Loud chirping sound on PM G5 Dual 2.0 playing WoW

[Chrispy]

Hey all. I know there are threads about this chirping sound already but I was wondering how many other people get it when playing World of Warcraft? It is VERY noticable when I play it and it chirps about 5-10 times a second (very rapid pace) The sound is coming from the bottom area of the computer near the two fans and where the power cable plugs in. If the game is running and I click outside the game window to check an IM or something the sound stops. But, as soon as I click back into the game window, the sound starts up again full blast. It is very annoying and I was wondering if anyone else with this problem has found a solution that won't damage the processor. Will apple do anything about it or am I stuck...? Thanks all.

 

[Chrispy]

Well, I talked to AppleCare and they seem to think it is a Power Supply issue and they want me to bring it to the store. However, it is a CTO so they are going to want to send it off to fix the problem.... I don't know that I like this idea. The noise does start to give me a headache after awhile due to its high frequency so maybe I should just do it. So far nobody has had this issue? Apple seems to think it is a rare issue but I sure have seen a lot of threads in google searches talking about it... hmmm

 

[ITASOR]

Chrispy, I just confirmed that my grandpa's Dual 2.3 G5 does this as well only it's not as bad as you described. I opened iMovie and had it rendering something while watching a DVD and playing the Chess.app. That made these little "cricket" sounds come out like once every 2 seconds. Very weird.

 

[zakatov]

50-80% of all PMs (every revision) has the chirping problem. Later releases X.3.5-9 seemed to fix it. With Tiger, the chirping returned and Tiger introduced regular (1 sec) beeps. It is in fact a power supply AND the architecture problem. If your PM has the chirping and/or beeping problem, replacing the PS will likely have little to no effect.

BTW:
-chirping occurs during high loads on the CPU/GPU. (ex: RSS screensaver, Dashboard ripples, games)
-beeping occurs every second when the processor(s) are idle.

I "solved" both of them by running Folding @ Home in the background at all times. Beeping comes from lower front (power button area) of the case.

Good luck

EDIT: all of the above can be "fixed" by disabling CPU nap in a special control panel. This disables CPU idling and raises the temperature of CPU to its max (as if the CPUs are aways working at 100%). Kinda like running the F@H client, but without knowing that you're helping science.

This method is obviousely not recommended by apple

 

[Chrispy]

Well I booted into OS 10.3.9 via my iBook and ran WoW and the chirping was still there but not nearly as loud as in Tiger. Maybe apple will take care of this in a later revision of Tiger For now I will just keep folding running to keep the CPU from going idle.

 

[slooksterPSV]

AHHHH now I know what that noise is when playing games. It bugs me cause I'll sit there and think its the neighbors alarm clock. Oh that makes me mad. Thanks for letting me know what it is.

 

[zakatov]

AHHHH now I know what that noise is when playing games. It bugs me cause I'll sit there and think its the neighbors alarm clock. Oh that makes me mad. Thanks for letting me know what it is.

That's a really ghetto avatar you got there..

 

[Chrispy]

Kinda off topic but what is the best version of folding to use... the text or the graphical? Thanks

 

[yellow]

50-80% of all PMs (every revision) has the chirping problem. Later releases X.3.5-9 seemed to fix it.

You mean PowerMac G5s, I assume?

I've never heard this chirping on any Mac I've played WoW on..

 

[zakatov]

Kinda off topic but what is the best version of folding to use... the text or the graphical? Thanks

I use InCrease 2.0 , which is a GUI for the text version. It also lets you do cool things like run 2 clients on dual CPUs and pause the folding when specified apps are run (like games and stuff)
I believe you still have to download the core from F@H site though, so that InCrease can use it.

And yes, I was referring to the PM G5s when I said 50-80%

 

[Chrispy]

I have to say running the folding@home did stop the chirping sound dead in its tracks. I also noticed absolutely NO drop in framerate when running it. Is this because folding will use the processor not being used by WoW (I assume the game is not DP compatible) so it does not affect my gameplay. Some of the message boards have said the idle second processor is the culprit for the nosies and I guess folding takes care of that. I'm not really sure what I'm talking about but I'm glad my sound is gone now and I am doing something good for science

 

[yellow]

Supposedly WoW will offload sound componants to a second processor. That's about the extent of it's DP capabilities.

