Buzzing sound when playing games full screen (Not Coil Whine)

[InGenious]

I built a new gaming rig about 6 months ago in the winter. I have a PNY nVidia GTX 770 card (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CZ7Q028/ref=pe_385040_30332200_pe_309540_26725410_item) with a Corsair TX 750W power supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006). The thing runs great except for when I play games full screen, there is this loud and persistent buzzing noise that goes through my headphones. My friends in my skype call say they can hear it too. I know it is not coil whine because when I take my headphones off and listen to my computer, it doesn't buzz. With similar problems in this thread, I read that it could be interference or that my psu is working way too hard / on max load when playing games. However, I think the 750W psu should be enough for the GTX 770 right? I don't know... I need your guys' opinions / ideas on what I should do please.

EDIT: When I plug in my headphones to the back audio panel, the whining is almost completely gone. It's barely audible / not at all. But, I'm worried since I can hear the whining through the front, but not the back, could the whining still be hurting my computer? Like, is the whining indicate a new psu or am I fine?

 

[gaborbarla]

Hi these problems are very hard to diagnose. It could be a number of things such as your PSU or even a screw touching something on the motherboard. You could go and start experimenting with new components but I dont think your PSU is too weak, it is powerful enough for a 770.

You could try downloading new drivers for your onboard sound for starters, sometimes I found that do make wonders. If that doesnt work I would see if something is touching (shorting) inside the case. It could be something small like a fan's wire touching the box. Just take care with electricity and unplug everything. If that doesnt work see if you can get hold of another sound card to try, or a USB sound driven headphones.

Does this happen only when you make your games full screen? Can you play the game in a window with no buzz? Then it might be software related.

 

[InGenious]

Hi these problems are very hard to diagnose. It could be a number of things such as your PSU or even a screw touching something on the motherboard. You could go and start experimenting with new components but I dont think your PSU is too weak, it is powerful enough for a 770.

You could try downloading new drivers for your onboard sound for starters, sometimes I found that do make wonders. If that doesnt work I would see if something is touching (shorting) inside the case. It could be something small like a fan's wire touching the box. Just take care with electricity and unplug everything. If that doesnt work see if you can get hold of another sound card to try, or a USB sound driven headphones.

Does this happen only when you make your games full screen? Can you play the game in a window with no buzz? Then it might be software related.

Since posting, I have been playing Witcher 2 on low configuration (from prompt box before game startup) and I noticed that the buzzing / whining doesn't completely go away when plugging into the back audio jack like I previously thought. Certain parts of the game, there's barely any whine, but then other parts (I'm guessing more graphically intense) I can hear the whine again, not as loud, but still loud.

I have an MSI z87-G45 Gaming Motherboard and it has onboard sound. Would I just go to MSI's site to update the drivers on my motherboard?

Also, I am on fullscreen with the whine. It is getting very late here, so I will test out windowed and get back to you on that tomorrow. I will also check the sound drivers tomorrow as well. Thank for your help so far!

 

[gaborbarla]

Yes go to msi and get the correct drivers for your version of motherboard and windows. I only mentioned the full screen thing because you said you said games in full screen as if it were different in full screen. I guess you can forget about that. If all else fails I would recommend an external sound card like the ASUS U7 and it is truly fantastic what it produces via USB and it doesnt break the bank. Even without the whine I would recommend it as it creates a pretty decent 7.1 surround sound and is good to amplify headphones that need a bit more juice.

 

[InGenious]

Alright, so I downloaded the latest audio driver for my mobo here: http://us.msi.com/product/mb/Z87G45_GAMING.html#download
However, the whining is still there 🙁 I also tried downloading the new usb driver just in case and that didn't fix it either. Finally, I tried playing the game in windowed mode and that also didn't work.

I think I will now try to see if I screwed down my mobo too hard with the 9 screws. But before I do this, do you have any suggestions as to what all I should be looking for when I open up my pc?

I found a thread with a solution that might help me as well, but I don't really understand the "grounded cable" talk.
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1778068/buzzing-humming-screeching-sounds-playing-games.html

EDIT: Actually, after reading this thread, I don't think my situation is related to it as I do not have 2 studio monitors, just headphones... sorry...

EDIT: I just plugged in my headphones to the back audio jack again since I have the new sound driver. So far, the whine only occurs while loading up the game and at the title screen of the Witcher 2. While I'm in game right now, I don't hear any whining.

 

[gaborbarla]

Just thought of this: Since you can hear the buzz much more on the front headphone jack, maybe it would be worth a shot to unplug the front jack connectors from your motherboard. It might fix the buzz completely when using the back connector.

Also, what kind of connector are you using to plug your monitor to the graphics card? It is funny that you only hear it during the load and title screens. That is something that normally only can happen with analog connections such as VGA.

Gabor

 

[bretmh]

More than likely your sound drivers man. Onboard like Soundtek are really bad quality.