Cheap new PC is noisy (sometimes)

[sueh1]

I just bought a cheap Dell desktop in November to replace my 10-yr old XP machine-my needs at home are very modest. I loved the fact that it was so silent, since my old one could be loud. Lately, though, sometimes when I start it up, it's REALLY loud for a few minutes, during start-up, then goes quiet, and is noisy once in a while once it's on. The rest of the time, it's almost silent. Should I be concerned? It's way too early for it to have anything wrong ,and I can return it to Best Buy by January something, but would rather not go to the trouble if it's nothing to worry about.

 

[Harry Hooper]

Can you describe the noise? Is it something like the disc in the DVD drive whirring around, a hard drive mechanics noise, or a fan blowing noise? Don't leave a disc in the DVD drive and see if the noise disappears on startup.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

If it's a fan noise, be sure you have enough ventilation around the tower/case (i.e. it's not enclosed in a cabinet), and that you don't have stuff blocking the vents.

 

[zenter]

Did you upgrade from Win 7/8 to Win 10 in that time? Sometimes the power optimization settings get messed with or there's a driver issue putting load on the system.

 

[McDrew]

My first recommendation would be to open it up and use a can of compressed air to clean out the accumulated dust. Louder fans generally mean more cooling is being requested, and as a quick check, you can open the case up and see if dust might be your problem.

 

[sueh1]

If it's a fan noise, be sure you have enough ventilation around the tower/case (i.e. it's not enclosed in a cabinet), and that you don't have stuff blocking the vents.

Can you describe the noise? Is it something like the disc in the DVD drive whirring around, a hard drive mechanics noise, or a fan blowing noise? Don't leave a disc in the DVD drive and see if the noise disappears on startup.

Thanks, all. I think it might have been the disc drive-I remembered I had never take out the disc I put in a few weeks ago, it made the noise today, so I took it out, shut down, and started up again-no noise. I thought it was like a loud, revving noise, like your car warming up or idling, but this time,when I was listening, it did sound like it might be the whirring. I will see what happens soon, though-if it does, I'll try cleaning out dust. Surprised it could get dirty so quickly, but it is indeed very dusty under this desk. Zenter: it's not Windows 10 upgrade, this machine did come with Windows 10!