Strange Noise. Have tried Everything.

[robbiereed925]

Hi Tom's Hardware. I'm about to give up hope here.

So, this is my second rig, and it has a strange sound. On lower intensity games (tf2), I get a whine. On higher intensity games (tomb raider), it turns into a rattle. It is completely quiet at idle.

Here's my build:
CPU: i7 4770k (I know it's overkill, I got it for $200)
Mobo: ASRock z87e-mini itx
PSU: Originally Corsair cx 750m, currently have a corsair rm 750 (yeah, it doesn't fit. I'm exchanging at Micro Center tomorrow)
GPU: PowerColor r9 280x (I bought it on eBay, less than a month old)
Cooler: Corsair H60
Memory: 1x8GB Crucial ballistix ddr3-1866
Case: BitFenix Prodigy in black
Fans: All BitFenix with LEDs (they are actually nice and quiet)
OS: Windows 7 Professional
HDD: WD 1tb caviar blue

So, it's making the noise. Here are the steps I have taken so far:
1. Try 2 different gpus (a 7870 and an old nvidia)
2. Try new RAM
3. Try different heatsink
4. Try different PSU
5. Exchange motherboard like for like
6. Made sure all screws were in tight (but not too tight where appropriate) and all cables were fully connected
7. Booted game with no fans plugged in
8. Tried different surge protectors
9. Turned off some BIOS settings (c1e and another power function)
10. Disabled "Processor idle disable" within "processor power management"
11. Flashed the BIOS

So, I've replaced pretty much every part possible, with the exception of the case (it's not coming from the case, sounds like around the gpu or a mobo capacitor) and the noise still happens. Every time. It is always the same loudness.

I have no idea what to do at this point.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Shaun o]

You have four types of components that can create high pitched sound.
The most common cause in an increase in the amount of voltage passed through each component.

So if the board or card is quiet, but the sound starts under extra power usage it is the cause.

The three components in question can be.

A: Low quality capacitor.

B: The choke coil found on a motherboard, basically copper wire wrapped around a ferrite core.

C: An clock crystal if used on a motherboard to control frequency resonating under load.

D: Voltage regulator modules, Vrm`s.

 

[Shaun o]

You have four types of components that can create high pitched sound.
The most common cause in an increase in the amount of voltage passed through each component.

So if the board or card is quiet, but the sound starts under extra power usage it is the cause.

The three components in question can be.

A: Low quality capacitor.

B: The choke coil found on a motherboard, basically copper wire wrapped around a ferrite core.

C: An clock crystal if used on a motherboard to control frequency resonating under load.

D: Voltage regulator modules, Vrm`s.

 

[robbiereed925]

You have four types of components that can create high pitched sound.
The most common cause in an increase in the amount of voltage passed through each component.

So if the board or card is quiet, but the sound starts under extra power usage it is the cause.

The three components in question can be.

A: Low quality capacitor.

B: The choke coil found on a motherboard, basically copper wire wrapped around a ferrite core.

C: An clock crystal if used on a motherboard to control frequency resonating under load.

D: Voltage regulator modules, Vrm`s.

Interesting... I never thought about any of those types of things. Is there anything I can do to fix it?

 

[Shaun o]

Not in most cases, because it depends on the quality of the components used.
But I would not worry too much nothing is major wrong, A lot of motherboards and graphics cards have the same problems in regard to noise generated when extra power is required.

Look up Ati graphics cards as an example.
Don`t worry the board is not faulty, just doing its job.

 

[robbiereed925]

I should have answered this long ago.

I ended up swapping out with a GTX 770 and the sound mostly went away. Basically, it was the graphics card.