My computer sounds ill!

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Sorry, this may not be the best group, but it is along the same lines.
I got a barebones system less than 1 year ago, with a 3 year warranty,
and it's recently got really noisey. I was really pleased at first
because it was so quiet, but now the noise is unbearable :-(. It
happened quite suddenly too.

I came home one day and my parents were using the machine, but it
sounded a lot louder than usual, and I was a little shocked. I
suspected that it may've just been hot because they had been using it
all day, but it's been like it ever since. Even when booted from cold
it's noisey. Before it took around 5 seconds before any noise could be
heard because the CPU fan takes ages to spin up to around 6000rpm. Now
it is noisey from the moment the button is pressed.

It sounds to me like bearing noise from the fan. I recently added an
MSI Geforce MX440SE 64Mb (PCI), and the computer had been running days
without problems. I've emailed the manufacturer (tech support) and
they basically suggested getting the supplier to check it. Specs are
as follows :

Soltek Q3601 barebones system :
1GHz C3 Nehemiah
256Mb DDR Samsung (underclocked to 266MHz)
60Gb 7200rpm Maxtor DM9
LG 16x CDRW (pretty old)
MSI Geforce MX440SE 64mb DDR (PCI)
200W PSU

The PSU is a 'Soltek' one, but seems to be made by 'enhance'. The
model is ENP-2120D. The PSU is capable of running P4's and Athlons, so
this setup should be fine. The 200W shuttle PSU's are supposed to be
capable of running Radeon 9600's, with Athlons too. The PSU's seem to
be able to run a lot more than you expect. I believe the C3 CPU only
consumes around 18W max, but I think (off the top of my head) Athlon
XP's start at 48.9W

The CPU die peaks at about 43C (about 38C idle), and the m/b sensor
peaks at around 40C (34C idle). There are two fans in the whole
system, a 40mm one on the CPU, and an 80mm one in the PSU. The 40mm
one is a much higher pitch than the PSU one though.

Any suggestions? Sending it back will cost money, and leave me without
a Linux machine for a while, so it's a last resort :-(

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Mac Cool wrote:
> > It sounds to me like bearing noise from the fan.
> > Any suggestions?
>
> Open the case and see if it is a fan. Replace the fan.
> --
> Mac Cool

If I do any ideas what I should replace it with? It's currently a 12V
DC fan, but I fear that it's soldered :-(. I'll also need to check the
startup voltage. I have loads of spare 80mm fans including Zalman's,
and a Vantec Stealth, but the one in the PSU is only 20mm deep :-(.
It'll probably be hard to find a replacement :-(

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

petermcmillan_uk@yahoo.com wrote:
> Mac Cool wrote:
> > > It sounds to me like bearing noise from the fan.
> > > Any suggestions?

> > Open the case and see if it is a fan. Replace the fan.

> If I do any ideas what I should replace it with? It's currently a
12V
> DC fan, but I fear that it's soldered :-(. I'll also need to check
the
> startup voltage. I have loads of spare 80mm fans including Zalman's,
> and a Vantec Stealth, but the one in the PSU is only 20mm deep :-(.
> It'll probably be hard to find a replacement :-(

First, make sure that you've identified the loud component.
Use the eraser end of a pencil or something to block the
fan's motion. If that didn't stop the noise, then obviously
it's some other component which is causing the noise.

If it is indeed the PSU fan, then you will probably want
to replace the entire PSU. You can make your own modification
to use one of your spare fans if you have a little ingenuity,
but be aware that the capacitors in a PSU can carry dangerous
high voltages. Drain the PSU by unplugging the computer and
pressing the power button several times. Then leave the computer
alone for an hour and press the power button several times
some more to help drain any remaining charge. Even so,
there STILL may be dangerous charges in the PSU capacitors.
BE CAREFUL when doing a PSU mod!

Now, assuming you're still up for the PSU fan replacement,
you can deal with a soldered fan connection simply by
cutting/stripping the wires and twisting wire ends together
(red to red, black to black). Cap them off with electrical
tape to prevent any shorts. If the new fan won't fit inside
the PSU, simply fit it outside the PSU. Cut out any grills,
as they won't serve any purpose with the fan outside the
PSU and they might interfere with the fan's rotation.

Oh--before you do the mod, power up the fan so you know which
direction it blows air.

