Weird sound coming from computer when gaming.

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
C

Chad Ingram

Commendable
Oct 19, 2016
16
0
1,510
So I've noticed my computer makes a weird noise when playing certain games like the Witcher 3 for example. I opened up my case to try and pin point where the sound is coming from but I can hardly tell. The best way I can hear the sound is by putting my ear directly against the case at certain spots...I even captured the sound on video. [video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzQh_xYuFJo&feature=youtu.be"][/video]

Anyone wanna take a guess on what could be the problem?
 
Solution
L
Well first and foremost that could be an imbalanced fan or a beat or resonant frequency you can hear.
Make sure the fans are clean on all devices including around the heat sinks. No use saying it is new just clean them anyhow.

Fans can make peculiar noises in many different circumstances.
Bearing wobble, depends on if it's phosphor bronze type bush, or roller bearing, the latter being the worst in some cases.

Beat frequency. At low speeds not noticed, but when the fans speed up there could be a slight difference in speed between the fans, so you hear the difference frequency know as the beat frequency. Can be annoying with multiple out of phase fans.

This is not normally a problem unless one fan has something wrong with it...
Sort by date Sort by votes
M

misteriosly

Reputable
Jun 1, 2015
605
1
5,360

Remove GPU, check again. Either GPU or PSU coil whine.
Also as others said something is rubbing on the fan blades OR a fan which is dying and its center is no longer straight, which again leads to fan staying on one side and its blades are touching/grinding along the way.
Whats your setup, write PSU GPU, make a pic of GPU if you can.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Multipack

Multipack

Honorable
Sep 5, 2016
4,283
3
9,960
It's not coil whine, and have never heard a GPU make that noise. If it's the whooping sound? Is not very clear audio tbh lol. To me, it either sounds like a water cooler pump going in and out of high performance - which it does when the rad temp is on the line between profiles - or a fan with a bracket loose or something hitting against it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

Chad Ingram

Commendable
Oct 19, 2016
16
0
1,510


It's a like a whirring and humming sound.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

Chad Ingram

Commendable
Oct 19, 2016
16
0
1,510


No I don't have a water cooler, this is my set up: psu: evga gq 650W, gpu: evga gtx 1080 sc, cpu: i7 6700k, cpu cooler: phanteks tc12dx, mobo: asus z170-a, memory: corsair vengance lpx 3000 mhz, memory storage: samsung evo 850 250 gb ssd and a 1tb toshiba hdd...i don't know if it's a fan dying as I just built this rig recently and when I open up the case I can't hear it coming from any specific fan or area but when I put my ear to the case I can hear it the best.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

Chad Ingram

Commendable
Oct 19, 2016
16
0
1,510


it only happens when I play games which i need the gpu to do...when i'm just browsing the web and what not, there is no sound. here is a pic of inside my case:
https://puu.sh/rOM4z/0189c10ca3.png
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

Chad Ingram

Commendable
Oct 19, 2016
16
0
1,510


When I put my ear next to the cooler or gpu I don't hear the sound coming from them but I can hear the sound in the background somewhere I just can't pinpoint it. it was happening before when I was playing league of legends and even when I used evga precision x and even tried msi afterburner to control the fans and make the temps lower like for example 60c for the witcher 3 as opposed to the normal 70c+ i would get without setting a custom fan curve...but either way the sound is still there.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Multipack

Multipack

Honorable
Sep 5, 2016
4,283
3
9,960
Well clearly its something that only happens when temps rise, which means spinning fans etc, but I dont think its a problem. Is either a loose connection somewhere or something vibrating. Check the cooler/mb mounts and see if there are any loose brackets or wires in the way of case fans. I wouldnt worry too much tho.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M

misteriosly

Reputable
Jun 1, 2015
605
1
5,360
Oookay, this is a new rig as you say. Try removing components 1 by 2.
Start with case fans.
GPU.
If you cant hear that noise while under heavy load and gpu out you know what it is.
Else it is CPU coooler.
You can pinpoint it by blocking fans 1 by 1, except PSU fan.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

Chad Ingram

Commendable
Oct 19, 2016
16
0
1,510


im pretty sure its not any of the fans...i just took out the gpu and opened up witcher 3 obviously not playable with only 6 fps but i didn't hear any sound...

EDIT: I put in my old gpu and the sound isn't happening, must be my 1080...probably gonna RMA it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

Chad Ingram

Commendable
Oct 19, 2016
16
0
1,510


uh not sure what you mean by that but this is the gpu i have: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/63yxFT/evga-video-card-08gp46183

my guess is either my fan controller/fans on the gpu are an issue which is causing this sound or my gpu has coil whine...or both..because the rpm's fluctuate when i look at it in the precision x software like say jumping from 1700 rpm to 3000 rpm and then back down when under load..not when idle. my 960 however had steady 2kish rpm while under load so i'm not sure exactly...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Multipack

Multipack

Honorable
Sep 5, 2016
4,283
3
9,960


Try setting a custom fan curve maybe? See if you get smoother RPM's. And he means some cards have blower type cooling, which blows air out of the case, but I dont think yours does. The fans only kick in under load though, and it could be those turning on and off.

