X570 PCH Fan Problem (?)

[treker_ed]

For the last couple of weeks or so I've had an annoying little "tick" coming from my PC case. The components are just about 3 years old. Built in Jan 2020, and have only changed the GPU, SSD, and CPU cooler since then).

The specs are:
Asus X570 Crosshair VIII Hero
AMD Ryzen 5 2600x CPU
Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black air cooler
Soundblaster Z PCIe
Asus TUF RTX 3070
2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 2400
2 x 2TB Crucial MX500 SSD
1 x 1TB Samsung 860EVO SSD
1 x 500GB Crucial P1 NVME
1 x 480GB WD Green M2 SSD
1 x Optiarc DVD-RW
1 X Pioneer BD-RW
1 x EVGA 750w BQ Semi-Modular PSU
All contained in Corsair 750D Airflow Edition full tower case with 4 Bequiet 140mm Pure Wings fans.

I've gone through the following diagnostics - all fans (except brand new cooler which is a week old), disconnected, and reconnected one by one. Sound is still there. All fans disconnected entirely and just run with CPU cooler, sound is still there. I think I've tracked it down to the PCH fan, which after a few google searches seems to be a common fault with X570 mobos.
This morning I even went as far as stripping the system down again, dismantling the fan shroud, taking the fan out (giving it a clean) and even using some silicon grease I use in an Airbrush to "oil" the fan shaft. This seemed to work for a few hours, but sadly the noise has returned...

The only item I've not tested/taken apart is the PSU, however, I really do not want to do that as it would mean a lot more hassle. With the steps taken, could there be anything that's likely to be at fault? If it is the fan, sadly, according to Asus, and other board manufacturers, the PCH fan is supposedly a "non-user replaceable item"....

Any help would be appreciated.

Treker_ed

(Sorry for the long post, wanted to get as much info to help, and also all steps taken so far to diagnose the problem)

[hellowalkman Reporter]

i haven't read your full post yet but "ticking" noises are generally associated with dying hard drives. however you dont seem to have any so that's interesting

[treker_ed]

On 31/01/2023 at 16:42, hellowalkman said:

i haven't read your full post yet but "ticking" noises are generally associated with dying hard drives. however you dont seem to have any so that's interesting

No HDD in the system - all SSD, so that is definitely not the issue.

[hellowalkman Reporter]

Then either something wrong with the PSU or CPU / motherboard. I read somewhere that it could be due to faulty buck converter. I won't put much stress on this PC if I were you.

[Sulphy]

Sounds to me to be the shaft sleeve of the PCH fan, might be a little worn down.  Shafts are usually steel, and the sleeve is usually copper alloy. You could try extend the life a tiny bit by gently sanding down the edges of the fan blades, as they are probably tapping the fan shroud as the shaft wobbles. Might be worth seeing if you can find a mobo off of ebay that maybe is for spares/parts only... but am fairly certain that you could find a replacement pch fan, if you can find the part number. Check the manual maybe for individual compnents part numbers?

I had a similar issue on an old mobo (dont remember the brand).

[Jim K Global Moderator]

Using software (Speedfan, ASUS software, etc) to control the various fan speeds should help pinpoint which fan it is (with the exception of the PSU).  It's probably that onboard motherboard fan.  Adjust the speed of it (or turn it off) next time you hear those ticks.

[ReAnimation]

The PCH fan on that board is controlled at BIOS/UEFI level, but the settings are hidden away and not a user accessible option in QFan.

Supposedly the chipset fan won't spin up until the chipset hits 60 Degrees Celcuis.

It doesn't look like Asus sell the Crosshair VIII Hero anymore, instead theres the Crosshair VIII Dark Hero which - you guessed it- now uses a passive heatsink.  Unfortunately the dark hero still costs a fair wedge of cash - around £469 in the UK.

I don't really know what other options you have - as you mention, Asus / Third parties don't appear to be selling any replacement fans, so you are either looking at really being careful with that current board, or start saving up for a replacement board, which sucks when its probably a £2-£3 part that has failed.

I guess the longshot is you could try contacting Asus direct to query about a replacement fan.

[treker_ed]

On 31/01/2023 at 20:24, ReAnimation said:

The PCH fan on that board is controlled at BIOS/UEFI level, but the settings are hidden away and not a user accessible option in QFan.

Supposedly the chipset fan won't spin up until the chipset hits 60 Degrees Celcuis.

It doesn't look like Asus sell the Crosshair VIII Hero anymore, instead theres the Crosshair VIII Dark Hero which - you guessed it- now uses a passive heatsink.  Unfortunately the dark hero still costs a fair wedge of cash - around £469 in the UK.

I don't really know what other options you have - as you mention, Asus / Third parties don't appear to be selling any replacement fans, so you are either looking at really being careful with that current board, or start saving up for a replacement board, which sucks when its probably a £2-£3 part that has failed.

I guess the longshot is you could try contacting Asus direct to query about a replacement fan.

I'm already pricing up replacements. I was rather hoping this rig would last at least half as long as my previous set up which was built in 2011 and was replaced by this one in Jan 2020. It lasted 8.5 years, with the usual updates of extra memory, new cooler, new GPU, but the case, mobo, cpu etc lasted from July 2011 to Jan 2020, so a good run. I was hoping to get at least 5 years out of this one! 

I had done quite a bit of research before posting, and several X570 board owners have similar problems, and when they have contacted the board manufacturers, they have not had the best results in getting replacement fans 😒 In-fact the only one that seemed to have any luck, was one chap that had a you-tube channel. So I guess they didn't want the bad publicity. Everyone else seems to have been told they can't have replacement fans. I'm giving it one more test with some fan controller software to see if that gets me anywhere. 

[treker_ed]

I tried the software; nothing has anything to control the PCH fan! Cannot be controlled in BIOS, therefore no software can access it! It's either monitored or not monitored, nothing else.

The sound is only getting worse - and wouldn't you know it, as i'm writing this the bloody thing has stopped....... I've realised over the last few years that there are certain aspects of myself that fit into specific Autistic traits - I know I am on the Autistic Spectrum - but not exactly where. I also realise that I have certain sensory issues. If I hear a repetitive noise, my brain will switch my hearing to that noise, and focus on it - no matter what I'm doing - even if I'm gaming and listening to something, or even listening to music. My auditory processing realises it's there and will keep a track of it from then on. So having this 'ticking' or 'clacking' noise coming from my PC really does get on my nerves!

I've decided to pull the trigger (so to say) and replace the board. As I'm doing that, I might as well upgrade a little bit. So, I've decided to go to an AM5 system.

• Asus ROG Strix B650E-E Gaming WIFI Motherboard
• AMD Ryzen 5 7600x Processor (with free code for Jedi Survivor when it releases😁)
• 32GB (2x16) DDR5 memory

And due to extremely limited SATA connections on the board (paying a lot more, for a damn lot loss expansion) a PCIe Sata controller.

Seems we are now paying a hell of a lot more, for a lot less tech on our boards. On my old x570 AM4 board, could have 8 SATA III connections, 4 PCI cards, 2 NVME cards. On a lot of the new AM5 boards (no idea on Intel boards, never had one, not interested in one either..) the number of SATA slots has drastically reduced - 4 seems to be the norm, most boards only 3 PCI slots, but on the plus side, they do have more NVME slots. The B650E-E has 4. So as the saying goes - you win some, you lose some!

 

Thanks to those that replied, and gave any assistance.

 

( @Jim K Asus software has been updated and doesn't have much in the way of fan control in it now - it took me several hours to even get the damn stuff to work - it's pretty useless now. Just for your info!)

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

Just to check, have you priced a replacement fan for the Asus X570 Crosshair VIII Hero motherboard's PCH cooling fan?  Presumable it comes in a standard size (30mm… 40mm) and width and can be replaced, although you may need to add on a replacement connector in case the new one does not use the same connector as the old one.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

[treker_ed]

They are not a standard size or fitting. Each manufacturer has used a different type unique to them. One thing that came up in my research was that that the fan makers reused the same part numbers for newer updated fans. So whilst the number is the same, the arrangement of the screw holes would be slightly different, or the fan would be a different height. So it was neigh on impossible to find the correct part.

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

Ah… I see that now from looking at a post in ASUS' support forum.  The last ASUS motherboard I bought with a PCH fan had a rather pedestrian 40×40×10 mm fan held in place with a plastic clip and connected with a 2- or 3-pin header, not a blower integrated into a shroud/heatsink.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

[treker_ed]

This whole thing got more expensive...

Just after I built up the new system, and posted that it was running ok - I started to hear another "tapping" noise coming out of the case. Knew it could not be the GPU, knew it wasn't the CPU cooler, what the hell is it???? After a couple of days diagnostics (un hooking fans etc) tracked it down to the bloody PSU!

The fan or something in the PSU was off kilter. If the case was laid on it's side, instead of being stood upright, no noise, perfectly fine, if the case was stood up, as it should be, damn annoying, constant rhythmic tapping noise, as if a fan was catching on something. Anyway, out it came - at this point could not care less if in or out of warranty - PSU came apart! Was filthy inside, so got a good cleaning (I also build aircraft models, so I have an airbrush, and used this to blow out any dust). Now cleaned, including the fan, put back together, and back in the case. Stilll tapping away!!!!!!!!!! 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡

Have now had to replace PSU as well. Extra expense I did not want. Gone with a 850W Thermeltake Toughpower GF1 fully modular PSU. So in the last two weeks, I've replace CPU, RAM,  mobo, PSU.. Might as well go the whole hog and replace the case as well...

 

 

(I am actually thinking about doing that - and been looking at cases - but want one with 5.25 bays as I do actually still use my ODD quite a lot)

Edited February 11, 2023 by treker_ed

[ReAnimation]

On 11/02/2023 at 13:15, treker_ed said:

(I am actually thinking about doing that - and been looking at cases - but want one with 5.25 bays as I do actually still use my ODD quite a lot)

There's not actually much choice these days for mid-tower / full tower cases that have 5.25" bays.

I'm in the same boat as you and want to do an upgrade soon and alongside that change my case (my 750D is a bit tired looking now!), but looking around it seems BeQuiet! are the only company making mid-tower/full tower cases with optical drive bays.

 

[treker_ed]

Funnily enough it's a 750d airflow that I have, and wanting to change to... The Be Quiet dark base pro 900v2!

[treker_ed]

On 11/02/2023 at 17:44, treker_ed said:

Funnily enough it's a 750d airflow that I have, and wanting to change to... The Be Quiet dark base pro 900v2!

Found out that BeQuiet have stopped making the Dark Base Pro 900 V2! It's being superceded, and the replacement is not going to be available until the 2nd quarter of the year! Everywhere that had it, is now out of stock😠! Managed to find another case, Fractal Design Define 7 xl that also has 2 5.25 drive bays. This time I've not waited, it's been ordered!