Isaac Kuo

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

IsaacKuo wrote:
> petermcmillan_uk@yahoo.com wrote:
> > Mac Cool wrote:
> > > > It sounds to me like bearing noise from the fan.
> > > > Any suggestions?
>
> > > Open the case and see if it is a fan. Replace the fan.
>
> > If I do any ideas what I should replace it with? It's currently a
> 12V
> > DC fan, but I fear that it's soldered :-(. I'll also need to check
> the
> > startup voltage. I have loads of spare 80mm fans including
Zalman's,
> > and a Vantec Stealth, but the one in the PSU is only 20mm deep :-(.
> > It'll probably be hard to find a replacement :-(
>
> First, make sure that you've identified the loud component.
> Use the eraser end of a pencil or something to block the
> fan's motion. If that didn't stop the noise, then obviously
> it's some other component which is causing the noise.
>
> If it is indeed the PSU fan, then you will probably want
> to replace the entire PSU. You can make your own modification
> to use one of your spare fans if you have a little ingenuity,
> but be aware that the capacitors in a PSU can carry dangerous
> high voltages. Drain the PSU by unplugging the computer and
> pressing the power button several times. Then leave the computer
> alone for an hour and press the power button several times
> some more to help drain any remaining charge. Even so,
> there STILL may be dangerous charges in the PSU capacitors.
> BE CAREFUL when doing a PSU mod!
>
> Now, assuming you're still up for the PSU fan replacement,
> you can deal with a soldered fan connection simply by
> cutting/stripping the wires and twisting wire ends together
> (red to red, black to black). Cap them off with electrical
> tape to prevent any shorts. If the new fan won't fit inside
> the PSU, simply fit it outside the PSU. Cut out any grills,
> as they won't serve any purpose with the fan outside the
> PSU and they might interfere with the fan's rotation.
>
> Oh--before you do the mod, power up the fan so you know which
> direction it blows air.
>
> Isaac Kuo

I don't think there are many PSU's which will fit in my machine, even
the Shuttle ones seem to be longer :-(. Thanks for the advice, but I
think cutting the PSU could be quite hard.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

petermcmillan_uk@yahoo.com wrote:
> Sorry, this may not be the best group, but it is along the same
lines.
> I got a barebones system less than 1 year ago, with a 3 year
warranty,
> and it's recently got really noisey. I was really pleased at first
> because it was so quiet, but now the noise is unbearable :-(. It
> happened quite suddenly too.
>
> I came home one day and my parents were using the machine, but it
> sounded a lot louder than usual, and I was a little shocked. I
> suspected that it may've just been hot because they had been using it
> all day, but it's been like it ever since. Even when booted from
cold
> it's noisey. Before it took around 5 seconds before any noise could
be
> heard because the CPU fan takes ages to spin up to around 6000rpm.
Now
> it is noisey from the moment the button is pressed.
>
> It sounds to me like bearing noise from the fan. I recently added an
> MSI Geforce MX440SE 64Mb (PCI), and the computer had been running
days
> without problems. I've emailed the manufacturer (tech support) and
> they basically suggested getting the supplier to check it. Specs are
> as follows :
>
> Soltek Q3601 barebones system :
> 1GHz C3 Nehemiah
> 256Mb DDR Samsung (underclocked to 266MHz)
> 60Gb 7200rpm Maxtor DM9
> LG 16x CDRW (pretty old)
> MSI Geforce MX440SE 64mb DDR (PCI)
> 200W PSU
>
> The PSU is a 'Soltek' one, but seems to be made by 'enhance'. The
> model is ENP-2120D. The PSU is capable of running P4's and Athlons,
so
> this setup should be fine. The 200W shuttle PSU's are supposed to be
> capable of running Radeon 9600's, with Athlons too. The PSU's seem
to
> be able to run a lot more than you expect. I believe the C3 CPU only
> consumes around 18W max, but I think (off the top of my head) Athlon
> XP's start at 48.9W
>
> The CPU die peaks at about 43C (about 38C idle), and the m/b sensor
> peaks at around 40C (34C idle). There are two fans in the whole
> system, a 40mm one on the CPU, and an 80mm one in the PSU. The 40mm
> one is a much higher pitch than the PSU one though.
>
> Any suggestions? Sending it back will cost money, and leave me
without
> a Linux machine for a while, so it's a last resort :-(

I've just had a look and it looks like it's actually the CPU fan, but
it's hard to tell. The two fans are only a few inches away from each
other, and it's hard to get to the PSU fan. I stopped the CPU fan
though, and it seems like that's the one making the most noise. I was
considering putting an 80mm fan in there somehow, but I can't see any
way of fitting it in there, so I'll probably stick with a 40mm one.
Fortunately I bought a spare with the machine, although it's 25db :-(.