 

[FireArse]

Chirpy Power Mac

Hey,

I have a Rev. B Dual 2.0Ghz PowerMac with ATi 9600.

I brought this up recently and a poster asked me what I set the 'Processor Performance" to - I had set it to "Highest" because i was using the DVD-rip-MPEG 4 program Handbrake to increase performance. Turning it back to Automatic stopped the chirping sounds.

I also had the issue of a faint hissing sound when i was dragging windows - setting the processor performance to "Automatic" stopped any sound.

Obviously it shouldnt happen - but when i really need the Mac to work hard, il put the setting to Highest and live with the chirpy sound. When im just using iTunes and checking mail - il use Automatic.

I have apple care - and hope this isnt going to be an issue with CPU reliability. I am not going to 'increase' CPU idle temp or anything like that - those babies run warm enough as it is.

FireArse

 

[IJ Reilly]

Have you checked for a bird's nest? It is spring, you know.

Sorry, somebody needed to say it.

 

[Chrispy]

Yeah, I have my CPU set to automatic all the time and it only chirps when in WoW. I am going to setup a script to run the folding client and WoW at the same time. Other than WoW and UT 2003 I never get the chirping. As long as folding is not maxing out my system all the time I'm not going to worry.

 

[Chrispy]

Upon further investigation I have found that if the program System Load is used with the CPU performance set to any of the three settings the high pitch sound can be replicated. If you select 1 processor load and have it put a 30% or less load on that CPU then a very high pitch sound eminates from the computer However, if you select two processor then the sound goes away even set at 10% load. Very strange!

 

[Chrispy]

Well the sound got louder this morning and comes without warning now it seems. Applecare actually seemed concered so I took it to my local apple store. Since it is a CTO there is no way I can get a replacement grrr. I had to send it in for a CPU inspection and Power Supply check according to applecare. So now I will be without my new powermac for over a week Oh well at least I still have my tursty G3 with all my files on it to get me by I shall let you all know what comes of this. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one here.

Oh and while I was in the store I checked out the 4 powermacs they had on display and one of them was giving out a very loud and high-pitch whinning sound just like my PM started to do... and it was a new dual 2.7 model All the others were quiet as a mouse.

 

[yellow]

So this is only a problem with G5s..

 

[Chrispy]

So this is only a problem with G5s..

According to apple it is a problem with all dual proc G5 systems across all revisions. They know what causes the problem but their quality control team lets computers with the problem pass because "in their opinion" not enough of the systems suffer a problem for them to be worried . This must be like how powerbooks "almost never" have bad pixels but I went through 4 that did.... good job apple haha

 

[Chrispy]

While I am waiting for my computer to come back... does anyone not have this problem on DP PMs. If so please post here and give me some hope Thanks!

 

[ja0912]

While I am waiting for my computer to come back... does anyone not have this problem on DP PMs. If so please post here and give me some hope Thanks!

I do not have this problem. I have the exact same computer (minus the other 1GB of ram arriving Fri), same video card, play WoW, keep processor set to "highest", and have never heard this noise nor can imagine what it would sound like.

I mean my hard drive makes noises under heavy loads, but it doesn't chirp or beep, and that's the top-rear of the case.



edit: and just incase the sound eminates from the internal speaker, I'll mention that I have speakers connected at all times.

 

[Chrispy]

Well I must say I am impressed with apple today. I called again just to give trying to get a return setup another chance and I got what I wanted. They are doing an exchange for me and this time I am getting a non CTO model so if I have a problem again I can take it to the store and just get the single processor 1.8 instead. The lady I spoke with was VERY friendly and helpful and I could not be more pleased with the expereince.

 

[slooksterPSV]

Its funny, the noise stopped for me, I've just had it on a lot, maybe its a break-in process or something.

 

[Chrispy]

Its funny, the noise stopped for me, I've just had it on a lot, maybe its a break-in process or something.

YAY! Hopefully it is gone for good

 

[Nickygoat]

I didn't have it using Panther but now have it with Tiger. I was using "Highest" processor performance and it would chirp when running the slideshow in iPhoto, amongst other things. Changing to "Automatic" reduced - it's now very faint, but why should I have to reduce the performance? Hmmmm