Awhile ago I started getting random blue screens. I would especially get them while playing Halo 2. Well I got a new hd (ssd) and it was working fine for a bit. However, the random blue screens are back. I did a ram test and it came back negative. I would still get random blue screens but could never recreate the problem. I swapped out my old video card and put in a GTX 275. I would still get random bsods. Last night I fired up AC and when I went to change the resolution, it blue screened. The computer restarted itself and when it got to the desktop it blue screened again. It restarted a few times before it started working again. Went into AC again and 2 hours later it blue screened again.

I did notice, however, that while I was playing AC my video card (or at least that is where it sounded like it came from) was making a weird noise. I'm not sure how to describe it. Today I was messing with comp, updating vid drivers and bios to see if that would he and stumbled upon the windows index thing. I refreshed it and while it was testing direct3d, it made the same noise it was making when I was playing AC! I haven't been able to play since doing the updates today. The bsod did create a dmp file but I don't know how to "translate" them.

Does anyone have any advice? I'm absolutely stumped and am very frustrated. Please help

 

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Power Supply Issues.


Or you have a fan going out causing an Overheating issue, hence the NOISE. It could be the CPU or the PSU, since the problem kinda existed before the Changing of the GPU.

Capacitor whine. Either a PSU or bad cap on your GPU. Only way to isolate is to swap out a part, unfortunately.

Grey, the problem did indeed exist before I swapped out the video cards. I checked all my fans and they are all running. The fan on my video card is working as well. As far as overheating, my comp temps are in the 25C range. Per the BIOS anyway. I'm going to swap my old card in again and see if it still makes the noise when I play AC. I can't recall if it made a noise when I played Halo 2. If it does then would it be safe to say that it's not the video card? (Is GPU the same as a video card?)

heiro, capacitor whine is absolutely it! I looked up capacitor whine on youtube and I found a video that sounds exactly like mine does! It's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up_axOyd1Z8 . Fast forward it to 30 seconds. That's the same noise. Why does it make that noise? On one of the youtube videos, the guy was saying that he got replacement CPUs and they did the same whining noise.

I'm not sure if i'll get to swapping out the video cards today but I'll definitely post back with results. I'll have to find a spare PSU somewhere so I can test that out as well.

 

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Speculation on my part....


CPU = transitors.


Capacitors are the power storage devices on motherboards, addon cards, in PSUs.


These being the small barrel shaped items with flat shiny tops.


Bad cap:

1) check all the capacitors(caps) for buldged tops.

Locating cap:

2) make a paper tube and move it over the caps to see if the noise gets louder.

Loose Cap:

3) use a Qtip and apply pressure to the caps and see if noise stops.

Weak power:

4) replace the PSU

Weak cap:

5) replace the cap


This is all specualtion on my part.

!!!Update: I swapped my old 8800GT and it's still making the same noise, but just not as loud. I just loaded up AC and it is making the exact same noise it was doing with the other card! So it looks like it's not the card (which is what I was suspecting). I have to get to bed but I have an extra power supply that I'm going to swap out and see what happens then. So for sure it looks like the power supply or mobo?

On a side note, whenever I try to use the front USB port on the case, it causes the computer to restart as soon as the metal USB connection makes contact. Not sure if that is somehow related or is another issue entirely.

Grey, I meant to say replacement psu, not CPU. I was pretty tired so I got them mixed up

 

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That's really odd! Both of my 8800GT's have a 6 pin power connection on the tail end of each card. Are you positive that your 8800GT does not have a power connection on it? If it does then that is most likely a cause for BSOD with lack of power especially when applying a load to the GPU.

 

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Mortalis3, I feel stupid. I'm pretty tired and as a result forgot to plug in the connector to the video card. When that used to be my main card, I had the connector plugged in. I was just so tired that I didn't see it this time, hah. I just plugged it in and turned the comp on and it's still making the same noise but not as loud. I edited my above post to reflect the most current info

 

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Well, with all the info, I feel we are still down to a CAP or a PSU.


Your previous related story about the Whine is inconclusive, as we do not know if he got a larger wattage PSU with more watts on the 12v rail than his previous, or if he just RMA'ed the original and recieved a new one of the same status.


The CAP being bad makes sense because of the odd behavior.


Lighten the load on the comp, remove any item not required to reproduce the issues. This includes removing memory, Optical drives, USB items other than mouse / keyboard, spare HDs and so on.

Just curious, what brand and capacity is your power supply?

 

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