iMac GPU tickling noise?

kjid · Oct 30, 2012, 09:29 AM

Hi,

My iMac starts making a tickling noise from somewhere on the upper (left?) side of the screen. It only happens when I'm playing a heavy game.
The sound does stop when I do either of the following:
- stop looking around in the game, still view.
- turn down the brightness
- switch to desktop
- If I ignore the sound it will stop after a while too, but it's scary
It increases when I turn up the brightness.

The performance does not get affected in any way, as far as i see.

I cannot recreate the sound using SMC control.

AHT returns no errors.

The iMac is a CTO all out 2011 27" model and I upgraded the RAM to 16GB and added a SSD inside, behind the optical drive, myself.

The SSD installation went smooth and had no problems for over 4 months.

What are your opinions on this? I'd like to fix the sound as it does not sound right. Should I remove the SSD and send it to apple? I do have extended Apple Care.

Thanks for reading. If there are any more details needed please let me know.

TMRaven · Oct 30, 2012, 10:00 AM

Your upper left or the screen's upper left as if you were looking from behind the computer?

The component on your upper left is the power supply, and buzzing has been a known issue for it.

kjid · Oct 30, 2012, 12:50 PM

The upper left when looking at the screen. Any way to test if its the power supply? Andd does this sound indicate its going to fail soon?

kjid · Nov 11, 2012, 10:10 AM

i changed my power cable and that seems to have solved the issue. I hope its not coming back!

ZMacintosh · Nov 11, 2012, 12:20 PM

might be some sort of interference on your outlet? do you have a surge protector or a UPS.

sounds like static on your line

kjid · Nov 11, 2012, 12:38 PM

There are no surge protectors or any other devices installed in the power circuit. It's a standard european outlet.

We have been adding outlets in another part of the house, but that's another circuit so I don't think they could interfere with each other.

ZMacintosh · Nov 11, 2012, 12:54 PM

no my question was, do you have your iMac plugged into a surge protector or UPS?

kjid · Nov 11, 2012, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZMacintosh

no my question was, do you have your iMac plugged into a surge protector or UPS?

No.

Oct 30, 2012, 09:29 AM	#1
kjid macrumors regular Join Date: May 2011	iMac GPU tickling noise? Hi, My iMac starts making a tickling noise from somewhere on the upper (left?) side of the screen. It only happens when I'm playing a heavy game. The sound does stop when I do either of the following: - stop looking around in the game, still view. - turn down the brightness - switch to desktop - If I ignore the sound it will stop after a while too, but it's scary It increases when I turn up the brightness. The performance does not get affected in any way, as far as i see. I cannot recreate the sound using SMC control. AHT returns no errors. The iMac is a CTO all out 2011 27" model and I upgraded the RAM to 16GB and added a SSD inside, behind the optical drive, myself. The SSD installation went smooth and had no problems for over 4 months. What are your opinions on this? I'd like to fix the sound as it does not sound right. Should I remove the SSD and send it to apple? I do have extended Apple Care. Thanks for reading. If there are any more details needed please let me know.
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Oct 30, 2012, 10:00 AM	#2
TMRaven macrumors 68020 Join Date: Nov 2009	Your upper left or the screen's upper left as if you were looking from behind the computer? The component on your upper left is the power supply, and buzzing has been a known issue for it. __________________ 27" iMac i7 860 @ 2.8ghz; 8gb DDR3 1066 ram; 1tb HDD @ 7200rpm; ATI Mobility 4850, 512mb GDDR3 ram http://www.armoredcoreuniverse.net/Fan site for Armored Core enthusiasts.
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Oct 30, 2012, 12:50 PM	#3
kjid Thread Starter macrumors regular Join Date: May 2011	The upper left when looking at the screen. Any way to test if its the power supply? Andd does this sound indicate its going to fail soon?
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Nov 11, 2012, 10:10 AM	#4
kjid Thread Starter macrumors regular Join Date: May 2011	i changed my power cable and that seems to have solved the issue. I hope its not coming back!
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Nov 11, 2012, 12:20 PM	#5
ZMacintosh macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2008	might be some sort of interference on your outlet? do you have a surge protector or a UPS. sounds like static on your line
	0

Nov 11, 2012, 12:38 PM	#6
kjid Thread Starter macrumors regular Join Date: May 2011	There are no surge protectors or any other devices installed in the power circuit. It's a standard european outlet. We have been adding outlets in another part of the house, but that's another circuit so I don't think they could interfere with each other.
	0

Nov 11, 2012, 12:54 PM	#7
ZMacintosh macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2008	no my question was, do you have your iMac plugged into a surge protector or UPS?
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