Question GPU coil whine, loud electric noise when gaming, but no coil whine during stress test ?

[dhal277]

Hi Any ide what is the issue? I have a new mesh case and now I can hear the coil whine more louder than ever before. It is very strange because its very loud when the gpu power draw is around 30-50%, but when its running 100% I can hear only a very minimal noise.

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

Are you sure that the source of the coil whine is indeed the GPU and not the PSU? Or something else?

You may be able to apply some fix but doing so may be very risky and any such "fixes" may void warranties.

First find out more about the problem.

Then do some additional research on coil whine both as a general topic and specific to your case, GPU, and motherboard.

For example:

https://www.underbudgetgadgets.com/what-is-coil-whine-how-to-fix-it-by-yourself/

Search for and read other similar links relevant to your build.

The new mesh case may simply need some dampening to mitigate the whine. That is when the problem started....

Try to discover more about the whine, when it occurs etc.. I noted that coil whine can occur at lower draws and not at higher draws.

There may be a solution. However, you must be sure about the problem being fixed, how the fix is accomplished, and the corresponding risks.

Be very wary of any online fixes - likely to do more harm than good.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

It may indeed be coilwhine. It typically manifests in the GPU/Mobo or PSU. Does capping in game FPS make a difference to the pitch of the noise?

Coil whine isn't dangerous, and doesn't detract from performance, but can be quite annoying. If the suspect part is in warranty, you can RMA it.

 

[dhal277]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

Are you sure that the source of the coil whine is indeed the GPU and not the PSU? Or something else?

You may be able to apply some fix but doing so may be very risky and any such "fixes" may void warranties.

First find out more about the problem.

Then do some additional research on coil whine both as a general topic and specific to your case, GPU, and motherboard.

For example:

https://www.underbudgetgadgets.com/what-is-coil-whine-how-to-fix-it-by-yourself/

Search for and read other similar links relevant to your build.

The new mesh case may simply need some dampening to mitigate the whine. That is when the problem started....

Try to discover more about the whine, when it occurs etc.. I noted that coil whine can occur at lower draws and not at higher draws.

There may be a solution. However, you must be sure about the problem being fixed, how the fix is accomplished, and the corresponding risks.

Be very wary of any online fixes - likely to do more harm than good.

Specs:
ASUS B550M-Plus
Ryzen 5 5600 (no overclock)
GTX 1650 Super MSI gaming X card
16gb ram - Crucial Ballistix black
512gb ssd - Crucial also
Cooler Master MWE 550W

Noise is coming from GPU mainly, but I can hear someting from the PSU probably. I also had a few BSOD since this started, the only new thing is Windows 11, before that I had less issues or at least no BSOD.

Any idea how can I figure it out that this is coming from the GPU or PSU?

 

[dhal277]

Hey there,

It may indeed be coilwhine. It typically manifests in the GPU/Mobo or PSU. Does capping in game FPS make a difference to the pitch of the noise?

Coil whine isn't dangerous, and doesn't detract from performance, but can be quite annoying. If the suspect part is in warranty, you can RMA it.

Capping FPS have not made any difference, what is very strange for me that this noise is gone when the GPU is at max load. below that its louder than ever.

 

[Ralston18]

Use a cardboard tube or rolled up sheet of paper.

Hold one end to your ear and carefully move the tube about listening to various components inside the case.

Do so several times to ensure that the source is pin-pointed.

Regarding the Cooler Master MWE 550Wp PSU: age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used)? History of heavy use for gaming, video editing, or even bit-mining?

PSU could be nearing its' designed in EOL (End of LIfe) and starting to falter and fail. Just now reaching some threshold limit that results in the coil whine.

BSODs: look in Reliability History and Event Viewer for any error codes, warnings, or even informational events that occurred just before or at the time of the BSODs.

Increasing numbers of errors and varying errors make the PSU suspect.

 

[dhal277]

Use a cardboard tube or rolled up sheet of paper.

Hold one end to your ear and carefully move the tube about listening to various components inside the case.

Do so several times to ensure that the source is pin-pointed.

Regarding the Cooler Master MWE 550Wp PSU: age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used)? History of heavy use for gaming, video editing, or even bit-mining?

PSU could be nearing its' designed in EOL (End of LIfe) and starting to falter and fail. Just now reaching some threshold limit that results in the coil whine.

BSODs: look in Reliability History and Event Viewer for any error codes, warnings, or even informational events that occurred just before or at the time of the BSODs.

Increasing numbers of errors and varying errors make the PSU suspect.

The PSU is 2 years old I bought it brand new (2020.12.14), I bought it together with the GPU.