Try a custom curve in XOC and see if it chnages anything.. http://www.evga.com/support/faq/afmviewfaq.aspx?faqid=59657
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

Chad Ingram

Commendable
Oct 19, 2016
16
0
1,510

i've been using a custom fan curve, no difference. also this sound only happens when the card is under loud, not when my computer is idle...so it only happens when the fans are speeding up due to temp and this is also when they fluctuate in rpm.
I also noticed something when looking at the GPU-Z sensors...whenever I would load a video on youtube or refresh the page my gpus clock would shoot up from like 600 mhz to 1700 mhz and back down...not sure if that's normal.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Multipack

Multipack

Honorable
Sep 5, 2016
4,283
3
9,960


Yeah that's normal as it probably puts momentary load on the GPU, and the clock fluctuates. If you really do think the fans are behaving abnormally though I would consider RMAing it as its too valuable to mess around with, but you may find that it's just the normal way the fans work.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

Chad Ingram

Commendable
Oct 19, 2016
16
0
1,510


yeah just to show you this is what i recorded of the clock spike on gpu-z but as you said it's probably normal https://puu.sh/rPWBm/1e58e1de9a.png yeah i'm not sure, because different card..different technology..etc...but when i put in my 960 the rpms under load playing the same game were a steady 2k with the same fan curve..but it might just be that fan controllers are different for the two cards and it could just be normal. as for the sound probably just coil whine, but then again you said it doesn't sound like coil whine...so i really don't know.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Multipack

Multipack

Honorable
Sep 5, 2016
4,283
3
9,960
Yeah is strange that the GPU and memory flashes to 0% when the clock speed spikes, as you'd expect the opposite. Is hard to say from those bare stats sometimes though. Coil whine is usually more of a high pitched screeching sound, although I guess it can vary. Take a listen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP73edpQwgc

The EVGA cooling methods vary by card, as some have a waterblock cooler etc. Yours has the ACX system which is famously loud (but effective) http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=08G-P4-6183-KR so I still think it could be that, and you maybe aren't used to it, but if the card works properly then I wouldn't worry about it as long as you can bear the noise. Is it running at stock settings? Not overclocked the memory or anything?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

Chad Ingram

Commendable
Oct 19, 2016
16
0
1,510


so the noise only happens when i use software and set a fan curve and rpm reaches a certain speed and it fluctuates and make the sound..i'm just gonna avoid using fan controlling software as i'm not overclocking, so yes i'm using stock settings. my temps will run higher not using the fan controlling software but I will get a couple more case fans and hopefully that will help regulate temps...thje stock settings for the cooler on this card the fan doesnt turn on until a certain load and its not very much rpm when it does so temps run higher. "Built for EVGA Precision XOC"...guess mine wasn't lol...maybe i just suck at making fan curves and if i twiddled with the settings enoguh i could get one where my rpm isnt spiking and theres no sound...idk. i even used DDU and uninstalled all my gpu drivers and such...then reinstalled them but still got the same problem. maybe its becuase my targt temp is still 83 c? idk like obvious some fluctuation rpm is normal but for some reason when i do a fan curve with precision xoc...it just makes bigger rpm fluctuations i guess? the curve i did was a 1:1 ratio..so like 30c=30% fan speed until 80c which i put at 100 % fan speed. but yeah idk man
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
L

latedev

Commendable
Jul 1, 2016
27
0
1,540
Well first and foremost that could be an imbalanced fan or a beat or resonant frequency you can hear.
Make sure the fans are clean on all devices including around the heat sinks. No use saying it is new just clean them anyhow.

Fans can make peculiar noises in many different circumstances.
Bearing wobble, depends on if it's phosphor bronze type bush, or roller bearing, the latter being the worst in some cases.

Beat frequency. At low speeds not noticed, but when the fans speed up there could be a slight difference in speed between the fans, so you hear the difference frequency know as the beat frequency. Can be annoying with multiple out of phase fans.

This is not normally a problem unless one fan has something wrong with it. Sometimes this beat frequency may not be noticeable to the human ear, but it can make other disassociated components resonate, which is audible.

I had had a similar issue and changed the fans for the Gelid Solutions Icy Vision, problem solved, also temperature dropped by over 10 deg C
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
C

Chad Ingram

Commendable
Oct 19, 2016
16
0
1,510


Well I guess thats the good news is that if it is the gpu fans I can just change them out...but would imbalanced fans with different beat frequency cause rpm spikes? cause like i said earlier i changed out my 1080 for my 960 and there was no sound playing the same game and the rpm was steady 2k with the fan curve but for the 1080 it woule be like 1700 then jump to 3000 rpn one second and back down and i think thats when the sound kicks in. Also at low rpm the fan doesn't make the sound or have as significant fluctuations in rpm but the fans do sound like they are making some sound like a buzzy sound i would say...found a vid of someone's card who acts the same way:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9KSrL8duII
also a picture of my fan's activity set at 70 percent fan speed manually under load playing league of legends: https://puu.sh/rRlFB/584d1fe11c.png
and this one is of me playing the witcher 3: https://puu.sh/rRmfb/ca94a563c6.png
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom