Even though your PC doesn’t sound like an airplane engine when it gets very hot, there are times when computers make strange noises that are often difficult to identify. Sometimes they don’t mean anything, but sometimes they can be the preamble to serious hardware problems , so in this article we are going to teach you how to identify every possible noise that the PC makes , and what to do in each case.
Obviously, if your PC has many fans, it is very hot and you are also playing or doing some task that requires a lot of power from the processor or graphics card, it is normal to make noise because the fans will work at higher temperatures. In this article we are not going to deal with this type of noise, which we can consider normal, but we are going to deal with the “strange noises” that a PC can make, and which are often synonymous with problems (although other times they are nothing ).
Shock noise (tap, tap, tap) on PC
This type of noise may sound like “tap, tap, tap”, or even a rattle “tr tr tr tr” (very fast), and the first thing you should check are all the fans of the equipment because generally this noise is produced by a cable that is touching the blades of one of the fans.
As a general rule, the cables of the fans inside the box are well channeled, but sometimes some of their fasteners are loosened, leaving the cable loose, especially in fans whose connector is “half” of the motherboard as the rear fan or that of the heatsink fans.
It is also possible, especially if you have bought a PC by parts but pre-assembled in the store, that the assembly is a real disaster and that the cables have not been channeled or tied well. In short, what you should look for when this type of noise happens in the PC are cables that touch fans, because that will almost always be the problem.
Metallic vibration noise
It is also frequent to find a vibration noise with a metallic tone, as if the side plate was vibrating. This type of noise originates in the PC, precisely, if there are vibrations, and therefore you should check the moving parts of it, essentially the fans. Check that they are well anchored, that they do not move from their place, and that they have rubber anchors that these are in good condition.
It can also happen due to mechanical hard drives , which as you know also have moving parts and are actually quite prone to vibrations. In the same way, check if the legs of your box are in good condition, and that the box does not “limp”, since that also produces that type of noise (the legs are generally made of rubber precisely to absorb vibrations).
Finally, check that the sides of the PC case are firmly attached, since many times precisely the part that vibrates is the side plate.
Sharp noise from wind on PC
It may seem strange but it is more common than you think. There are times when wind noise is heard inside the case, and particularly sharp. This happens when there is one or more fans that move a lot of air flow, and they find restrictions in the air flow, such as a label on a cable, a cable itself, or simply that the grill is so dirty that the dust prevents the free passage of air.
In order to identify this noise, look for the fans that blow air into the PC and check that they have a clean grille, as well as that they have nothing preventing the free passage of air from them. Regarding the exhaust fans, it is not common for this type of noise to occur, you should look for those that put fresh air from outside to inside the box.
Electrical noise
It can also happen that you hear electrical noise, similar to what you hear when you pass near high-voltage cables. This does not have to mean that there is something wrong with the PC, but it is not a good symptom either because ideally we should not hear such sounds. As a general rule, it will happen in the power supply, and if so, we recommend you change it immediately because it is not a good symptom. It can also be heard in the VRMs of the motherboard, especially when we are doing some task that requires a lot of CPU power; This is also not normal, but does not usually lead to problems.
Whine coil
One type of electrical noise is the Coil Whine, which is heard as a high-pitched but electric screech, usually produced by the graphics card. Despite the fact that this type of noise does not entail any danger as a general rule, it can be quite annoying, and normally you will have to manage the guarantee of the graph and pray that the one sent to you new does not have this problem, since it is usually recurrent depending on which models, especially those of MSI.
Even so, there are some things you can try to solve this problem, since the coil whine is produced in the coils of the devices by accumulation of energy in them, so it obviously has to do with the power supply:
- Try changing the PCI-Express socket graphic if your board supports it.
- Change the PCI-Express connectors of the power supply, or if possible change cables directly.
- If your source supports it, change the setting from multi rail to mono rail or vice versa.
Other noises you can find on the PC
You may have already noticed that most of the noises that we can find in a PC are produced by moving parts, so loose and poorly screwed components are usually the main culprits for this type of problem. With the PC turned off, check that all components are securely in place and that all screws are tight.
If your box has bays to install units without tools, these are also candidates to produce vibration noise, so if you do not use them and your box supports it, we advise you to remove them.