I checked the event log, it says that the previous shutdown was unexpected, volmgr, bugcheck, and some DistributedCOM errors

and I forgot to mention that I used windows 10 till beginning of January, then I did a clean install for Win11. Could it be that win 11 causing my driver issues?

Yesterday I ran Aida 64 stability test, Furmark, and 3D mark - system passed and there was no BSOD, and the coil whine was way less louder compared to gaming

 

[dhal277]

I scrolled back to last week, I have a few Kernel-Power error issues too which are highlighted as critical

 

[Ralston18]

Overall I think the PSU is the prime suspect.

The PSU is a critical component that provides three different voltages (3.3., 5, and 12) to various system components.

Any changes that alter the power demands can, in turn, affect system performance in any number of ways.

All could be well at some wattage = X. Then if demand increases to wattage = X+1 the problems begin.

FYI:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/performance/event-id-41-restart

Do you have another known working PSU (550 watts or higher) that could be installed for testing purposes?

Remember: use only the cables that come with the PSU. Do not use modular cables from any other PSU.

Another link:

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-psus,4229.html

The intent is not to have you go out and immediately purchase a new PSU.

Just read to learn more about PSUs, try a couple of the listed calculators, and gain a sense of the bigger picture.

Doing so will help you narrow down the problem.

 

[dhal277]

Overall I think the PSU is the prime suspect.

The PSU is a critical component that provides three different voltages (3.3., 5, and 12) to various system components.

Any changes that alter the power demands can, in turn, affect system performance in any number of ways.

All could be well at some wattage = X. Then if demand increases to wattage = X+1 the problems begin.

FYI:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/performance/event-id-41-restart

Do you have another known working PSU (550 watts or higher) that could be installed for testing purposes?

Remember: use only the cables that come with the PSU. Do not use modular cables from any other PSU.

Another link:

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-psus,4229.html

The intent is not to have you go out and immediately purchase a new PSU.

Just read to learn more about PSUs, try a couple of the listed calculators, and gain a sense of the bigger picture.

Doing so will help you narrow down the problem.

So today I disassembled the PSU from the system, I put it next to the back side of my case then I started to run some benchmarks - Furmak, 3D mark, Heaven. Now I can say 100% sure that the noise is coming from the GPU, not the PSU. PSU was almost silent during the stress tests. I had no other spare psu, so this was the best what I could do right now.

If the noise is coming from the GPU, it still can be the power supply?

 

[Ralston18]

Nice troubleshooting!

The question is whether the coil whine is inherent to the GPU or is the PSU doing something (or failing to do something) causing the GPU to whine.

That may be answerable by using another PSU or testing the GPU in another known working (not whining) system. Determine if the whine stays with the host PSU/computer or follows the GPU.

Lots to consider:

https://clevercreations.org/what-is-coil-whine-how-to-fix/

There are many similar links online. Some good, some not so much.

There is no rush, as I understand the circumstances, to apply some fix. The whine is certainly annoying but no harm in further investigation.

Make a list of possible solutions and start with the solutions that are as simple and as straight forward as possible. Maybe a bit of dampening foam.

Some changes to the case and accoustics. Alter the vibrations.

Try other changes: even if the changes are not what you necessarily prefer (e.g, any overclocking) at least try to discover what, if anything, reduces or stops the whine.

Try just one thing at a time and keep notes.

And there may be other ideas and suggestions offered. Coil whine is a common problem.

 

[dhal277]

Nice troubleshooting!

The question is whether the coil whine is inherent to the GPU or is the PSU doing something (or failing to do something) causing the GPU to whine.

That may be answerable by using another PSU or testing the GPU in another known working (not whining) system. Determine if the whine stays with the host PSU/computer or follows the GPU.

Lots to consider:

https://clevercreations.org/what-is-coil-whine-how-to-fix/

There are many similar links online. Some good, some not so much.

There is no rush, as I understand the circumstances, to apply some fix. The whine is certainly annoying but no harm in further investigation.

Make a list of possible solutions and start with the solutions that are as simple and as straight forward as possible. Maybe a bit of dampening foam.

Some changes to the case and accoustics. Alter the vibrations.

Try other changes: even if the changes are not what you necessarily prefer (e.g, any overclocking) at least try to discover what, if anything, reduces or stops the whine.

Try just one thing at a time and keep notes.

And there may be other ideas and suggestions offered. Coil whine is a common problem.

I borrowed a PSU from my colleague, he has a 600W cooler master bronze PSU, noise is still there after running some game benchmarks. So now I'm sure that it is coming from the GPU.
With the other power supply I also noticed some graphical glitches when I used chrome to download some benchmark stuff. I guess that my card is dying... the guarantee has expired last month