Hissing sounds

[arsenalbates]

Hey, I have been putting up with a hissing sound coming form my computer for about a month now. The hiss variates and the pitch changes very quickly. Im hoping it is a fan problem but could it be anything else. I saw on one forum that it could be the motherboard ?

Any ideas ?

 

[JCB1]

if the sound changes pitch then it has to be your fans speeding up and slowing down, maybe a small squirt of WD40 will help it

 

[arsenalbates]

Just done a test for the fans and everything apart from the PSU and Front fan is not making the sound as i have just stopped the ones i can access and the noise is still apparet.

I dont think its a fan thats making the noise. another time i will remove my graphics card to see if thats the cause as thats where the noise sounds like it coming from.

Come to think of it it has only stated to happen from when i rebuilt my system. the only things i changed was the Motherboard and the RAM . Could any of these make a noise ?

 

[setishock]

You have an electrolytic cap about to bite the weenie. Check all caps for bulging tops. If you're handy with an iron you can replace it.

 

[Indigo]

Hard to say. Hissing isn't something usually associated with computer noises. It could be a capacitor with a weak connection with something and you're hearing electricity arcs, or a cap is leaking, but that's unlikely. Need to know more about where the sound is coming from and if you've sweeped the system for snakes.

Edit - same time as Setishock too.

 

[arsenalbates]

really ?

That Dont sound too good. its a brand new mobo. are these electrolytic caps on the graphics cards too ?

Reason i say this is i have put my head in the case and it seems to be coming from the lower half of the case where the graphics card is. i have reduced the fan speed but not stopped it so it could actually be the fan.

What happens when a electrolytic cap as setishock says "bite the weenie"

 

[Dngrsone]

Electrolytic capacitors will usually show signs of leakage-- can-types have a pattern stamped into the top that will allow the caps to outgas away from the rest of the board. Bulging of the top of these capacitors are usually apparent. Sometimes you will see a dark brown or black sludge, that's the electrolyte.

If you have a bad capacitor or three, you can change them, if you have decent soldering skills. If you don't know what a capacitor is, though you likely don't have the level of skill needed to solder on a motherboard.

There are places where you can send your board to have the caps replaced, but that might cost you more than the board is worth.

 

[arsenalbates]

Well its a brand new mobo so warranty I would have thought would cover it if it was to explode or something

OK thanks for the input. Im going to remove my graphics card which I think is the one that's hissing and see if that changes anything.

Could it be caused by over clocking ?

 

[Indigo]

Cap explosions are rare, but they have happened. If it's leaking, that's just a sign that the shell is cracked or has a hole somewhere, so an explosion would be somewhat unlikely. A good idea would be to disconnect power to everything in the system (HDD, CDROM, the fans other than the CPU fan) and then turning the system on to see if you can isolate it better. I'd turn it on like that for a good 5 seconds or so at most to get an idea of where its coming from, then replace the video card with another one, or leave it out if you can use onboard, and try again.

Alternatively, you can assemble the PC on a flat surface - a solid wood desk will work fine, use the motherboard's box to support the board if you're nervous and then power on the system so that you can listen to something more closely. I do that all the time, haven't fried anything.

 

[GibsonSGKing]

Ya know, my one PSU did this for a while and then stopped magically. It was the capacitors in it, at least to the best of my knowledge. They never failed or anything, just made some noise when charging/discharging. Never did any harm as far as I know *shrug*