Help! Terrible buzzing/whine ASUS Maximus VII Formula

[gump1119]

Hey guys. Yesterday I built my new rig. Right from the start I experienced a terrible buzzing/whining sound coming from the motherboard. It sounds like it is coming from the socket area, most likely from the MOSFETs under the heat sink. I can make this noise happen by moving the mouse, moving a window, putting the CPU under load, playing a game, etc. When the computer is "thinking" I can hear the noise. The noise is actually at it's worst in the BIOS. During gaming it occasionally gets very loud and almost like a clicking or popping sound. I've tried some of the tricks and solutions I've seen on the forums and can't quite nail it down. Disabling processor idle in power management causes the noise to get a lot quieter but still definitely audible. It also causes my temps to rise too high in idle for my liking. I'm running pretty much all the default settings in the BIOS, stock clocks, etc.

Just to be clear, the sound is NOT coming from my speakers. Having speakers connected/disconnected/on/off, or the drivers/devices disabled has no effect. The fact that it is so loud while in BIOS and changes depending on CPU loading/voltage tells me it has nothing to do with audio. Also, the noise in the BIOS seems to slowly "build up" then gets quiet, then builds up again.

Anyone have any ideas? Here's my system specs and here's some videos I recorded of the phenomenon.

Mobo: ASUS Maximus VII Formula - Z97
CPU: i7-4790K
PSU: EVGA Supernova B2 850W
GPU: Gigabyte G1 GTX 960
RAM: Hyper X Fury 16GB 1833mhz
SSD: 500GB crucial BX-100


Noise in BIOS
Noise in Windows 7 desktop
Noise in Windows 7 desktop with idle state disabled and registry trick

 

[helpstar]

update the BIOS in the BIOS itself (not Windows!)

how high is the temperature?

Are both ATX12V Power connectors plugged in? 4pin and 8pin

if update didn´t help:
test the system outside the case, on a non conducting surface, like wood

reseat the CPU, while doing so, inspect the motherboard socket and look for bent Pins or colored ones

 

[gump1119]

Temps at idle are about 41C for the CPU and about 50C for the cores. This is at default settings. After disabling idle state, CPU temp sits around 50C and cores go up to 70C+. This is with the stock cooler at the moment. Will be replacing in a couple weeks.

Power connectors are the big 20+4 and 4+4 at the top. There is one EATX12V_2 (4 pin) empty which I believe my mobo instructions said was optional. I can check and see if I have another cable that will fit there to test as well.

Will try the BIOS update shortly.

Also, using the ROG Dual Intelligent Processors 5 software, I selected CPU and CPU Power Phase Control, changed the setting from Optimized to Extreme. When I hit apply the effect is instantaneous, the sound virtually disappears. By that I mean, with the side panel on, I can't hear it. If I take the panel off and put my ear close to it, the buzz is still there but very slight.

Is that a long-term fix or should I RMA and try a different board?

 

[helpstar]

Even if you rplace your board, it could be possible that the graphics card or the PSU is the problem.
The 850W PSU is not near its best efficiency point, because your pc only needs 300W max. A good PSU with 550W max. would have been a better choice and could solve the whining.

 

[gump1119]

Well I can try pulling the GPU and running integrated graphics to try that. Just logical that the CPU power management options changing the sound would mean that it has something to do with power delivery to the socket, hence the board.

 

[Alectfenrir]

Well I can try pulling the GPU and running integrated graphics to try that. Just logical that the CPU power management options changing the sound would mean that it has something to do with power delivery to the socket, hence the board.

Yes please give that a shot.

Coil whine usually occurs on GPU's an PSU's, but quite rarely on Motherboards in my past experiences

 

[gump1119]

I changed the CPU Power Phase Control in the BIOS to the Extreme setting and that also cured the noise in the BIOS. Will do some more experimenting.

 

[helpstar]

makes sense

CPU Power Phase Control:
Controls the CPU Power Phase Control to decide if the CPU VRM should reduce the number of active phases (Standard / Optimized / Extreme / Manual Adjust) to allow better power efficiency when the system idles down. Once set to Manual Adjust mode, user can also define how fast the PWM phase should vary with respect to the loading applied on it (Ultra Fast / Fast / Medium / Regular)...

source http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?page=1&itemid=645&lang=english

 

[gump1119]

Alright, I tried it with the GPU pulled and only running integrated HDMI graphics output. I also installed the other ATX 12v 4-pin (for a total of 8+4). No effect.

The only thing that has any effect on the buzzing noise is changing the CPU Power Phase. Should I just run Extreme mode from now on and call it a day? I purchased the board 2 days ago so I'm well within being able to exchange or RMA now. I'm just afraid that this might not be the long term fix and something may go wrong when I'm outside the window.

 

[RogAsus]

I have the same motherboard and the same processor with the same problems. At first i thought maybe something was going on with my processor so i returned it and got a new one. Nothing changed and the noise is still there. If you found any reason why this is doing this let me know. I cant find many people with this issue.

 

[helpstar]

I have the same motherboard and the same processor with the same problems. At first i thought maybe something was going on with my processor so i returned it and got a new one. Nothing changed and the noise is still there. If you found any reason why this is doing this let me know. I cant find many people with this issue.

which graphics card and power supply do you use?

 

[gump1119]

I have the same motherboard and the same processor with the same problems. At first i thought maybe something was going on with my processor so i returned it and got a new one. Nothing changed and the noise is still there. If you found any reason why this is doing this let me know. I cant find many people with this issue.

The way I fixed mine was to change the CPU Power Phase Control setting to Extreme. It bumped the CPU temperature up a tad but made the motherboard dead silent. I set mine in both the BIOS and in AI-Suite/Dual Intelligent Processors 5 (click Digi+ VRM Power Control). Now it is quiet both during BIOS and while booted. Been running it like this for two weeks without problem.

 

[RogAsus]

I have the same motherboard and the same processor with the same problems. At first i thought maybe something was going on with my processor so i returned it and got a new one. Nothing changed and the noise is still there. If you found any reason why this is doing this let me know. I cant find many people with this issue.

The way I fixed mine was to change the CPU Power Phase Control setting to Extreme. It bumped the CPU temperature up a tad but made the motherboard dead silent. I set mine in both the BIOS and in AI-Suite/Dual Intelligent Processors 5 (click Digi+ VRM Power Control). Now it is quiet both during BIOS and while booted. Been running it like this for two weeks without problem.

AI suite settings worked for me !!!!! Thanks Alot I couldnt find an answer anywhere.