Computer making a weird rattling noise?

[Malcor]

Hello all.

I have a Dell Studio XPS 4000

http://www.dell.com/us/dfh/p/studio-xps-9000/pd

I bought it a good number of years ago. (About 4 or so) and for a while it's always been a bit noisy but today out of the blue it's made this horrible rattling/whizzing kind of noise when running simple things like World of Warcraft.

I can't figure out why it's doing this. Does anyone know? Is the fan bad? It's almost unbearable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUGo...ature=youtu.be

[Bitehattori]

i hear the sound the loudest when it's at the big fan-tube. Check that out.

[Fuzzykins]

It's a fan. The computer is old, and probably worth replacing soon anyway. Dust everything out to see if it helps if you don't have the ability to replace it now. Unplug the rear fan and see if the noise continues. If it does, it's the CPU fan.

[Bad Ashe]

look for loose wiring near the fans

[Fuzzykins]

look for loose wiring near the fans

I mean, you can see in the video that there's nothing apparently hitting the fans. (Though the black and yellow wire might be close.) You'd see stuff moving or shaking.

[Drakainen]

Could also be Video Card or Power Supply fans, seems less likely from the video but still possible.

[Deleted]

Shake it firmly. Or clean the fans. Take out the screwdriver you left there last time while you're at it But seriously, probably age in combination with dust and/or heat.

[Fuzzykins]

Could also be Video Card or Power Supply fans, seems less likely from the video but still possible.

I think the video is focused toward the top of the PC because that's where the sound is coming from.

[Malcor]

I did dust it out. And nothing is touching the fans but I'll look into it and update

[Deleted]

Old fan. In an ideal world it just needs lubricating but really it just needs replacing. It shouldn't be to hard to identify which fan it's coming from. 9/10 it would be the powersupply fan but from your video it appears to be the CPU fan. If it's your hard drive though change that thing immediately.

[Jtbrig7390]

Hello all.

I have a Dell Studio XPS 4000

http://www.dell.com/us/dfh/p/studio-xps-9000/pd

I bought it a good number of years ago. (About 4 or so) and for a while it's always been a bit noisy but today out of the blue it's made this horrible rattling/whizzing kind of noise when running simple things like World of Warcraft.

I can't figure out why it's doing this. Does anyone know? Is the fan bad? It's almost unbearable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUGo...ature=youtu.be

Sounds like one of your fans is going out. Mine did the samething but it wasn't always all the time and it turned out the cpu fan was going out.

[Malcor]

Update

Just as nosy. In the video I turn it on and it rattles for a while, Goes quiet...and gets loud again.

I've had 6 year old computers that don't sound this bad...this is new to me lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TGP...ature=youtu.be

[Bad Ashe]

can you see inside the power supply? this may sound strange, but a bug or something could have crawled in, and tiny bits are stuck in the fan mechanism.

[Malcor]

can you see inside the power supply? this may sound strange, but a bug or something could have crawled in, and tiny bits are stuck in the fan mechanism.

I would rule that one out because I have cleaned it out with a can or two of compressed air. Which is why this is more confusing.

[IRunSoFarAway]

Obviously a fan. As for which one, it sounds like the read fan, but, I can't really tell from the video. Easy way to find out which one, if you can't tell from the being there and listening, unplug the case fans at a time and see if it still makes the noise. If it still does it, try the GPU, if it still does it, then it's probably the power supply.

Also, I don't know what's with the stupid tube over the stock intel heatsink, but, take it off, if you can. I don't know why, but dell likes to do stupid things like that, trying to redirect airflow or something, and it's just dumb.

[Malcor]

Also, I don't know what's with the stupid tube over the stock intel heatsink, but, take it off, if you can. I don't know why, but dell likes to do stupid things like that, trying to redirect airflow or something, and it's just dumb.

You mean the big black tube covering the CPU fan? I'll certainly try.

[Depakote]

Someone put a mouse in there maybe?

[IRunSoFarAway]

You mean the big black tube covering the CPU fan? I'll certainly try.

Yes, Dell always does this sort of junk, they put big giant pieces of useless plastic everywhere, there's a lot of clutter, in the case, and on the computer.

That's not your problem, it's just that it's useless being there, so...I'd just remove it.

[Malcor]

Yes, Dell always does this sort of junk, they put big giant pieces of useless plastic everywhere, there's a lot of clutter, in the case, and on the computer.

That's not your problem, it's just that it's useless being there, so...I'd just remove it.

Well, With both fans removed it seems to be my ATI Raedeon 5800 video card fan.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s5QksldoZz...phic-Cards.jpg

So I'm not really sure if this is a good or bad thing. I'm assuming it's not video cards don't generally tend to be cheap.

[IRunSoFarAway]

Well, With both fans removed it seems to be my ATI Raedeon 5800 video card fan.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s5QksldoZz...phic-Cards.jpg

So I'm not really sure if this is a good or bad thing. I'm assuming it's not video cards don't generally tend to be cheap.

Sounds like the fan on the casing is just off balance or something.

If you want, you can take take the heatsink off and see if you can get to the fan to possibly fix it, you'll have to figure that part out, might just be off entirely, might just need lubricant.

The stock stuff they use are usually not that great, they work, but most people buy an aftermarket heatsink/cooler, already installed or on their own. Fans die(or start to, in your case), it's not unheard of, especially after 4 years, something is bound to happen somewhere.

Your options are:

See if you can fix the fan somehow.
See if you can find a compatible replacement online, providing you can take it apart and get the fan out of there.
Take the shroud/casing off, if you can, and see what the temps are without it+the fan, maybe try something similar to this
Buy an aftermarket heatsink/cooler and replace the current heatsink/cooler.
Buy a new Graphics Card.