Noisy System

[Frederick]

My neighbor bought a new system from Tiger Direct. It has:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H
CPU: AMD PHENOM II X6 1055T 2.8GHz
RAM: DDR3 2.8MB
HDD: SATA 1TB
On Board Video: NVIDIA HD4250 700 MB
Disk Drives: IDE LIGHTSCRIBE DVDRW
IDE PLEXTOR DVDR
COOLING: CPU FAN
CASE FAN

She says when she first turns the system on in the morning it is very
quiet. However, the longer she leaves it on, whether she is using it
or not, it begins to 'hum' louder and louder. At that point she says
you can hear it in the next room.

This seems just the reverse of my system, which hums loudly when I
first turn it on, but then quiets down after a few minutes, and stays
quiet all day.

I need to pay her a visit to put my ear to the innards, I guess. But
I am curious if anyone has a comment. Maybe someone has this same
system?

Thanks

Big Fred

 

[Brian Cryer]

My neighbor bought a new system from Tiger Direct. It has:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H
CPU: AMD PHENOM II X6 1055T 2.8GHz
RAM: DDR3 2.8MB

It doesn't matter, but that figure can't be right.

HDD: SATA 1TB
On Board Video: NVIDIA HD4250 700 MB
Disk Drives: IDE LIGHTSCRIBE DVDRW
IDE PLEXTOR DVDR
COOLING: CPU FAN
CASE FAN

She says when she first turns the system on in the morning it is very
quiet. However, the longer she leaves it on, whether she is using it
or not, it begins to 'hum' louder and louder. At that point she says
you can hear it in the next room.

It might be worth clarifying whether the "hum" is an electrical hum or
actually the fans working louder. If it is an electrical hum then I'd assume
(although its not my area of expertise) that its the power supply. If its
the fans then it implies that something is getting too hot. In either case
if its a new system I'd contact "Tiger Direct" and ask them to resolve it -
being new it should be under some form of warranttee and if you do much more
than take the side of the case off then you might invalidate that warrantee.

 

[GT]

My neighbor bought a new system from Tiger Direct. It has:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H
CPU: AMD PHENOM II X6 1055T 2.8GHz
RAM: DDR3 2.8MB
HDD: SATA 1TB
On Board Video: NVIDIA HD4250 700 MB
Disk Drives: IDE LIGHTSCRIBE DVDRW
IDE PLEXTOR DVDR
COOLING: CPU FAN
CASE FAN

She says when she first turns the system on in the morning it is very
quiet. However, the longer she leaves it on, whether she is using it
or not, it begins to 'hum' louder and louder. At that point she says
you can hear it in the next room.

This seems just the reverse of my system, which hums loudly when I
first turn it on, but then quiets down after a few minutes, and stays
quiet all day.

I need to pay her a visit to put my ear to the innards, I guess. But
I am curious if anyone has a comment. Maybe someone has this same
system?

Thanks

Big Fred

Its probably dislodged a heatsink in transit resulting in the graphics or
CPU overheating. Maybe the components and fans are working and the case fan
has failed, or its power connector has falled off - get her to phone the
supplier while you are there and speak to them youself - tell them you don't
mind opening the case and checking that everything is still attached
properly, but check that you won't invalidate their warranty. Even opening
the case can sometimes invalidate the warranty.

 

[GT]

My neighbor bought a new system from Tiger Direct. It has:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H
CPU: AMD PHENOM II X6 1055T 2.8GHz
RAM: DDR3 2.8MB
HDD: SATA 1TB
On Board Video: NVIDIA HD4250 700 MB
Disk Drives: IDE LIGHTSCRIBE DVDRW
IDE PLEXTOR DVDR
COOLING: CPU FAN
CASE FAN

She says when she first turns the system on in the morning it is very
quiet. However, the longer she leaves it on, whether she is using it
or not, it begins to 'hum' louder and louder. At that point she says
you can hear it in the next room.

This seems just the reverse of my system, which hums loudly when I
first turn it on, but then quiets down after a few minutes, and stays
quiet all day.

I need to pay her a visit to put my ear to the innards, I guess. But
I am curious if anyone has a comment. Maybe someone has this same
system?

