CPU making buzzing/whirring noise

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hugemetalfan

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[Re-post, as my older thread got deleted because it contained two negligible swearwords that were only used to lighten up the mood in a funny way: apparently, commonly used curse words like that are shunned and frowned upon in a sinless, chaste and pure forum such as this].

You are correct, swearing and vulgarity are not allowed on the forums as per the rules of conduct posted in the stickies at the top of the forum. This is a family friendly site. :)
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2083474/read-forum-rules-styling-posts.html

Hi everybody.
I'm gonna keep this as short and clear as possible.

I built my gaming PC earlier this year (it's been working great so far and still IS), here are the specs:

Mobo: Asrock h97 anniversary
CPU: Intel core i5 4690
Gpu: NVIDIA gtx 970 MSI
RAM: Crucial ballistix sport 8gb
HDD: WD 1tb
Psu: Evga 650W GS gold
SSD: Samsung 850 evo 250GB
Case: Corsair 100R carbide series
Monitor: Benq 24 inches 1920x1080 LED

So my CPU's making a whirring/buzzing noise while under load (heavy gaming mostly). I've already experienced this on my old PC (which had an intel core 2 quad q6600) but at the time I blamed it on the old/outdated components.
Nonetheless, I'm sure that this problem is not related to the cpu fan itself (like bad mounting, moving screws, fan vibration or any of that stuff).

Additional information:
YES I'm using the stock cooler + stock cpu fan, because the CPU isn't overclockable anyway.

In addition, I mounted:
- two 120mm fans right above the CPU (one is a noctua NF-S12A, 4 pin; the other is the stock corsair fan that came with the case, 3 pin)
- and of course a 120mm fan on the back of the case (which is another noctua NF-S12A plugged into a 3 pin connector because I ran out of 4 pin connectors on my mobo haha and the fans are SUPER SILENT anyway, so no problem there).

All three of those case fans are close to the cpu (they practically "surround" it) and they all pull that nasty hot air OUT of the case. I like that negative pressure, because it keeps the components cool and the dust out of my case.

All components run relatively cool and even though my room is pretty stuffy and hot, the CPU never goes above 62 degrees celsius and the gtx970 is A REFRIGERATOR with its double twin frozr arctic fans.

SO,
my cpu's running perfectly fine BUT it makes that annoying (though low) buzzing sound, like a low-volume recording of a swarm of ants frying in a pan. It might be the pre-applied thermal paste on the heatsink that's slowly failing.

Nevertheless, I haven't noticed any performance drops yet.
Should I be worried?

Thanks in advance.
 
Solution
synphul
To my knowledge thermal paste doesn't 'sizzle'. It can become softer or firmer depending on heat, if applied properly it should only be a very thin layer like a film rather than a pad. Its only job is to fill in the microscopic inconsistencies of the cpu ihs surface and cooler base. Otherwise it's metal to metal. As others have suggested it could be a component on the board near the cpu, a capacitor or something potentially making noise. Cpu's themselves don't make noise.

It's more likely to be cooling fan vibration or something along those lines. Vibrations can spread from one component to another. If the thermal paste were breaking down that bad your cpu temps would be high as a result. If they haven't changed much then doubtful...
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hugemetalfan

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Thanks for the quick reply, but I put my ears against the part of the case behind which the CPU is, and it comes from there.
I'm pretty positive it's the CPU, as I used to hear that kind of sound coming from the cpu whenever my old pc was under stress.
 
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hugemetalfan

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It comes from where the CPU is located. HDD and SSD are far away from there. It's not the video card nor the PSU, as they're mounted way below the cpu.

Could it be the poor stock thermal paste that is sizzling from the heat of the CPU?
 
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synphul

synphul

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Mar 11, 2011
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To my knowledge thermal paste doesn't 'sizzle'. It can become softer or firmer depending on heat, if applied properly it should only be a very thin layer like a film rather than a pad. Its only job is to fill in the microscopic inconsistencies of the cpu ihs surface and cooler base. Otherwise it's metal to metal. As others have suggested it could be a component on the board near the cpu, a capacitor or something potentially making noise. Cpu's themselves don't make noise.

It's more likely to be cooling fan vibration or something along those lines. Vibrations can spread from one component to another. If the thermal paste were breaking down that bad your cpu temps would be high as a result. If they haven't changed much then doubtful that's the case. Personally I've never had thermal paste just break down or disappear or dry up or anything else, even on pc's I've had running nearly 24/7 for 4-5yrs.

You're not the first person to experience buzzing noises from the coils or vrm around the cpu socket on asrock boards.
http://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1842&title=cpuwhining

It happens on other boards too, sort of hit and miss. More the exception than the rule.
https://rog.asus.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-53118.html

I've got two z97 boards neither with this sort of whine or buzzing. Chances are a motherboard replacement would take care of it, you may want to reach out to asrock if it's still under warranty.
 
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Solution
3ogdy

3ogdy

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Jul 13, 2009
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Since you're concerned about the noise coming from the CPU area, I would re-seat the CPU Heatsink and fan. To be honest, I doubt the noise would come from the CPU. I would try to boot the PC without the dedicated GPU connected. Remove the MSI GTX 970 and connect your monitor cable to the motherboard itself and use the integrated GPU.
Sometimes coil noise only starts making itself heard under load. (gaming, stress testing - by the way, does it appear while running 3D Mark or Furmark?)
Does the noise go away if you enable Spread Spectrum in your motherboard's BIOS?
Also, if you can test this without the fans running (leave the one on the CPU cooler running, while the rest are off, then stop the one on the CPU to while running the other ones to see if the noise is still there).

Could you record the noise and post the recording somewhere like on SoundCloud or YouTube in order for us to get a better idea of it?
 
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