[nick.rambo]

Lately there has been a high pitched whistling noise coming from my computer case. It's a custom setup in an Ultra Aluminus case. The case has a 500w Power supply and I've isolated the noise to either my Power Supply or the CPU area of the case.

Has anyone with this case ever had a problem this before?

Anyone have any ideas on what it might be?

 

[8210GUY]

It could be a fan, but it would help to isolate the area it's coming from, take the side of the case off and see if it's obvious where it's from.

 

[Tumbleweed36]

Hi,

After you get that case open, take a can of air and blow the dust bunnies out of all the fans and the heatsink. Dust alone can cause this problem.

 

[nick.rambo]

Uh ... done both of those things .... and I've isolated it to the CPU or the Power Supply.

I would try to isolate more... but I can't very well unplug the Power Supply or the CPU to figure out anything more.

I've aired out/cleaned this case from top to bottom .... I swear there's not a spec of dust in it right now.

This noise isn't being caused by a fan (except perhaps the one in the PS) because I've unplugged every single fan in the case (including the Heatsink fan).

This screeching comes and goes. Nothing really triggers it and (when it does) nothing really makes it stop.

At first I thought it may have been my video card ... but after swapping it out with another one ... that option is out.

It's extremely annoying.

This hasn't happened to anyone else???

 

[nick.rambo]

Double post ... sorry.

 

[8210GUY]

Using caution apply a small amount of pressure to the CPU fan, obviously don't stick your fingers in the blades, but if it has a solid middle apply pressure there, if it doesn't squeeze the sides, you only need to do it enough to alter the fan speed, do NOT stop it, it's just in my experience a bit of pressure on the fan removes or highlights if that fan is being noisy.
Once you can eliminate that fan and your sure everything else is fine it just leaves the PSU, do you have a spare you can try to check ?
If your confident about computers unplug the power leads going to the board and see if it will power up, obviously the system wont, but I'm hoping the PSU will, if it does and the noise is there then you have your culprit, but I'm not to sure if this will work as it's been a while since I messed around like that.

But you can get electrical whines as well, but if you isolate it to the PSU it's probably time to get a new one, opening a PSU is dangerous and can kill you if you touch the wrong thing, there are components in them that contain 1000's of volts, so only qualified electricians are advised to go into such things, hope this helps.

 

[nick.rambo]

I hope it's not the CPU.

It's a Intel P4 3.2 gHz w/ HT that's maybe a year and a half old. I bought it the summer before last.

Anyone know the life on these things? :4-dontkno

 

[8210GUY]

I don't think there is such a thing, there is the warranty period, then there is if you get a good one or not, pretty much luck of the draw as with any electrical item generally speaking, I take it from that the PSU came with the unit ? if so then odds on it wont be the best, do you have warranty on it ? if you do I suggest getting them to sort it out, I hope it isn't that for you, but we can only advise from experience as we can't see it, if you can try another PSU it would help to make sure.

 

[nick.rambo]

No no... it's a custom built PC. The CPU didn't come with it. It was a P4 retail pack from Intel. Came with those junk lil' fans. I replaced it though with a fan w/ a larger heat diffusion/fan.

This is my rig:

Ultra Aluminus Case w/ 500 PS
Intel P4 3.2 gHz w/ HT
ASUS P4P800-E Mobo
1 Gig Kingston Ram
Diabotek nVidia GeForce 6600 Video Card
Maxtor 160 GB HD - System - w/ HD Fan
Maxtor 120 GB HD - Media - w/ HD Fan
Lite-on DVDR
Toshiba DVDRW
2 2100 RPM 120mm fans (Front & Back)
1 3100 RPM 80mm fan (over CPU)
1 120mm exhaust fan
1 8000RPM Heatsink Fan

etc.

 

[8210GUY]

Well again if the PSU came with the case it may not be the best, I'm not saying it's rubbish, I don't know that brand or the PSU they supplied, but many a time the PSU that comes with a case isn't likely to be one you would choose given the opportunity, but a 500w unit is probably close to the limit of what you need, it depends on the 12v rails etc which TBH is beyond my full understanding, but just because something claims to be 500w doesn't make it so in the real scope of things if you follow me.

 

[twajetmech]

99% of the psu's that come with a case are rubbish as 8210guy hinted at, and Ultra is not on our list of known good psu's...in fact I would rate them pretty low. Based on your assessment, your psu sounds to have either has a fan bearing that has gone bad, or it is going bad completely. I would suggest that you simply replace the psu, unless you are comfortable soldering and splicing wires in electronics and want to try replacing the fan. A quality unit of 500W or better from PC Power&Cooling, Seasonic, Fortron, Antec (trio series) or Sparkle. As for the life of a cpu...that varies greatly with the environment its in and the power it recieves, but with a decent setup I would expect no less than 5 years or more, provided its never been overclocked.
Antec Trio 550W