Should I RMA?

[kdmaris]

Hello,

I have an MSI P67A-G43 motherboard, and the coil whine is unbearable.

I managed to get rid of it by disabling C1E (no idea what that even does).. but should I still RMA it?

I got RMA approved... but would it be worth it?

Is it normal to have to disable c1e to stop coil whine? Is coil whine by itself normal?

Thanks

 

[jaquith]

A lot of 'coil whine' is actually due to your PSU - OCZ are notorious.
Q - What PSU?
Q - When does it happen? Enabling C1E...

 

[kdmaris]

I have a corsair TX750W power supply unit

The coil whine comes from the area around my CPU and ram.. but only when C1E is enabled from bios.

 

[IH8U]

A high pitched "whine" from ANY coil/coilpack is bad! regardless of PSU. Just another reason why I buy ASUS, or Gigabyte instead of MSI (it's gonna die). Honestly I'd spend a bit and replace your board with one that isn't garbage (you will have this issue again with MSI).

 

[jaquith]

First there aren't ANY COILS on the MSI P67A-G43, but on the other hand Corsair TX750 have been known to have coil whine. The CE1 is simply keeping the power state constant while being Disabled.

There is 'Capacitor Whine' and IF indeed the sound is coming from the MOBO then replace it/RMA. The CE1 C-State is indicative of a 'Capacitor Whine' for your MOBO, but it can happen to ANY MOBO.

To check MOBO vs PSU the only test is to take a piece of cardboard an isolate the sound; high pitch is hard to distinguish. RMA whichever is causing the Whine.

 

[kdmaris]

ok

 

[kdmaris]

guys is it okay to use a big paper envelope and put the mobo in that and surround the envelope with bubble wrap and put that into a box?

i don't have any anti static bag, but paper is non conductive so that should do the job right?

 

[jaquith]

Sure and I've used a paper towel roll. You're just trying to confirm the source.

edit: GPU's also have been known to whine...

 

[kdmaris]

i actually talked with MSI and they told me to find source that i should take out mobo from computer and put it on the box it came in and start it up.

i checked every component, and it wasn't the fans, psu, gpu, or hard drive. the noise was coming from the area near CPU/ram and the guy told me i'm better off RMA'ing the board.

i just bought pack of 10 antistatic bags for 5 bucks on amazon, with 4 dollars 1 day shipping. gonna go do this tomorrow... lol

 

[jaquith]

Which is why I use a 'paper towel roll' ; sure you can breadboard. IF for some reason you have a 'grounding short' e.g. standoffs. It's FASTER to know where the problem is than arbitrarily sending stuff off especially if for some reason it's the wrong stuff.

In any case - Good Luck!

 

[kdmaris]

is it normal to have to disable c1e to get rid of coil whine?

i mean shouldn't the mobo not make noises with c1e enabled?

 

[jaquith]

Neither Normal or Unheard of that the C1E causes/fixes the problem. Try moving the HSF to another 3-pin header then C1E -> Enable.

If the MOBO has a bad capacitor then it can whine.

 

[kdmaris]

what do you mean? sorry i'm kind of a noob at this lol...

the hsf is 4 pin is it okay to just put it into 3 pin?

 

[jaquith]

Try moving the HSF from it's normal 4-pin to another 3-pin fan header on the MOBO.

I'm trying to figure out if it's the MOBO of the HSF itself. There are other BIOS CPU Fan settings that may correct the problem - IF it's indeed the problem. ie this is a TEST.

edit: Quest what HSF are you using? Stock or something else?

 

[jaquith]

I'm stopping for the night. If it's NOT Stock then put the speed to the highest level and/or IF it has a resistor (set) then use the highest performance set.

 

[kdmaris]

yeah stock fan

i moved it.. noise still emanating from cpu/ram area.

i've tried with HSF off for 5 seconds.. noise still there.

btw i have c1e enabled... but c state disabled. that makes the noise go away.

is it normal to have to disable c state to make the noise go away?

 

[jaquith]

C1E by default is enabled there are power fluctuations by load, but disabled there constant power; this is similar to resistive rheostat power.

You need to RMA the MOBO.