So I recently made some modifications to my pc build. After I got it all together I have been noticing what sounds like static discharge. sounds like an old mechanical hard drive I have Isolated the sound to the far right edge of my motherboard, unable to determine if its originating from the 24 pin or another place. I have taken the computer apart and inspected all cables, I have found no bare wire or any metal making contact with the motherboard. What is my next trouble shooting step? Should I replace my PSU, RMA my motherboard or both, Let me add something that may help, when I first started my computer after the modifications I did have some boot issues that were able to be resolved, (boot stalled at memory initialization once I booted into bios and there were a lot of artifacts in the display, rebooted and the issue was finally resolved.
You, um, didn’t cut any metal in/around the case at all?
like, grind or drill or such?
(Just checking. In case of small metal shards)
that would be a negative, no cutting, grinding, or drilling
I did drop the psu a small distance less than 14 in onto a rubber mat), however no sounds directly from the psu, and the psu works with a bridge pin.
Are you sure it’s not a mechanical sound like a buzzing or rattling? I find it unlikely that you would have a short showing audible symptoms, because at that point I would expect over-current protection to kick in, shutting the system off. If the short were sustained and making noise I might expect to see light from an arc or a smell of ozone, but again, over-current should happen before this.
It could be possible that dropping the psu damaged the mechanical isolation of some of the components inside and what you’re hearing is the coil whine of the psu from the transformer or inductors vibrating, but you said the source of the noise isn’t from the psu itself, so that probably isn’t the case.
In any case it may be best to remove the motherboard from the case and test it to see if the problem persists or at least better isolate it.
I don’t believe its anything mechanical. I do have a small 120 mm radiator with a fan next to the location. bubbles? but its intermittent and reoccurring. seems to pop up when I boot into bios and then continues.
it sounds electrical
A short circuit really doesn’t make any sound. Perhaps you mean an arc?
One of my (very quiet) systems has an annoying buzzing at night when the PWM fans are run at just the right (low) speed and I’ve got enough of them connected to give it just the right amount of power draw.
yes arcing would be more accurate, ill make that adjustment in my description
The highest voltage in a computer is 12v, so you cant get electrocuted. Try touching various parts and see if you can make the noise stop. It could be a part no longer secured well enough and is resonating. Also try applying a slight bit of sidways pressure to the 24 pin power connector and see if it stops. Its possible one of your contacts isnt mating well anymore and arcing between the two connection points. Sidways pressure could put them in proper contact and make the noise stop. Just try to find out where it is coming from and then you can find a solution once you know what is wrong.
I just really want to thank everyone for their kind assistance
Rubber mat and 14 inch shouldnt be too hard on the PSU. Im sure your unit had taken in a lot more abuse during transit to the US.
Is it possible for you to record such sound and post it here? I’m still betting it is coil whine especially if you have powerful system.
I cant record the sound, I took apart my computer, because of this issue unfortunately
Your cellphone should be able to record such sound and post it here?
I really cannot reproduce that sound, the offending computer is in pieces loop and all. took it apart last night closest is this from someone elses video at about 1:07 in to the video Power Supply Cable short circuit noise PC shuts down [Solved] - YouTube it did sound like that.
@regulareel, @EniGmA1987 So I am going to begin by replacing the PSU 24 pin connector since that may be a culprit. If that does’t take care of the issue I will record the noise and post it that should give a starting place. I hope it is that easy
hello everyone, I just wanted to provide an update for this post. So I went ahead and did a complete teardown of my system. I checked all connections, I did find a fan connector near the source of the noise that seemed to be crushed between the rad and case, Though no distortion to the connector itself, I visually inspected the motherboard and cpu socket, no obvious indications of arcing or deformation of material from heat. I replaced the 24 pin motherboard cable and reseated other connectors, I replaced my 280 mm rad on the bottom of case with a 240 mm rad, The 280,mm rad was too large for the case and was pressing against the bottom of the motherboard and was obscuring some headers that I would like to use for upgrades later. After putting everything back together and running various workloads under default settings issue seems to have been resolved. I will work to tune the system and run more workloads this week, but so far so good
Glad you got your stuff sorted out!
me too, I am hopeful that this issue is resolved. So far so good! Between optimizing and this issue, this is my second time taking everything apart and rebuilding the system. I love tinkering with things and overall I feel like I got my monies worth just from sheer entertainment, However I have work to get done and now I just want this system to be stable and working. I now understand why folks buy from Dell, Apple and the ilk. The grass maybe greener on the other side of the fence in the land of the OEM. 
just a bit of an update. I have completed some tuning of the cpu and completed more workloads\stress testing, I am happy to say that I am very confident that the issue has been resolved and has not returned, even when the system has been under quite some bit of stress. It has been no return of the sound of static discharge, I am relieved that I do not have to RMA any of my major components. I want to thank everyone on this post that has helped me through this I thank you for your helpful time and responses.
Cheers traceh38