Weird faint whining noise during gaming (not coil whine)?

[Cookie]

For a few months now ive been noticing this really annoying, faint whining noise during gaming. It's hard to describe, and I can't pinpoint where it's coming from. It's definitely not the GPU.

Now here's the funny part: Today while playing a game I noticed it again (I'm wearing headphones and still hear it, the PC itself is very quiet) and I took of the cases side panel to try to find where it's coming from. Then I noticed, whenever the side panel is off, the noise stops. So when I hear it I can take off the panel and the noise fades. I don't think it's the case vibrating because the noise doesn't stop when I touch the panel and the case doesn't really vibrate anyway. At this point I'm lost, i don't know what do to, the noise is driving me crazy. I was thinking maybe the case has some kind of effect on the circuitry of the mobo/GPU, but that just seems weird. I also tried tightening screws on the case and that didn't seem to work.

So yeah, the only thing that helps is taking off the side panel but that's not really a solution.
Anyone have an idea what this could be or how i could fix it?

What i forgot to mention is, the noise comes and goes freely it seems.

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro.

http://imgur.com/a/GaaGT

In the third picture you can see me opening the panel, which causes the humming to fade.

[Jesus Christ]

It could be your PSU, i have a corsair cs650m and it makes grinding noises now and again which i know now is the fan, so check your PSU.

[Azza ☠]

Hard Drive?

The spinning of a standard hard drive can cause vibrations up the entire side of the PC case (metal inside) if not correctly mounted with padding / washers.

Ensure the PC case is on a flat solid surface (with it's feeting).

Ensure the hard drive(s) are flat (not tilted) and clipped or screwed into place (firmly secured but not too tightly).

---

Loose cable?

A wire can sometimes brush up against a fan. It will create a buzzing sound. If this is the case, ensure cables are all to the side or behind (depending on PC case) the motherboard. Allow for good airflow and make sure the fans are all spinning correctly without blockages.

[Cookie]

I think the noise is generated somewhere close to the PSU, but dont you think its extremely weird how it just stops when I take the panel off?
The PSU:600 Watt be quiet! Straight Power 10-CM Modular 80+ Gold
Also now that i think about the noise is very comparable to what it sounds like when you try to silently humm with a high pitch.

[Meurock460]

Originally posted by Cookie:

I think the noise is generated somewhere close to the PSU, but dont you think its extremely weird how it just stops when I take the panel off?
The PSU:600 Watt be quiet! Straight Power 10-CM Modular 80+ Gold
Also now that i think about the noise is very comparable to what it sounds like when you try to silently humm with a high pitch.

Could be the side panel vibrating. I helped a friend build a PC in a Fractal R5 case, the side panel kept making a faint vibrating sound. Usually adjusting the thumb screws every now and then fixed it.

Maybe that will work on yours?

[Cookie]

Originally posted by Meurock372:

Originally posted by Cookie:

I think the noise is generated somewhere close to the PSU, but dont you think its extremely weird how it just stops when I take the panel off?
The PSU:600 Watt be quiet! Straight Power 10-CM Modular 80+ Gold
Also now that i think about the noise is very comparable to what it sounds like when you try to silently humm with a high pitch.

Could be the side panel vibrating. I helped a friend build a PC in a Fractal R5 case, the side panel kept making a faint vibrating sound. Usually adjusting the thumb screws every now and then fixed it.

Maybe that will work on yours?

Sadly that doesnt seem to fix anything. I also tried removing the screws (also tried screwing them down as hard as possible, doesnt help) entirely and just letting the panel rest, but the noise only stops when I open the panel. I dont even have to remove it entirely, i just have to open the side of the PC halfway (weirdest part is, the top of the case is open). Its also not the HDD :(
I am currently thinking about sticking some material on the inside side of the panel. I honestly think it might have some magnetic effect on the PC components that cause it to resonate or whatever. Why else would the noise stop when that exact panel is opened?

[Jesus Christ]

What do you mean the top of the case is open? you mean the plastic bit on top is off ?

[Cookie]

http://imgur.com/a/GaaGT

In the third picture you can see me opening the panel, which causes the humming to fade.

