CPU Noise!

[Bristol Posse]

I have a shitty P4 and i have already swapped out to a slower CPU fan and that helped alot, but after quieting the CPU fan, I began to notice these really high pitched whines. They are apparently coming from the CPU and the HDDs.



The machine is on the closet floor with decent ventilation when not recording it's not covered at all. Just sits in the closet with the door closed. The back and front are not covered.



No what I need is a new machine. The new processors and case are really quiet, they can run alot hotter than the P4s. But not interested right now, especially since my PCI card doesn't fit in most new motherboards.

CPUs don't make any audibe noise. CPU fan should be the only noise coming from that area.
If you are hearing high pitched whines from your HDD. backup everything now and prepare for a crash
Newer 45nm CPUs such as duals, quads and i7s actually run much cooler and more efficiently than P4s so there is less fan noise even from an intel stock fan
What kind of PCI card are you using that doesn't fit into a PCI slot. A PCI slot is a PCI slot and is no different now than 5 years ago. Most current MOBOs have at least 1 PCI slot as well as PCI/E and PCI 2.0
The only thing I can think of is a graphics card using non PCI interface which has been largely abandonned a long time ago

 

[2000Z28M6]

Most current MOBOs have at least 1 PCI slot as well as PCI/E and PCI 2.0

You say most..not all, eventually PCI is going to be phased out.


The machine I use was basically thrown together from spare parts.

P4 2.8, 2GB Ram, 3 40GB HDDs, AGP and PCI cards for dual monitors.

I back up frequently to my external drive just in case.

Honestly I only have bout $200 in the machine.

The whining usually starts after the CPU gets up to operating temp. So it might have to do with the CPU fan not cooling properly. However Ive heard HDDs whine even on my laptop so I know what that sounds like. And the machine has one drive that is whinnying.

 

[Bristol Posse]

Yeah if your using AGP cards you'll have trouble finding anything. Personally I'd replace an AGP GPU with a PCI one (low end and CHEAP) since a good mother board is far more important to a solid DAW than loyalty to an old graphics card.
PCI not such a problem even on brand new i7 boards and whilst PCI will likely eventually phase out it hasn't yet.

If your hearing a Whining when the CPU gets hot most likely cause is bad bearing in the cooling fan and it will need to be replaced before it starts effecting the fans ability to spin fast enough to cool the CPU. If not the CPU will get too hot and choke to prevent damage

Unusual whining from HDDs is usually a sign of iminent Crash. If you just have loud drives, that have always been loud you could dry re mounting them with silicone dampers to reduce some of the vibration noise transferring to the case

 

[2000Z28M6]

f your hearing a Whining when the CPU gets hot most likely cause is bad bearing in the cooling fan and it will need to be replaced before it starts effecting the fans ability to spin fast enough to cool the CPU. If not the CPU will get too hot and choke to prevent damage

Unusual whining from HDDs is usually a sign of iminent Crash. If you just have loud drives, that have always been loud you could dry re mounting them with silicone dampers to reduce some of the vibration noise transferring to the case

All this is great info guys! but throwing it in the closet was easier!

And if it dies oh well, good thing I have 3 seperate drives for OS, Files, back ups!

THanks!

 

[Seafroggys]

PCI will still last a long while. Most things are still PCI anyway, its still a very fast system (much faster than Firewire and USB 2.0). I haven't even seen non-GPU PCI-E cards out yet, and even once they start coming out, there will still be a few years of PCI dominence.

 

[2000Z28M6]

Sorry to bring this back from the dead, the culprit was a POS power supply. I just replaced it with a decent 500W supply, the fan is a little louder (not enough to matter), but no more of the stupid electrical whines I kept hearing.

The sound was being driven by the CPU, I guess the old supply was bending when the cpu consumed more voltage.

It's gone!, and thats all that matters!

It's still in the closet and good just got better as far as im concerned.