Thanks

Big Fred

Oh and install 'SpeedFan' first to see what the temperatures are (its free,
small and just works!).

 

[Frederick]

Oh and install 'SpeedFan' first to see what the temperatures are (its free,
small and just works!).

I just did that on my system as a test and emailed her to do same for
now.

Thanks

Big Fred

 

[Frederick]

Its probably dislodged a heatsink in transit resulting in the graphics or
CPU overheating. Maybe the components and fans are working and the case fan
has failed, or its power connector has falled off - get her to phone the
supplier while you are there and speak to them youself - tell them you don't
mind opening the case and checking that everything is still attached
properly, but check that you won't invalidate their warranty. Even opening
the case can sometimes invalidate the warranty.

Well, the case has already been opened - to install a Lightscribe
burner drive - so if opening the case invalidates the warranty then it
is already invalidated.

Thanks

Big Fred

 

[Frederick]

It doesn't matter, but that figure can't be right.

OOPS

Sorry about that

I meant 2.8GB of course. Too early in the AM.

Thanks

Big Fred

 

[GT]

Well, the case has already been opened - to install a Lightscribe
burner drive - so if opening the case invalidates the warranty then it
is already invalidated.

Thanks

Big Fred

Deny everything Baldrick!!

 

[GT]

OOPS

Sorry about that

I meant 2.8GB of course. Too early in the AM.

Thanks

Big Fred

Its probably a 2.8GHz processor. Ram is usually in whole numbers and usually
1,2,4 or 8 GB.

 

[GT]

Its probably a 2.8GHz processor. Ram is usually in whole numbers and
usually 1,2,4 or 8 GB.

Not that it matters for this thread!

 

[Paul]

Deny everything Baldrick!!

If it's a barebones, some assembly was probably required to get it running.
It looks like a pile of parts.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7200568&CatId=332

Plenty of things can resonate, given half a chance.

Paul

 

[Frederick]

Not that it matters for this thread!

You are right. It is now 11AM and I am fully awake.
Good golly miss molly

BF

 

[Don Phillipson]

She says when she first turns the system on in the morning it is very
quiet. However, the longer she leaves it on, whether she is using it
or not, it begins to 'hum' louder and louder. At that point she says
you can hear it in the next room.

First, locate the source of the hum:
(1) Mechanical vibration or something else (as
transformers can buzz);
(2) Which component (e.g. fan(s), hard drive, etc.)

For both tasks, you can hear better via some solid
transmitter than through the air, as mechanics listen
to engine noise by putting their ears to a screwdriver,
which can be moved from place to place in the engine.
To preclude damage, the best solid transmitter for
computer components is probably a chopstick (wood
or plastic; wood is usually better. We should not
poke about PC circuitry with a metal screwdriver.)

 

[Frederick]

If it's a barebones, some assembly was probably required to get it running.
It looks like a pile of parts.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7200568&CatId=332

Plenty of things can resonate, given half a chance.

Paul

This is what she bought:

Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H AMD 880G Motherboard - Micro ATX, Socket AM3, AM
880G Chipset, 1600MHz (O.C.), SATA 3.0 Gb/s, RAID, 8-CH Audio, Gigabit
LAN

AMD HDT55TFBRBOX Phenom II 1055T Six Core Processor - 2.80GHz, 6MB
Cache, 2000MHz (4000 MT/s) FSB, Retail, Socket AM3, Processor with Fan

Corsair CMX4GX3M1A1333C9 XMS3 4GB DDR3 RAM - PC10666, 1333MHz, 4096MB

Seagate 1TB LP Serial ATA HD 5900/32MB/SATA-3G

Thermaltake VM34521W2U V4 Black Edition Mid Tower Gaming Case - ATX,
Micro ATX, 450W PSU, 4x Ext 5.25", 1x Ext 3.5", 4x Int 3.5", 1x 120mm
Blue LED Fan, 2x Front USB Ports, Black

Lite-ON iHAP222-06 DVD Burner - 22X DVD+R, 22X DVD-R, 8X DVD+R9, 8X
DVD-R9, 12X DVD-RAM, 8X DVD+RW, 6X DVD-RW, LightScribe, IDE

