're under load
  • 3 case fans that ramp according to temperature
  • PSU Fan that runs constantly
Case Fans - Arctic P14 PWM PST
PSU - EVGA SuperNOVA 650 P2
GPU - Gigabyte 2070 Super Gaming OC

With the noise appearing out the blue and disappearing out the blue, should i be concerned? Or, should i just keep an eye on it to see if happens again?
 
It's more likely to be the psu. Pop the side of your case off and monitor it that way. Unplug the Psu cable at the back and make sure it is plugged all the way inside.
I wouldn't worry about it. I have a huge ass Enthoo 719 case, and after a day of being on my case still warms up enough that I get the odd creaking sound from the case metal expanding and contracting, especially with the amount of cabling I have stuffed in the side panel
 
Check there isn't a cable close to the fan blades.

I'd be surprised if there was, nothing's moved or changed. But yeah, I'll check.

It's more likely to be the psu. Pop the side of your case off and monitor it that way. Unplug the Psu cable at the back and make sure it is plugged all the way inside.
I wouldn't worry about it. I have a huge ass Enthoo 719 case, and after a day of being on my case still warms up enough that I get the odd creaking sound from the case metal expanding and contracting, especially with the amount of cabling I have stuffed in the side panel

That's the problem, the noise was there, rebooted, no noise now. It's the first time it's happened too. I can't get it to do it again either!

Managed to get my hand under the case and it still feels like the PSU fan is dragging in air (Opted against eco mode, so it's running all the time)

Thinking it may have been the case fan at the back, they ramp depending on temps.
 
Last edited:
Get in touch with Evga, how old is the psu? Is it a fan/bearing kind of noise? or more like an arcing click?
Try the eco mode to see if it is the fan that is causing the noise.
 
Get in touch with Evga, how old is the psu? Is it a fan/bearing kind of noise? or more like an arcing click?
Try the eco mode to see if it is the fan that is causing the noise.

Was bought Feb 2019.

I can't really describe the noise or have a clip. Just sounded like a tick every half second or so.

When it originally happened, I turned it off. made sure things were all plugged in securely around the back, which they where, tilted the tower a little to the right. Started it up and there's no noise, hasn't been for over 2 hours now.

So I can't try anything to see if it helps because the noise is no longer there?

I feel like contacting EVGA at this stage seems pointless;
  • Not even sure if it is the PSU
  • Can't replicate it
Probably worth me just keeping an eye on it. IF it does happen again, i need to try and pinpoint the noise the best I can without turning it off.
 
So I decided to try and ramp the power draw to see if that would increase fan speed and cause the issue again.

Managed to play a good 45 minutes on Division 2.

Nothing at all. Case fans ramped in this time too and they never produced any clicking/ticking sound.

A little coil whine when I had my head against the back of the machine but that's probably the GPU and been there from day one. (It's noticeable from a normal sitting distance.)

Maybe just a random one off occurrence, Bizarre either way!

Will still keep an eye on this one though.
 
Last edited:
Ticking noise can be a number of things but one is fan bearing is failing. Such a noise can be at a very specific RPM so it can be present one minute and gone the next. A temporary solution can be to turn the PSU upside down.
 
Or could be as simple as a small fly/bug (or dust bunny) or spider crawling into the PSU and clogging it up briefly until it's mashed to bits.

If the problem has vanished, i'd forget about it until it becomes a constant or more frequent issue.
 
Ticking noise can be a number of things but one is fan bearing is failing. Such a noise can be at a very specific RPM so it can be present one minute and gone the next. A temporary solution can be to turn the PSU upside down.

This was my next step if it was to appear again.

Or could be as simple as a small fly/bug (or dust bunny) or spider crawling into the PSU and clogging it up briefly until it's mashed to bits.

If the problem has vanished, i'd forget about it until it becomes a constant or more frequent issue.

Was my thinking, or something stupid like a bit of fluff/dust that managed to get in through the back, the underside has a filter.

Keeping an eye on it. If it appears again i'll investigate further


I had intermittent noise like this and after a couple of weeks of it vanishing when I was trying to listen it stayed on for longer, ended up being fan in front of case.

Yeah, this was louder at the back. So it's either the rear case fan or the PSU fan. The GPU fans are off until they hit X temp/load.
 
Or could be as simple as a small fly/bug (or dust bunny) or spider crawling into the PSU and clogging it up briefly until it's mashed to bits.

If the problem has vanished, i'd forget about it until it becomes a constant or more frequent issue.

"It's not coil whine, it's a spider screaming for it's life". :D
 
"It's not coil whine, it's a spider screaming for it's life". :D

Haha yeah. There is coil whine there actually but only when my ears more or less next to the machine under a good gaming load!

Will drag it out over the weekend and give it a quick going over with the air compressor. Gives me chances to vacuum where it's stood too. Noticed there's a few dust bunnies around the back so no doubt air blowing into that space will unsettle them!
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom