For the last couple of weeks or so I've had an annoying little "tick" coming from my PC case. The components are just about 3 years old. Built in Jan 2020, and have only changed the GPU, SSD, and CPU cooler since then). The specs are: Asus X570 Crosshair VIII Hero AMD Ryzen 5 2600x CPU Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black air cooler Soundblaster Z PCIe Asus TUF RTX 3070 2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 2400 2 x 2TB Crucial MX500 SSD 1 x 1TB Samsung 860EVO SSD 1 x 500GB Crucial P1 NVME 1 x 480GB WD Green M2 SSD 1 x Optiarc DVD-RW 1 X Pioneer BD-RW 1 x EVGA 750w BQ Semi-Modular PSU All contained in Corsair 750D Airflow Edition full tower case with 4 Bequiet 140mm Pure Wings fans. I've gone through the following diagnostics - all fans (except brand new cooler which is a week old), disconnected, and reconnected one by one. Sound is still there. All fans disconnected entirely and just run with CPU cooler, sound is still there. I think I've tracked it down to the PCH fan, which after a few google searches seems to be a common fault with X570 mobos. This morning I even went as far as stripping the system down again, dismantling the fan shroud, taking the fan out (giving it a clean) and even using some silicon grease I use in an Airbrush to "oil" the fan shaft. This seemed to work for a few hours, but sadly the noise has returned... The only item I've not tested/taken apart is the PSU, however, I really do not want to do that as it would mean a lot more hassle. With the steps taken, could there be anything that's like to be at fault? If it is the fan, sadly, according to Asus, and other board manufacturers, the PCH fan is supposedly a "non-user replaceable item".... Any help would be appreciated. Treker_ed (Sorry for the long post, wanted to get as much info to help, and also all steps taken so far to diagnose the problem)
It is definitely user replaceable. Especially as the mobo is likely to be out of warranty now, there's no downside to giving it a go really. Will just require a few screws to be removed, the fan make and model should be on the back, should be able to find a replacement on eBay or Ali express. Could probably do with replacing the thermal pad on the chipset heatsink
My only issue - to get the details - I have to completely strip the PC again (!) having completely stripped it this morning to clean and grease the damn thing, last Friday to fit the new CPU cooler (to replace a faulty one), and the week before that to remove the faulty cooler, to send it back to the supplier for replacement..... It's a full tower system, and not easy to move around. I probably should have written down the information earlier on today when I had the PC in pieces I suppose. Anyway, buying stuff on e-bay is not what I would call even remotely a pleasant experience having been burnt on there before. Won't touch it with a barge pole! Thank you for the suggestion though, it had already crossed my mind about that - but other folks have tried that approach (from research on other tech sites) and they had tons of problems finding the correct fan even with the part numbers. It would appear, that the manufacturers were re-using the same part number for slightly different fans, with the screw layouts in different positions!
First, you got to make sure you've found the right fan: You have dismantled it, so why not just unplug the PCH fan cable and see if the noise is still there? Is there any motherboard setting that effectively disables the PCH fan? Worth try to maintain fan-stop temperature using good airflow over de-shrouded cooler. On my Gigabyte x570 Master, there is a PCH fan profile that stops the fan below certain temperature. I re-pasted the PCH and removed the decorative shroud. With help of case fan and GPU fan, I can run PCH entirely passively.
The rig is no longer dismantled. It is not just used for gaming. If you read my original post, the only fan I was not able to remove and check was the PCH fan, all other fans were removed, and system switched on with ONLY the PCH fan running. This noise was still there. Therefore, from my checks that's what believe the problem is. As mentioned above, when looking into the problem (before I resorted to dismantling and cleaning,) other users had gone down the same path, and had been unable to get replacement fans. The oft quoted comment was same part number, but different fan design or arrangement of holes for the screws to reconnect to the heatsink/shroud. Where the PCH fan is located on the ASUS Crossfire VIII Hero, places it directly underneath the path of the GPU, any unshrouded fan would cause problems. There is literally almost no gap between the base of the GPU and the fan. On Asus Bios there is NO user control of the PCH fan (believe me, i've looked over and over).
Just remove the fan. If it's under the GPU, the airflow from the GPU will be enough to cool the chipset.
I thought you mentioned PSU fan may still be running? Sounds perfect to not need the shroud. The GPU will protect the fan if you want it to spin. But the idea is to not use the noisy PCH fan (by unplugging it) and get airflow over the no longer covered heatsink through use of case fan or setting one of GPU fan going all the time.
Get it like this, no need for PCH fan. The case intake + fan mounted on my GPU G12 keeps de-shrouded PCH cool. 290CC518-61F3-4543-861A-F6CE5B5F4F87 by wyx087 posted 1 Feb 2023 at 08:55
The sound is only getting worse - and wouldn't you know it, as I'm writing this the bloody thing has stopped....... I've realised over the last few years that there are certain aspects of myself that fit into specific Autistic traits - I know I am on the Autistic Spectrum - but not exactly where. I also realise that I have certain sensory issues. If I hear a repetitive noise, my brain will switch my hearing to that noise, and focus on it - no matter what I'm doing - even if I'm gaming and listening to something, or even listening to music. My auditory processing realises it's there and will keep a track of it from then on. So having this 'ticking' or 'clacking' noise coming from my PC really does get on my nerves! I've decided to pull the trigger (so to say) and replace the board. As I'm doing that, I might as well upgrade a little bit. So, I've decided to go to an AM5 system. Asus ROG Strix B650E-E Gaming WIFI Motherboard AMD Ryzen 5 7600x Processor (with free code for Jedi Survivor when it releases) 32GB (2x16) DDR5 memory And due to extremely limited SATA connections on the board (paying a lot more, for a damn lot loss expansion) a PCIe Sata controller. Seems we are now paying a hell of a lot more, for a lot less tech on our boards. On my old x570 AM4 board, could have 8 SATA III connections, 4 PCI cards, 2 NVME cards. On a lot of the new AM5 boards (no idea on Intel boards, never had one, not interested in one either..) the number of SATA slots has drastically reduced - 4 seems to be the norm, most boards only 3 PCI slots, but on the plus side, they do have more NVME slots. The B650E-E has 4. So as the saying goes - you win some, you lose some! Thanks to those that offered any suggestions/solutions. I'm pretty confident with tech, and can build my own rigs, diagnose etc. But when it comes to modding, or doing anything of a 'mechanical/technical' beyond the requirements of building a PC, I don't really have the abilities (goes hand in hand with being on the Autistic spectrum - excel in some areas, drop off in others)
All sorted, and my new rig is up and running. Little bit of a SNAFU though!!! Decided to reinstall windows etc, and after going through my usual post install clean-up, damn thing wouldn't boot properly... Got past the windows logo, and the swirly circle thing, and then a black screen. No login screen, nothing, NADA, zip.... Would boot into safe mode, so some driver issue, but didn't know which. Decided to re-do it this morning (all that was at 2300 last night). Now working like a charm. Running beautifully, eats everything up like a good-un and running silky smooth.
Just a thought, but someone on here might be after your old motherboard, cpu and ram, it could be worth posting a For Sale thread.
The RAM has been reused in a media aPC that's sat in the living room, and I'm debating whether or not to use the processor as well. I have a GTX970 sat doing nothing that could be used instead of a Ryzen 3200g that's in there at the moment.
This whole thing got bit more expensive... Just after I built up the new system, and posted that it was running ok - I started to hear another "tapping" noise coming out of the case. Knew it could not be the GPU, knew it wasn't the CPU cooler, what the hell is it???? After a couple of days diagnostics (un hooking fans etc) tracked it down to the bloody PSU! The fan or something in the PSU was off kilter. If the case was laid on it's side, instead of being stood upright, no noise, perfectly fine, if the case was stood up, as it should be, damn annoying, constant rhythmic tapping noise, as if a fan was catching on something. Anyway, out it came - at this point could not care less if in or out of warranty - PSU came apart! Was filthy inside, so got a good cleaning (I also build aircraft models, so I have an airbrush, and used this to blow out any dust). Now cleaned, including the fan, put back together, and back in the case. Still tapping away!!!!!!!!!! Have now had to replace PSU as well. Extra expense I did not want. Gone with a 850W Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 fully modular PSU. So in the last two weeks, I've replace CPU, RAM, mobo, PSU.. Might as well go the whole hog and replace the case as well... (I am actually thinking about doing that - and been looking at cases - but want one with 5.25 bays as I do actually still use my ODD quite a lot)
Well, I've decided to go for it and buy a case as well... Not the one I had in my sights originally (of course it wasn't - nothing has gone that smoothly!) I was originally wanting to go for the BeQuiet Dark Base Pro 900 Rev 2. Lots of space, lots of expansion, great reviews, plenty of space for ODDs (yes, I still use them, as I prefer buying music instead of streaming, same as movies) - but when going to get it from my usual supplier - was out of stock grr:) Emailed BeQuiet, and turns out they are replacing the case with something else later in Q2 2023 with less 5.25" bays than the Rev 2 had! So no stock of that case. Cue several hours of research to find an alternative and I manage to turn up the Define 7 XL from Fractal Design. Decent case, enough 5.25" bays for what I need, and plenty of room for everything else I have at present. Supplier A has stock, but I have to wait a few days for some money.... Damn went out of stock.... that's ok due to get some on 28/02/23, I'll place the order! Does it go smoothly... Nah of course not - no stock delivery arrives, and new ETA to supplier is now 24/03/23! Plan C.. Supplier B has it, for £40 more, and I have to pay for delivery as well Ah well, delivery to me is due on 02/03/2023 at some point during the day, so will be spending the day taking the rig apart and re-assembling and tidying all the cabling up in the new case. At least it will give me something to do and keep me out of the wife's way while she works from home! Case arrived.... Of course there's been a problem! Half way through the re-build and found some internal damage! A small metal bracket has been badly damaged and bent out of shape! Ordinarily I would not be too bothered, except in this instance, it has sheared quite badly, and has almost broken away, if I attempt to reshape it, it will brake off completely! I'm in touch with the suppliers to get it returned! I wouldn't mind, but I was almost at the point of getting everything wired up! nothing has gone smoothly with this build at all!
