Slight Grinding Noise

[falcon1]

Hey everyone! Just recently my computer (see specs below) started making a slight grinding noise. I am not quite sure how to describe it - it is not very loud, but it is definatly noticable. It sounds almost like a fan that isnt seated right or something. If you want, i can make a quick recording of the sound and upload that so you can listen to it.

I am kind of worried about this because i want to make sure that it is not a hard drive that is on its way out. I already opened up the case, and blew out some dust, checked to make sure that there where no cables in the way of a fan, and also spun the one fan that i could access (the one over the CPU - not attached, but over the heatsink) to make sure it wasnt grnding.

Any help in getting this fixed up would really be appreciated. Thanks!

-Jonathan

[renegade600]

You did not say - Were you not able to pinpoint where the sound was coming from with the cover off? It is safe to start the computer with the cover off.

[falcon1]

Hehe...i just restarted the computer with the case open, so i will try to pinpoint where it is coming from. The problem is that the noise doesnt start right away, and sometimes it goes away after a while. I will let you know once it starts again.

Oh yea - how safe is it to leave the case open with the computer running for extended periods of time?

[renegade600]

In a normal enviorment it is safe. I have a backup computer with a bad powersupply fan but too cheap to replace it. Its been running with the cover off for over a year. Just keep the cat out of it and dustfree and you should be fine.

[falcon1]

Ok, I had it open for a while, but it wouldnt start making the noise, so I turned it off, closed the case, started it back up, and about 3 minlater, the noise started to come back.

It sort of "fades in", then it went on and off a few times, and now it is pretty consistant again (just like before). It does sometimes get a bit louder, then goes back to the normal level.

Does this sound like it could be the hard drive, or would that always be making this noise? I did install a new video card, but that was about a month ago...could that be the problem?

Thanks a lot!

-Jonathan

EDIT: Ok, it is definatly the video card making that noise. I think that there may be something wrong with the fan. Do you have any ideas of what may cause that? Is it harmful? The volume tends to fluctuate a bit, and i am not sure how to stop it. Thanks for any more help.