Originally posted by Jesus Christ:

What do you mean the top of the case is open? you mean the plastic bit on top is off ?

Just look at the album i posted, the case has an open design for fans and stuff. I dont have any fans there, only a dust filter.

[Beardface31]

I had to replace a cheap NZXT case with something nicer because of the rattling and vibrations.
Bugged me. High end pc in cheap case is a no no.

Any fans controlled by the mobo temp controller still may be the cause. You open the case, more air gets in, cools down, fan slows and noise stops.

That noise you describe sounds like fans or any capacitor.

[Jesus Christ]

Did you upgrade anything before it started happening?

[Cookie]

Originally posted by Beardface:

I had to replace a cheap NZXT case with something nicer because of the rattling and vibrations.
Bugged me. High end pc in cheap case is a no no.

Any fans controlled by the mobo temp controller still may be the cause. You open the case, more air gets in, cools down, fan slows and noise stops.

That noise you describe sounds like fans or any capacitor.

I wouldnt call the enthoo pro cheap, it cost me around 100 euros. I considered the fans being the problem but the noise fades far too quickly when i open the case, i dont think the temperature really changes at all. Maybe its a capacitor on the mobo, but I also doubt that because I would hear it with the case open. Again, the noise only occurs while the panel is on, the second i take it off it fades.

Originally posted by Jesus Christ:

Did you upgrade anything before it started happening?

When i built the PC a few months ago i only had an ssd, so the PC was absolutely inaudible. Then I put a harddrive in, which of course generates some noise, but its not anything like the annoying humming. Since i built in the harddrive, my PC has been making more weird noises, and I think the humming noise thats bothering me wasnt there before i put it in, or at least i never noticed it before that. I tried gaming with the HDD disconnected but the noise is still there.

[Jesus Christ]

Does this noise only happen when playing games? or does it happen all the time?

[Beardface31]

Originally posted by Cookie:

Originally posted by Beardface:

I had to replace a cheap NZXT case with something nicer because of the rattling and vibrations.
Bugged me. High end pc in cheap case is a no no.

Any fans controlled by the mobo temp controller still may be the cause. You open the case, more air gets in, cools down, fan slows and noise stops.

That noise you describe sounds like fans or any capacitor.

I wouldnt call the enthoo pro cheap, it cost me around 100 euros. I considered the fans being the problem but the noise fades far too quickly when i open the case, i dont think the temperature really changes at all. Maybe its a capacitor on the mobo, but I also doubt that because I would hear it with the case open. Again, the noise only occurs while the panel is on, the second i take it off it fades.

Didnt mean to offend I hadn't seen your pictures before I posted that.

Bios power saving options can create buzzing as well. Maybe try looking there.

[Cookie]

Originally posted by Beardface:

Originally posted by Cookie:

I wouldnt call the enthoo pro cheap, it cost me around 100 euros. I considered the fans being the problem but the noise fades far too quickly when i open the case, i dont think the temperature really changes at all. Maybe its a capacitor on the mobo, but I also doubt that because I would hear it with the case open. Again, the noise only occurs while the panel is on, the second i take it off it fades.

Didnt mean to offend I hadn't seen your pictures before I posted that.

Bios power saving options can create buzzing as well. Maybe try looking there.

No worries, not offended, just pointing it out.
Yeah i saw a video about the power saving options creating noise so I went and turned them off, didnt do anything for me sadly.

Originally posted by Jesus Christ:

Does this noise only happen when playing games? or does it happen all the time?

The noise is most prominent during gaming. It doesnt happen all the time, it just randomly starts and stops a few seconds after (sometimes 2, sometimes 10). Now that I'm sitting around without any music playing, I can sometimes hear the noise for a few seconds without any games running.

Im gonna play around with the fan speed settings in the bios to see if the noise generated by the cpu cooler is similar to the humming

Just let the CPU fan go up to 1500 rpm, the noise is very distinct from the humming and I doubt the humming comes from the fan speed changing

[rotNdude]

Maybe it's coming through the headset?

[Cookie]

Originally posted by rotNdude:

Maybe it's coming through the headset?

Definitely not, every time I hear it I crouch next to my PC below the table and remove the panel and the noise fades. If I put it back i can hear it again.