What may be the noise source?

[kouroubel]

My new home PC is more noisy than I would expect and I am trying to locate the source of the noise.

Even upon startup there is a loud noise that sounds like a fan. If the PC is left idle for some time (like 8-10 minutes) the noise cools down and I can do minimal tasks (like browse the internet) with no problem. However, if a Hard disk is accessed, the annoying noise starts again.

Would you think that the heatsink fan is to blame or maybe it is one of the case fans?

AMD A8-3850, w/ stock heatsink, no discrete graphics
Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3-1600
Gigabyte A75M-D2H
Corsair CX-430
OCZ Vertex 3, 60GB
WD Caviar Blue 750GB
Coolermaster Silencio 450

 

[signor]

I would pressume it is the heatsink fan as its stock and usually the suspect. Try downloading speedfan and change the speed of it, see if you notice a difference.

 

[clutchc]

^+1
Also, I had a WD 750GB Black HDD once that was terribly noisy when it was accessed. The clicking of the read/write head sounded like a set of canasta. Is your bothersome noise a fan whirrr or a clicking?

 

[kouroubel]

It is a fan noise alright. I am aware of the party the WD black makes cause I have one at my work PC...

 

[full_out]

My A4 HTPC rig was making more noise then I wanted. So I checked temps, which were really low. Below 28C I think. So I went into BIOS and found that the CPU fan was set to max (9). So I put the fan speed down to about half (5) and booted into windows. Checked my temps and they went up about 10C. But mid to high 30s isn't to hot, so now my system runs whisper quiet.

 

[clutchc]

It is a fan noise alright. I am aware of the party the WD black makes cause I have one at my work PC...

So, the WD Black must be 'designed' that way huh? Some design...

Your noise is probably like earlier stated, the noisy stock HSF. I had a Phenom II X4 980 with a stock fan that was so noisy as to be unusable. I was forced to buy an aftermarket just to silence it.

 

[kouroubel]

Yes, the black edition is noisy probably because it is designed to work constantly at max rpm to maximize performance...

I have located the source of the noise: it is actually the WD caviar blue. I put the damn thing to sleep by changing the power saving options and voila.....I cannot tell if the PC is on or off....even with the stock cooler!!!!

I guess I answered my own question so mods you can close this one.