'Clicking' sound from CPU/heatsink

[nick_123]

Glad its all fixed.
My first instinct of it being the pump was correct then, just surprised in could go so quickly (8 weeks I think you said?)
Short straw/unlucky pick I guess and got a dodgy one....but it was also kinda the reason why i chose one of the corsair ones when i picked my cooler. Coolermaster is PCS's own if i am right?

In a way, you are fortunate you heard it, the pumps can go completely and not make any noise, you wouldnt know until you started getting overheating problems, with yours it was obviously still working, but failing fast.

Out of curiosity (never fitted a water cooler myself) how "fragile" did it feel fitting it? My concern has always been i would over-do it and break something.

Yes, your instinct was correct, and I really appreciate you posting. To be quite honest, I was stumped - I knew something wasn’t right but I had no idea what it was. I didn’t even know that, that particular part was the pump. The last time I owned a desktop was c. 16 years ago and my last bit of tinkering was installing a FireWire card so I could plug in my iPod 1. Things have changed a lot since then.

Re: fitting, It didn’t really feel fragile at all. I was worried that the plastic pipes or the connections between said pipes and the pump/radiator might crack but they are pretty sturdy things. The tricky part was mounting the pump on the bracket over the cpu. The first time I fitted it it took me about half an hour although I wasn’t happy with my pasting so removed it, started again and the second time took about 2 minutes. My cable management is a bit more ‘industrial’ than the PCS engineers but it’s in a define 7 so you can’t see it anyway! Definitely an easy fix.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Yes good shout. I’ve been running it in the background for the last 30 mins and I’m getting 30-40 degrees which I believe (correct me if I’m wrong) is acceptable. Ran a cinebench test and it maxed at 70, which again seems about right.

Yeah, those are great temps, that’s looking good

 

[edgetrading]

Quick update. Spoke to a very friendly chap in the PCS support team and they're sending me a replacement to fit myself tomorrow. I've never done this but it looks pretty straight forward. PLEASE DO CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.

I appreciate all of your help as it gave me the confidence to sound a bit more convinving on the phone.

Was it easy to convince them to send you a replacement? I'm having similar problems with a loud fan on a Noctua U14s heatsink and PCS have asked me to fill in an RMA form to send the full computer back. A replacement fan is about £20, which must be cheaper than having the computer sent back to PCS, and I'm hesitant to send it back as I'm already using it for work.

The sound I get can be heard from around 20 seconds into this video:

 

[Deleted member 17413]

How long have you had it and is it still under warranty? If its a fauly, and you havent done anything to cause it, warranty would cover all the costs (depending on what package you took)

 

[edgetrading]

I've had it for just over a week, and it sounded like that out of the box. I bought the silver warranty package. So the costs of sending it back should be covered from my perspective. But from PCS's perspective, it must be cheaper just to send me the replacement part along with installation instructions (I've already unclipped and reclipped the fan, as suggested by support, though I got a bit stuck trying to pull the power cable out of the motherboard and did not manage that), rather than pay for the transit of the computer. It's just that I don't really want to go through the inconvenience of repacking it securely, hoping it doesn't get damaged again in transit, waiting a week or two for it to come back (also, my wife does not like me having too many deliveries as the delivery trucks wake up the baby!).

 

[nick_123]

@edgetrading It was fairly straight forward to be honest. I sent the sound clip I posted above to the technician, he agreed that it was the pump and offered me two options. 1) send the PC back and they'd replace the cooler; 2) if I felt confident enough, they'd send me the replacement cooler and I could do it myself. As you say, much easier to do it yourself if you can. You could always ask them but perhaps they want to take a closer look at the machine?

 

[edgetrading]

Did you phone them, or use the enquiries form? I've just used the enquiries form, and am thinking a phone call might be easier as different people seem to reply.

 

[nick_123]

Yes I called. Be warned, the wait time is long at the moment.

 

[edgetrading]

Did you need to send the defective item back to PCS? Or did you just recycle it?

 

[nick_123]

Did you need to send the defective item back to PCS? Or did you just recycle it?