I hate active coolers :-(. My northbridge cooler's going on my other
machine, it makes a terrible noise. It went within about 6 months of
being new, and the board had already been replaced once due to the n/b
fan :-(

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

spodosaurus wrote:
> petermcmillan_uk@yahoo.com wrote:
> >
> > I've just had a look and it looks like it's actually the CPU fan,
but
> > it's hard to tell. The two fans are only a few inches away from
each
> > other, and it's hard to get to the PSU fan. I stopped the CPU fan
> > though, and it seems like that's the one making the most noise. I
was
> > considering putting an 80mm fan in there somehow, but I can't see
any
> > way of fitting it in there, so I'll probably stick with a 40mm one.
> > Fortunately I bought a spare with the machine, although it's 25db
:-(.
> >
>
> What height? Sunon makes a couple of 40x40x20mm vapo bearing fans
that
> can be as quiet as 18dba.

It looks like 40x40x10, that's what my replacement is anyway, and it
looks roughly the same. I think I'll try this one at the moment, and
see if it's better. My replacement is an akasa

> > I hate active coolers :-(. My northbridge cooler's going on my
other
> > machine, it makes a terrible noise. It went within about 6 months
of
> > being new, and the board had already been replaced once due to the
n/b
> > fan :-(
> >
>
> I got a zalman passive northbridge heatsink to replace the
northbridge
> HSF unit on the last motherboard I bought. the fan started dying in
the
> first week!

After about a week of owning my machine I noticed that the n/b fan
wasn't moving at all. I tried to move it with my finger, but I
couldn't move it. I think it may've been jammed from being screwed up
too tight, but bearing in mind that it was new I got it replaced. I
had to rebuild the whole system though :-(. My boards an Abit, and I
want to get a Zalman n/b 'sink on there over the summer. To do that
though I'll have to remove everything, including my Zalman flower
cooler, and then I've got to hope that the two Zalman sink won't get in
the way of each other.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Just replaced it! Took me about an hour :-o. I had to unplug and
remove the hard disk, and CDRW, which was fiddly. I then took the old
40mm fan off, and the whole heat sink was twisting slightly :-o. I put
the new one on, but I couldn't get screws on both sides. With the old
fan the heat sink fins were bent slightly, but I couldn't get all of
the screws to line up with the new fan. It's on with two screws
though, and it should hold. I powered it up, and I think it's quiter.
The fridge was making a noise in the background though, so it was hard
to tell, and I was rather relieved that it worked . I checked the
temps, and they got to about 36C on the die, and then I shutdown. I'll
give it more testing when I get chance. What a big job though :-(
The old fan seems to be made by 'T & T', never heard of them!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

> It sounds to me like bearing noise from the fan.
> Any suggestions?

Open the case and see if it is a fan. Replace the fan.
--
Mac Cool

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Your power supply unit is too underpowered for that hardware. You are
probably hearing the PSU fan over-working.

--
DaveW



<petermcmillan_uk@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1106318824.904402.207020@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Sorry, this may not be the best group, but it is along the same lines.
> I got a barebones system less than 1 year ago, with a 3 year warranty,
> and it's recently got really noisey. I was really pleased at first
> because it was so quiet, but now the noise is unbearable :-(. It
> happened quite suddenly too.
>
> I came home one day and my parents were using the machine, but it
> sounded a lot louder than usual, and I was a little shocked. I
> suspected that it may've just been hot because they had been using it
> all day, but it's been like it ever since. Even when booted from cold
> it's noisey. Before it took around 5 seconds before any noise could be
> heard because the CPU fan takes ages to spin up to around 6000rpm. Now
> it is noisey from the moment the button is pressed.
>
> It sounds to me like bearing noise from the fan. I recently added an
> MSI Geforce MX440SE 64Mb (PCI), and the computer had been running days
> without problems. I've emailed the manufacturer (tech support) and
> they basically suggested getting the supplier to check it. Specs are
> as follows :
>
> Soltek Q3601 barebones system :
> 1GHz C3 Nehemiah
> 256Mb DDR Samsung (underclocked to 266MHz)
> 60Gb 7200rpm Maxtor DM9
> LG 16x CDRW (pretty old)
> MSI Geforce MX440SE 64mb DDR (PCI)
> 200W PSU
>
> The PSU is a 'Soltek' one, but seems to be made by 'enhance'. The
> model is ENP-2120D. The PSU is capable of running P4's and Athlons, so
> this setup should be fine. The 200W shuttle PSU's are supposed to be
> capable of running Radeon 9600's, with Athlons too. The PSU's seem to
> be able to run a lot more than you expect. I believe the C3 CPU only
> consumes around 18W max, but I think (off the top of my head) Athlon
> XP's start at 48.9W
>
> The CPU die peaks at about 43C (about 38C idle), and the m/b sensor
> peaks at around 40C (34C idle). There are two fans in the whole
> system, a 40mm one on the CPU, and an 80mm one in the PSU. The 40mm
> one is a much higher pitch than the PSU one though.
>
> Any suggestions? Sending it back will cost money, and leave me without
> a Linux machine for a while, so it's a last resort :-(
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

