It might be electricity then? Or still coil whine. Did you find anything that stopped it? Fix Your Stuff Community Store. Back Answers Index. Answer this question I have this problem too Subscribed to new answers. Is this a good question? Yes No. Voted Undo. Score 1. The power supply may be bad, and some electricity is shorting. Does this sound like electricity?
The little buzz is probably normal. Could the hard drive be dying? Most Helpful Answer. Tom Chai tomchai Rep: If it is, this is normal. Was this answer helpful? Score 3. When you replace the component that is responsible, the high pitched sound should disappear. Of course, this does require you to have some spare components at hand. Buying an extra video card or power supply can be an expensive solution, unless you are able to return them to the store afterwards. If you do have extra components, start with replacing the video card.
If that does not work, try swapping the power supply. Once you have found the component that causes the issue, it is time to fix the coil whine. There are several ways you can reduce or stop coil whine. I have divided the methods below in software and hardware categories.
Some manufacturers cover coil whine under warranty, but most do not. You can usually find whether they cover it under warranty on their website. While you might expect that replacing the component with an identical model will give you the same problem, this is not necessarily the case.
The microscopic tolerances on a particular coil could have been off, or there might have been a problem with the specific batch of coils that was used. The replacement component likely uses a different batch of coils. Alternatively, you can wait for a couple of days or for as long as you can stand to listen to the sound to see if the coil whine disappears by itself. The goal of these software fixes for coil whine is to change the frequency the inductor coils oscillate at.
This is done by changing the power draw of the video card or motherboard. This in turn also affects the amount of power the PSU supplies. Raising the frequency the coils oscillate at from, for example, One way to limit the amount of power a video card or system draws is to limit the number of frames per second FPS that the GPU outputs.
Sometimes, games and other software have no upper cap to the FPS set. This is the reason that the high pitched sound is often noticeable during loading screens and title menus of games. A higher FPS means more power and more current passing through the inductor coils and therefore more coil whine.
It is a method that often works. It synchronizes the FPS of a game with the refresh rate of the monitor. V-sync can increase input lag, so if this is something you want to avoid, you might want to look at the next method. Another option is to use a frame limiter to limit the framerate. This option is occasionally found in games, but is always accessible in your video card driver settings.
Some people have found success in dealing with coil whine by changing the default fan speeds of their GPU. What this essentially does is change the operating temperature of the components on the video card. The microscopic vibrations of the coils can decrease when the inductor contracts or expands more due to a higher or lower temperature.
You can change fan speeds using RivaTuner , MSI Afterburner , or the equivalent software of your video card manufacturer. Other ways in which you can alter the power draw of your graphics card and system are changing the power limit, overclocking, underclocking and undervolting your card. For this you can use some of the other settings that are available in MSI Afterburner or equivalent software.
These methods can also be used to deal with coil whine of motherboard VRMs, but to do this you will need different software. Given that these are more advanced methods, I recommend that you research them and only do them if you know what you are doing. In short, anything that changes the power draw of the component that causes the coil whine can potentially solve the issue.
Some methods decreasing the power limit, underclocking do limit performance however. In my opinion, with current graphics card prices, that should not be something you have to do to enjoy your hardware in silence.
Aside from software solutions, there are also hardware related methods that you can use to fix or reduce coil whine. These are typically more costly to do either money or time-wise , but they do tend to give a more permanent solution.
We might as well start with the simplest solution, moving the PC further away from the ears. High-frequency sounds, like that from coil whine, decrease in volume rapidly over distance. Moving the computer an extra meter away from you can make a big difference in making the noise inaudible. Obviously, this is only possible if you have enough space. And if the length of the external cables allows it. On the other end of the spectrum we find the most radical option, securing the coils in place.
This involves coating the inductor in a non-conductive material like hot glue. Its goal is to prevent the inductor coil from vibrating at all. Typically this is done with insulating varnish , epoxy or hot glue. As long as the liquid is non-conductive and it dries up after a while, it should be okay. When it works, it basically creates a permanent fix. This is a method that is hard to do on graphics cards and motherboards nowadays though, because they do not use open toroidal inductors.
Instead, they use inductors that are enclosed in small boxes with a dampening material. Especially when cheaper inductors were used. But without being able to open the inductors up, it is impossible to add hot glue or varnish to the coils. If stopping the coil whine does not work, then preventing the noise from leaving the computer case can be a valid solution.
The easiest way to do this is with high-density sound dampening foam. Insulating the case with it helps absorb a good bit of the high frequency sound waves. In some situations, sound dampening foam is not enough to stop coil whine. Replacing the entire case with one that is designed for silence minimizes the amount of coil whine that reaches your ears, and sometimes makes it completely inaudible.
The Fractal Design Define R5 is a good silent mid tower, whereas the be quiet! Dark Base is an excellent solution if you need a full tower with more space. Regardless of which component is causing the coil whining, replacing the power supply of the computer has the potential to fix the issue. Similarly, a different PSU might output a slightly different voltage on the rails, causing the coils to vibrate at a different frequency.
Going with a high quality power supply reduces the risk of ending up with coil whine, but it is by no means a guarantee. The majority of power supplies seem to deal with it, but some more than others. To circumvent the coil whine altogether, you can also use a pair of sound dampening or active noise cancelling headphones. The foam cushioning of ear pads typically does a good job absorbing high frequencies. Nowadays, you can find a pair of decent noise cancelling headphones for a reasonable price.
It is practically impossible to guarantee not getting coil whine, but it is certainly possible to reduce the risk of ending up with it. The best way to do this is to research the product that you are about to buy. It is not always possible to check reviews however, like when you want to buy a brand new product, for example.
In that case it can help to buy from a manufacturer that is known to cover coil whine under its warranty, like EVGA. Buying from stores with good return policies can also help. But for other vendors like Newegg and Best Buy it might be different, it is best to verify their policies before buying.
Modern computer components like graphics cards are complicated devices. Their parts operate at many different frequencies. When these frequencies interact they can intensify other frequencies. This can cause certain parts to oscillate in ways that are hard to foresee during the design process. Coil whine is an annoying problem that unfortunately is common in modern hardware.
Any PC building enthusiast is likely to deal with it at some point. Luckily there are several ways in which the high frequency sound can be reduced or even completely fixed. Tim is the founder of clevercreations. He is passionate about building, repairing, and anything DIY related.
When he is not busy writing about these topics, you can find him in his workshop. View all posts. Thanks for the great tips. Fortunately a recent game patch has helped with this particular game. Might revert to some previous video card drivers and see if that gets rid of the issue completely. There will be some delay after submitting a comment. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
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