Question Loud clicking noise - maybe coming from my computer?
Question Loud clicking noise - maybe coming from my computer?
Sorry if this is a weird question, but I'm trying to figure out if this actually is a PC issue or something else. Last Black Friday I bought my wife a prebuilt Cyberpower PC, so it's not even a year old and hasn't had any other problems so far. It has a Bitspower Infinity 360mm AIO, with the radiator mounted to the top of the case. Earlier tonight we both heard a LOUD dripping sound; our PCs are in the basement, and we heard it upstairs on the first floor. I initially worried it might have been our water heater, or a leaky pipe, but when I got downstairs it sounded like it was coming from around--or possibly inside--the PC. It stopped before we could determine the source, though, and we shined a light inside and didn't notice any liquid or residue on the GPU or elsewhere in the case where it might have dripped. The AIO cables seemed fine. The PSU has a shroud over it and I didn't notice anything pooled on top of that, either. So basically I'm just trying to figure out if it even IS a PC issue. Could the AIO just be making sounds? Or, bigger worry (and I'm not tech savvy enough to know), could something from the PSU be leaking that might have made that sound? Nothing seemed to be coming out of the back and leaking onto the desk, but I admit I was wary of lifting the shroud up for fear of getting any kind of capacitor fluid or something on my hands. It's a Thermaltake Toughpower PF3 850w, so not a no-name brand. Anyone have any experience with hearing a sound like this coming from their PC? And if so, what should I do about it? Thanks!
Welcome to the forums! To be honest, a loud leak even if it's huge just won't be heard on the floor above (if I guessed about where you live correctly). If you want to make sure your PC isn't making noise and your AIO is leaking, put some paper towels inside the case under your radiator. You should hear something, but as said before, you probably can't hear it from floors above. It might be coming from somewhere else in your house or outside or from neighbors.
Thanks for saying hi! Yeah, it was pretty loud from the floor above so I wondered if something inside the PC might have dropped something really heavy, like a bag or a bucket. But honestly, I wasn't sure where that sound came from either. Maybe there was another source, but just putting some paper towels under the radiator in case is a good idea! Thanks!
Seriously? How can a leaking cooling loop make a noise loud enough to hear across floors? I'd rather swap out a fried motherboard when an air cooler breaks than deal with those massive, clanky fans. But I've had four of these in my rig for the last eight years and they never failed me (except for some RGB lighting glitches). My first one from 2017 is still working great on my Linux machine. Even a colleague who installed twelve of them years ago has had zero problems running his server 24/7 without any issues. Most leaks happen because people mess with the setup wrong, like bending or twisting pipes, cracking radiators from over-tightening screws, or so on. Factory defects causing leaks are actually very rare.