Motherboard/CPU making clicking noise when active?
Posted: Tue Jun 25, 2013 11:38 pm
I just finished building a computer which I expected to be pretty quiet. For the most part it is. For the PSU I used a fanless Kingwin. The CPU has a big finned heatsink with a single 12" Silenx fan. This is the only fan in the whole case. When it is running at the lowest speed it is indiscernable to me from having the fan completely unplugged. The graphics card is fanless. The motherboard Northbridge has a fanless heat sink. The hard drive is a Sandisk Ultra SSD. It's in a 4 RU rackmount iStarUSA case.
Overall I'm pretty happy with it. It's definitely the quietest computer I've ever had. But I'm finding myself very puzzled by something.
When the computer is heavily active, eg. when I am recording music and the CPU/mobo/HD are working, it is making a very active rapid clicking sound that sounds similar to a standard old fashioned hard drive seeking/writing.
I have stuck my ear in the case and listened near all the components. It is definitely not coming from the SSD or PSU. The optical drive is inactive and not making any noise either. When I listen, it sounds like it is coming from the CPU/Northbridge/motherboard.
As I am typing this on my laptop (which also has a SSD), I notice a similar clicking when I put my ear to it, but it is quieter. The clicking coming from the computer I assembled is much louder to the point that I can hear it at 3-5 feet in a quiet room, and as a lifelong musician, my hearing is not even that great.
So what gives? I have read CPUs cannot making clicking noises. Is this true? I have read though that voltage regulators (which are used on mobos) though can click.
Would that be the explanation for the clicking I am hearing from my desktop (and to a lesser extent my laptop)?
For completeness, I should mention that the mobo/CPU in the new desktop I put together are quite old but they have been sitting on the shelf for years, and haven't really seen more than a few months actual use when in another system (Gigabyte K8 939 with Athlon dual core X2 processor). It's a long story but I had them sitting around and thought I could make it work until I am ready to upgrade in a few months.
Any thoughts? I can live with the clicking, I just find it really puzzling, since I thought I already took out everything in the computer that could click...
If I knew the motherboard could click, I would have used some specialized standoffs rather than the metal ones I used - not that I'm sure it would have made a difference.
Thanks.
Overall I'm pretty happy with it. It's definitely the quietest computer I've ever had. But I'm finding myself very puzzled by something.
When the computer is heavily active, eg. when I am recording music and the CPU/mobo/HD are working, it is making a very active rapid clicking sound that sounds similar to a standard old fashioned hard drive seeking/writing.
I have stuck my ear in the case and listened near all the components. It is definitely not coming from the SSD or PSU. The optical drive is inactive and not making any noise either. When I listen, it sounds like it is coming from the CPU/Northbridge/motherboard.
As I am typing this on my laptop (which also has a SSD), I notice a similar clicking when I put my ear to it, but it is quieter. The clicking coming from the computer I assembled is much louder to the point that I can hear it at 3-5 feet in a quiet room, and as a lifelong musician, my hearing is not even that great.
So what gives? I have read CPUs cannot making clicking noises. Is this true? I have read though that voltage regulators (which are used on mobos) though can click.
Would that be the explanation for the clicking I am hearing from my desktop (and to a lesser extent my laptop)?
For completeness, I should mention that the mobo/CPU in the new desktop I put together are quite old but they have been sitting on the shelf for years, and haven't really seen more than a few months actual use when in another system (Gigabyte K8 939 with Athlon dual core X2 processor). It's a long story but I had them sitting around and thought I could make it work until I am ready to upgrade in a few months.
Any thoughts? I can live with the clicking, I just find it really puzzling, since I thought I already took out everything in the computer that could click...
If I knew the motherboard could click, I would have used some specialized standoffs rather than the metal ones I used - not that I'm sure it would have made a difference.
Thanks.