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Issue with CPU cooler

C

CoolGuy90

Gawd
Joined
Oct 1, 2007
Messages
649
This past January I build a pc with the following specs:

Antec P182
Core i7 920
Asus P6T Deluxe
Zalman 9500AT
G.SKILL 6GB DDR3(PC3 12800)
EVGA GTX 260 216 55nm
WD Black 6401AALS
Silverstone ST70F
Vista Ultimate 64-bit

Over the past few months I have been hearing a weird noise coming from the CPU area. The best way to describe it is like a fan is "off" and not spinning smoothly. I can say its definately not coming from the case fans, PSU, or GPU. I got a replacement fan for the 9500AT, but the noise is still there. I have it running in silent mode in the bios. When I unplug the cooler, the noise faints, but increases when I plug it back in. It dosen't seem like its coming directly from the fan of the 9500AT, but around the CPU area. I have tried a different PSU but it made no difference.

Any suggestions you guys think I should try? It's a nuisance because the noise resonates inside the case.
 
yeah if you really want to.. you could unplug everything from the psu.. plug all the fans in.. jump the 24 pin with the paperclip trick and turn the psu back on.. so that only the fans are working then you can see if its the case fans or not (though this will only work if the fans use the standard 4 pin molex power connector) if they they are using the 3 pin power on the board then you basicly have to do it one at a time to find which ones causing the noise..

id recommend doing the case fans first.. since i really wouldnt attempt to run an i7 fanless with that heatsink..
 
If you're sure it's not the fans, then it could be coil whine from the CPU VRMs. If that's the case, you'll just have to live with it.
 
Unplugged the case fans, noise is still there. I also noticed the same type of noise the fan on my 260 makes faintly.

Thinking about RMA'ing the mobo.
 
It could also be the fan of the video card. Try taking out the video card and run without it (you will get beeps but it's okay since are only testing to see if the noise is gone or still there).
 
JCNiest5 said:
It could also be the fan of the video card. Try taking out the video card and run without it (you will get beeps but it's okay since are only testing to see if the noise is gone or still there).
Click to expand...


Tried it, still there.


Im also thinking of getting rid of the 9500 and getting the Xigmatek Dark Knight. Reason I went with the 9500 is I wanted a low cost cooler than performed better than the stock, since I was not going to OC.
 
And you are sure it's not the case vibrating? How about try the stock cooler to see if it makes any difference?
 
Def not the case, with the side panels open and everything its most certainly coming from the CPU mobo area.


I still have the stock cooler and will try it and see what happens.
 
This sounds like it's coming from the motherboard itself. Asus motherboards have a feature they call: Stack Cool. This attempts to transfer heat from various components to the back of the motherboard. It's also known to produce some noise. That doesn't mean that your motherboard is bad, per se, it's just noisy. Still you may be able to get Asus to take it in on an RMA. And since it obviously bothers you it's worth a try.

I've had an Asus motherboard in the past that had a similar issue. And if the case was positioned so that the backside of the motherboard was facing me. It would drive me insane! Mind you, I've lost hearing in some frequency ranges so I couldn't hear it, but I damn sure could "feel it". :eek:
 
Cannydog said:
This sounds like it's coming from the motherboard itself. Asus motherboards have a feature they call: Stack Cool. This attempts to transfer heat from various components to the back of the motherboard. It's also known to produce some noise. That doesn't mean that your motherboard is bad, per se, it's just noisy. Still you may be able to get Asus to take it in on an RMA. And since it obviously bothers you it's worth a try.

I've had an Asus motherboard in the past that had a similar issue. And if the case was positioned so that the backside of the motherboard was facing me. It would drive me insane! Mind you, I've lost hearing in some frequency ranges so I couldn't hear it, but I damn sure could "feel it". :eek:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. I will contact Asus tommorow about the issue.
 
I tried using the stock cooler. Problem is, since it is much louder than the 9500, it's hard to tell if the noise is still there, or if the fan noise is drowning it out.