Yes I had to make sure the old cooler was out of the system and swapped it on the doorstep with the dpd driver. The replacement part came in a sealed case, with a zippy tag to ensure nothing was tampered with. The old part was then put back in said case and resealed. It’s the only time I’ve felt like a secret agent. Would recommend DIY just for that.

 

[ubuysa]

PCS would want it back to make sure it is actually faulty and, presumably, send it back to the manufacturer so they can figure out what went qrong with it

There may well be a manufacturer's warranty on it so PCS would have to send it back.

 

[edgetrading]

I contacted Noctua, the manufacturer. After doing some tests, they agreed to send me a replacement fan. They asked me to break the faulty fan and send them a photo afterwards.

 

[nick_123]

@Nursemorph or @SpyderTracks can confirm but I was under the impression that any repairs had to be done via PCS (or under their say so if DIY) to ensure the warranty remains valid. I could be wrong on this but worth me flagging just in case...

 

[SpyderTracks]

I would do it through PCS, you have warranty with them and it will be a lot quicker.

 

[edgetrading]

@Nursemorph or @SpyderTracks can confirm but I was under the impression that any repairs had to be done via PCS (or under their say so if DIY) to ensure the warranty remains valid. I could be wrong on this but worth me flagging just in case...

Oh, I was not aware of that. Under direction of PCS technical support, I have already removed and reinstalled the fan. So replacing it won't be any different to that. Anyway, I've sent PCS a message and hopefully it'll all be fine.

 

[nick_123]

You may be ok but I would definitely run it past PCS. Two parts of the T&C’s on their website just leave me with enough doubt to suggest it. These are:

7.8 Unlike with most computer companies, we allow you to open your case and install your own components without voiding your warranty on the following conditions:

If the actions of the person installing the components cause damage to the computer, your warranty will be void;

• If you install components that are not purchased from us and they cause problems with your computer, your warranty will be void;
• 
  If you install components that are not purchased from us we will in no way support you in installing them or with any problems you have relating to the components you have installed.
• 
  We will support you in installing components purchased from us providing you have purchased them through the upgrade service available on your online account.
• 
  7.10 Should you take any goods purchased from us to a 3rd party and have them attempt to diagnose or repair a fault on the computer, you may VOID all warranties on the order and we will not cover the costs of any onsite or call out charges as we do not provide or charge you for onsite warranties. If you have any problems with your order you must contact us for advice and if necessary obtain an RMA number and return the item to us through the specified returns procedure.

 

[edgetrading]

Thanks for sharing that. As you say, it's not totally clear. Given this will save PCS time and money, and that I'm not tinkering with the machine any more than PCS have already told me to, I'm hoping it's fine. Otherwise I guess I'll just pray nothing breaks for the next 3 years.

 

[ubuysa]

@Nursemorph or @SpyderTracks can confirm but I was under the impression that any repairs had to be done via PCS (or under their say so if DIY) to ensure the warranty remains valid. I could be wrong on this but worth me flagging just in case...

That's true, but the OP hasn't taken it to a third party, they've repaired it themselves and wisely sourced the replacement from the orginal manufacturer. I'm no lawyer and I don't work for PCS but I don't think the OP will have affected their warranty at all. PCS in my experience are pretty reasonable.

I would do it through PCS, you have warranty with them and it will be a lot quicker.

I would do it through PCS too. There is always a danger doing things yourself that you might break something. If you do that won't be covered by the warranty.

 

[edgetrading]

Good morning. Thank you all for sharing your thoughts on this. PC Specialist have just replied and stated that my warranty will only be voided if I damaged the system myself.

I've already removed and reinstalled the faulty fan without damaging anything, so am confident of installing the replacement.

I did not want to get PCS to do it as that would involve repacking the whole system, sending it back, and hoping that the bumpy process does not cause further issues. The heatsink is large, and on another thread, another customer noted some issues as the foam thing that goes on top of the heatsink during transit was missing. I've still got my bit of foam, but removing it was a delicate process as it was such a tight fit!

Also, given that I foolishly started doing work on the new machine, I'm not keen on having any system downtime. My old PC is VERY noisy in comparison.