Big Fred

 

[Paul]

This is what she bought:

Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H AMD 880G Motherboard - Micro ATX, Socket AM3, AM
880G Chipset, 1600MHz (O.C.), SATA 3.0 Gb/s, RAID, 8-CH Audio, Gigabit
LAN

AMD HDT55TFBRBOX Phenom II 1055T Six Core Processor - 2.80GHz, 6MB
Cache, 2000MHz (4000 MT/s) FSB, Retail, Socket AM3, Processor with Fan

Corsair CMX4GX3M1A1333C9 XMS3 4GB DDR3 RAM - PC10666, 1333MHz, 4096MB

Seagate 1TB LP Serial ATA HD 5900/32MB/SATA-3G

Thermaltake VM34521W2U V4 Black Edition Mid Tower Gaming Case - ATX,
Micro ATX, 450W PSU, 4x Ext 5.25", 1x Ext 3.5", 4x Int 3.5", 1x 120mm
Blue LED Fan, 2x Front USB Ports, Black

Lite-ON iHAP222-06 DVD Burner - 22X DVD+R, 22X DVD-R, 8X DVD+R9, 8X
DVD-R9, 12X DVD-RAM, 8X DVD+RW, 6X DVD-RW, LightScribe, IDE

Big Fred

You have to take the side off the case, and have a listen.

Identifying a noise source, is not always easy. Especially
with some of the high pitched sounds that the various power
converters can make (power supply, Vcore regulator, memory
regulator etc).

I would guess, if the noise really is a "hum", it is coming
from a resonance between the hard drive and some metal/plastic
in the computer case. (Check that any screw-less retention
gadget is secure.) If the hard drive spindle is unbalanced,
that could account for the hum. Modern drives, with extremely
high platter density, must have good spindle balance, or they
won't work. (The mechanical tolerances are very tight.) The
last two drives I bought, are very close to silent.

Part of the problem with diagnosing noises like this remotely,
is the descriptive terms used. Some users don't know the
difference between a "hum" and a high pitched "tone".
Or, the user won't mention the sound is coming from the
computer speakers, versus coming from the computer case.
You end up having to play "20 questions", to narrow it down.

Paul

 

[GT]

You have to take the side off the case, and have a listen.

Identifying a noise source, is not always easy. Especially
with some of the high pitched sounds that the various power
converters can make (power supply, Vcore regulator, memory
regulator etc).

I would guess, if the noise really is a "hum", it is coming
from a resonance between the hard drive and some metal/plastic
in the computer case. (Check that any screw-less retention
gadget is secure.) If the hard drive spindle is unbalanced,
that could account for the hum. Modern drives, with extremely
high platter density, must have good spindle balance, or they
won't work. (The mechanical tolerances are very tight.) The
last two drives I bought, are very close to silent.

Part of the problem with diagnosing noises like this remotely,
is the descriptive terms used. Some users don't know the
difference between a "hum" and a high pitched "tone".
Or, the user won't mention the sound is coming from the
computer speakers, versus coming from the computer case.
You end up having to play "20 questions", to narrow it down.

Noises can only originate from things that spin or move, so switch off PC.
Unplug the power cable from all hard drives. This cuts out their noise plus
means that the system won't boot and corrupt any data. Optionally, unplug
all case fans - running with the side off negates them anyway. You will
probably be left with a power supply fan, CPU fan and maybe graphics card
fan. Turn on the PC and stop the fans (with a finger) one at a time. Don't
stop any of those fans for more than a few seconds though!

You should be able to identify the source of the noise pretty easily without
doing clever things with tubes or screwdrivers up to your ear!

 

[GT]

First, locate the source of the hum:
(1) Mechanical vibration or something else (as
transformers can buzz);
(2) Which component (e.g. fan(s), hard drive, etc.)

For both tasks, you can hear better via some solid
transmitter than through the air, as mechanics listen
to engine noise by putting their ears to a screwdriver,
which can be moved from place to place in the engine.
To preclude damage...

to preclude damage don't put a screwdriver in your ear!

;-)