I might get the Xigmatek Dark Knight, and if the same type of noise exists, gonna contact Asus.


Btw, how is the DK compared to the 9500 in terms of quietness?
 
CoolGuy90 said:
I tried using the stock cooler. Problem is, since it is much louder than the 9500, it's hard to tell if the noise is still there, or if the fan noise is drowning it out.

I might get the Xigmatek Dark Knight, and if the same type of noise exists, gonna contact Asus.


Btw, how is the DK compared to the 9500 in terms of quietness?
Click to expand...

Don't connect the heatsink/cpu Fan, plus disconnect all other fans.
 
JCNiest5 said:
Don't connect the heatsink/cpu Fan, plus disconnect all other fans.
Click to expand...

I unplugged the cpu fans and case fans. The noise is gone, however the my 260 makes a similar noise from the fan, but is not audible when all the other fans are hooked up, and not as loud as the one the 9500 was causing.
 
Is your mobo mounted tightly (tighten all the screws properly)? How about do this, take the mobo out of the case and try it on a flat non-conductive non-vibrating surface and see what happens. For some reason I think it's the way the mobo is mounted or screwed to the case.
 
JCNiest5 said:
Is your mobo mounted tightly (tighten all the screws properly)? How about do this, take the mobo out of the case and try it on a flat non-conductive non-vibrating surface and see what happens. For some reason I think it's the way the mobo is mounted or screwed to the case.
Click to expand...

I took out the mobo to mount the stock cooler, and tighten everything securely. I don't think its vibrations, because the noise sounds like a electrical type.
 
Okay, then maybe it's electrically and has nothing to do with any of the fans whatsoever. Maybe it's time for RMA.
 
CoolGuy90 said:
When I unplug the cooler, the noise faints, but increases when I plug it back in.
Click to expand...
Sounds like it could be the CPU cooler then (according to you)

CoolGuy90 said:
Unplugged the case fans, noise is still there
Click to expand...
Well that eliminates the case fans as well.

CoolGuy90 said:
I unplugged the cpu fans and case fans. The noise is gone,.
Click to expand...
Looks like you've now pointed us to the CPU fan at least twice in a row. To summarise what you've observed and written in your posts:
- Case fans off = "noise"
- Case + CPU fans off = "no noise"
- CPU fan on = "noise"
- CPU fan off = "no noise"
Unless you didn't mean what you've writtern (twice in a row), seems fairly unambigous. Based on "your" observations and what "you" have written, you're saying the noise is the CPU fan.

CoolGuy90 said:
I took out the mobo to mount the stock cooler, and tighten everything securely. I don't think its vibrations, because the noise sounds like a electrical type.
Click to expand...
CoolGuy90 said:
Thanks for the input. I will contact Asus tommorow about the issue. (to look at RMAing motherboard)
Click to expand...

Really unsure how you came up with this. Perhaps you're doubting your observations? Anyway, let's assume that what you've written before is correct, and your observations accurate, then it's the CPU fan causing the noise. In which case, the solution is to get a quiet CPU cooler; and I'm sure people can recommend good quiet coolers with a quiet 120mm fan that don't resonate much in your case. The Noctua NH-U12P is a safe bet for an all-in-one quiet heatsink.
 
Last edited:
CoolGuy90 said:
I unplugged the cpu fans and case fans. The noise is gone, however the my 260 makes a similar noise from the fan, but is not audible when all the other fans are hooked up, and not as loud as the one the 9500 was causing.
Click to expand...
Could be an issue with the board's PWM fan control circuit then. Both the CNPS9500AT and Intel stock cooler use PWM fans. Try plugging a regular 3-pin fan into the CPU fan header and see if it still produces the noise.
 
Got the DK today. It makes a similar type noise aswell, albeit more audible. Funny thing is, the noise dosen't seem to be coming from the actual fan, more so in the CPU are like the zalman.
 
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