New openbox motherboard from Newegg making cricket sound - normal?

D

davidm71

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 11, 2004
Messages
1,568
Hi,

I chanced buying an open box motherboard and somewhere inside the case I hear a cricket sound. Sounds like its the middle of summer coming from my computer. Normal?

Thanks
 
Where's it coming from? A fan? Onboard speaker? Roll up a magazine or news paper and put that near your ear to help isolate the sound.

Does it happen all the time or under load?

What's the make and model of the motherboard?
 
Its a Z270-WS by Asus. It happens all the time. Not sure where its coming from.
Will try your idea out.

Thanks
 
Ran HWInfo and Prime95 smallFFTs and something on the sensor list for the Z270-WS Motherboard listed at Temp2 is hitting 106 degrees C. Not sure what it is but I don't like it.
 
Sounds like you found the reason it was an open box special.

*edit* Also, I'm sure it's already been RMA'ed to Asus three times, and each time they have sent it back saying A-OK.
 
Its the latest bios release. Not sure about wonky settings.

As far as sensors plugged in right I havent plugged in any yet if it has it but 106 degrees is crazy hot.

Something not being cooled properly.
 
The temp is a common bug with asus boards and HWinfo. One of my PC's runs a X99 Asus Extreme Edition 2011 v3. That thing is 3-4 years old by now. Always on always doing something. I don't remember which ver of HWInfo was displaying some sensor at high 90's.
Im pretty certain it would have burned by now if it were a real issue. Cant comment on the cricket sound …:D
 
Corsair Link also reports on that very same 'motherboard 5' sensor at going from 0 to 127 degrees. Weird.

Talked to Asus and they recommend I send it back to Newegg.

Thanks
 
I have to apologize to Asus. Turns out I was wrong. It was a the rear exhaust fan making the sound. Possibly ball bearings wearing out.

Never heard it before because I switched to a Corsair H100i cooler and no longer have a big heatsink with a big fan masking out the noise.

As far as the weird temp reading. I have no idea.

Thanks
 
Again - that sensor reading may be off because the cable isn't plugged in.
 
davidm71 said:
I have to apologize to Asus. Turns out I was wrong. It was a the rear exhaust fan making the sound. Possibly ball bearings wearing out.

Never heard it before because I switched to a Corsair H100i cooler and no longer have a big heatsink with a big fan masking out the noise.

As far as the weird temp reading. I have no idea.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Glad you isolated your problem. I wouldn't worry too much about the software temp readings. If it's a heatsink, you could try seeing if it is hot to the touch or putting a fan on it.
 
Tried placing a thermal sensor on the one remaining and only thermal 2-pin port and it made no difference.

Thanks
 
Did a little more investigating and found out that the fan isn't exactly the source of the sound. Plugged it into a molex and got no sound from it. I don't know if its because its a PWM fan or not, but when connected to the cpu fan header no weird chirping sound.

Thanks

Edit:

I JUST CONFIRMED ITS THE PWM MODE. IN BIOS CHANGING FAN CONTROL FROM PWM MODE TO DC MODE SILENCED THE NOISE. AS FAR AS MY APOLOGY TO ASUS I TAKE IT BACK!
 
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Glad to hear you were able to isolate, diagnose, and flip the switch to winning! Open Box board lives for another day.
 
Thanks but I would still like to use PWM mode in future. This is a major annoyance.
 
davidm71 said:
Thanks but I would still like to use PWM mode in future. This is a major annoyance.
Click to expand...

Noise is a natural byproduct of pwm (Pulse Width Modulation) Rather than vary voltage, full voltage is supplied to the fan but switched on & off really fast. The pitch of the frequency you hear is directly related to how fast that switching occurs (slower switching/pitch = faster running fans). Yes indeed, solid state components can produce noise - particularly pwm circuits. Most newer motherboards also use pwm in their power regulation circuitry as well and almost all produce a high-pitched noise even with no fans connected.
 
cyberguyz said:
Noise is a natural byproduct of pwm (Pulse Width Modulation) Rather than vary voltage, full voltage is supplied to the fan but switched on & off really fast. The pitch of the frequency you hear is directly related to how fast that switching occurs (slower switching/pitch = faster running fans). Yes indeed, solid state components can produce noise - particularly pwm circuits. Most newer motherboards also use pwm in their power regulation circuitry as well and almost all produce a high-pitched noise even with no fans connected.
Click to expand...

Some people made fun of me for still using fan controllers instead of the motherboard's headers by saying PWM would be quieter. WHY DID THEY LIE TO ME? I loved my fan controllers.
 
Had a fan pwm controller several years back before pwm fan headers started showing up on motherboards. I used it because it could handle way more power so I could drive some higher end delta radiator fans that would burn out motherboard headers. That controller made an awful racket whenever I dialed the fans down.
 
Chanced open box boards twice in the last 5 years from Newegg, both times the board was bad. Done ordering open box items for good.
 
viivo said:
Some people made fun of me for still using fan controllers instead of the motherboard's headers by saying PWM would be quieter. WHY DID THEY LIE TO ME? I loved my fan controllers.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately some folks here think newer is better in all cases. I've even seen people replace gear that fully meets their needs because they don't perceive it as new anymore.
 
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