petermcmillan_uk@yahoo.com wrote:
> petermcmillan_uk@yahoo.com wrote:
>
>>Sorry, this may not be the best group, but it is along the same
>
> lines.
>
>>I got a barebones system less than 1 year ago, with a 3 year
>
> warranty,
>
>>and it's recently got really noisey. I was really pleased at first
>>because it was so quiet, but now the noise is unbearable :-(. It
>>happened quite suddenly too.
>>
>>I came home one day and my parents were using the machine, but it
>>sounded a lot louder than usual, and I was a little shocked. I
>>suspected that it may've just been hot because they had been using it
>>all day, but it's been like it ever since. Even when booted from
>
> cold
>
>>it's noisey. Before it took around 5 seconds before any noise could
>
> be
>
>>heard because the CPU fan takes ages to spin up to around 6000rpm.
>
> Now
>
>>it is noisey from the moment the button is pressed.
>>
>>It sounds to me like bearing noise from the fan. I recently added an
>>MSI Geforce MX440SE 64Mb (PCI), and the computer had been running
>
> days
>
>>without problems. I've emailed the manufacturer (tech support) and
>>they basically suggested getting the supplier to check it. Specs are
>>as follows :
>>
>>Soltek Q3601 barebones system :
>>1GHz C3 Nehemiah
>>256Mb DDR Samsung (underclocked to 266MHz)
>>60Gb 7200rpm Maxtor DM9
>>LG 16x CDRW (pretty old)
>>MSI Geforce MX440SE 64mb DDR (PCI)
>>200W PSU
>>
>>The PSU is a 'Soltek' one, but seems to be made by 'enhance'. The
>>model is ENP-2120D. The PSU is capable of running P4's and Athlons,
>
> so
>
>>this setup should be fine. The 200W shuttle PSU's are supposed to be
>>capable of running Radeon 9600's, with Athlons too. The PSU's seem
>
> to
>
>>be able to run a lot more than you expect. I believe the C3 CPU only
>>consumes around 18W max, but I think (off the top of my head) Athlon
>>XP's start at 48.9W
>>
>>The CPU die peaks at about 43C (about 38C idle), and the m/b sensor
>>peaks at around 40C (34C idle). There are two fans in the whole
>>system, a 40mm one on the CPU, and an 80mm one in the PSU. The 40mm
>>one is a much higher pitch than the PSU one though.
>>
>>Any suggestions? Sending it back will cost money, and leave me
>
> without
>
>>a Linux machine for a while, so it's a last resort :-(
>
>
> I've just had a look and it looks like it's actually the CPU fan, but
> it's hard to tell. The two fans are only a few inches away from each
> other, and it's hard to get to the PSU fan. I stopped the CPU fan
> though, and it seems like that's the one making the most noise. I was
> considering putting an 80mm fan in there somehow, but I can't see any
> way of fitting it in there, so I'll probably stick with a 40mm one.
> Fortunately I bought a spare with the machine, although it's 25db :-(.
>

What height? Sunon makes a couple of 40x40x20mm vapo bearing fans that
can be as quiet as 18dba.

> I hate active coolers :-(. My northbridge cooler's going on my other
> machine, it makes a terrible noise. It went within about 6 months of
> being new, and the board had already been replaced once due to the n/b
> fan :-(
>

I got a zalman passive northbridge heatsink to replace the northbridge
HSF unit on the last motherboard I bought. the fan started dying in the
first week!

--
spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. To jump to the end
of the story, as a result of this I need a bone marrow transplant. Many
people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant, too. Please
volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

DaveW wrote:
> Your power supply unit is too underpowered for that hardware. You are
> probably hearing the PSU fan over-working.
>

Remember Dave that it's a Soltek mini system. The PSU is probably
adequate given the low specs of the components.

--
spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. To jump to the end
of the story, as a result of this I need a bone marrow transplant. Many
people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant, too. Please
volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/