buzzing/humming sound from pc when playing heavy game

[ELiTRiGG3R]

I always play with the headphones on, one time I heard a buzzing noise...at first I thought it was athe game but it kept going ..(not continuous)...Then I read up some forums and realised that it is either GPU or PSU..then I did some cable management to improve the airflow..still the same noise after 1/2 hour of gaming..then I noted the temp eariler (before cable management), it was 72-73..now it never goes over 68-69..but then I took the side case off and the buzzing sound was gone, I can't locate the source as that would require taking side panel off, bu then the noise is off ...Please Help ASAP

 

[RCoon]

When your GPU/PSU is particularly loaded, what you hear is coil whine from specific parts on your PSU/GPU. Inductors I think. It's been very common on reference cards from both AMD and NVidia last generation. My reference 780 had it, my non ref did not.

 

[ne6togadno]

change oc or down clock vga. change frequence with 5mhz (try both up and down). if this doesnt fix it change with another 5mhz.
if you have hot pistol you can apply some glue at components marked with r22 on pic below

when done should look like this

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/R9_290X_PCS_Plus/4.html

 

[RCoon]

components marked with r22 on pic below

Inductors! Also glue needs to be non conductive.

 

[ELiTRiGG3R]

When your GPU/PSU is particularly loaded, what you hear is coil whine from specific parts on your PSU/GPU. Inductors I think. It's been very common on reference cards from both AMD and NVidia last generation. My reference 780 had it, my non ref did not.

is it safe?I thought if the PSU hums(may be GPU) it is not healthy or the system...

 

[ELiTRiGG3R]

change oc or down clock vga. change frequence with 5mhz (try both up and down). if this doesnt fix it change with another 5mhz.
if you have hot pistol you can apply some glue at components marked with r22 on pic below

when done should look like this

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/R9_290X_PCS_Plus/4.html

Inductors! Also glue needs to be non conductive.

Alright, ..when I firstly saw that I thought it was on the back of the card ....but it is below the fan and conducting metal tubes...I'm not going to tinker around with the cooler of a GPU..

 

[AsRock]

With the PSU it's more tricky and could get shocked if your don't watch what your hands touch.. Bu in this case that has much less chance of happening as you should only need to take the lid of the PSU.

On the PSU the problem would be on one of he coils, and as Rcoon said make sure you use some thing non conductive.

Another thing is warranty's they or at least the PSU one will be void..

You could try using a paper towel tube to see were the sounds coming from but even try this be very aware were you re pointing it and you should find out the source of your issue.

EDIT: you could try playing with vsync on too that's if you don't as it is.

 

[ne6togadno]

Inductors! Also glue needs to be non conductive.

i dont think any of those is conductive but EVA is not conductive for sure

 

[RCoon]

you could try playing with vsync on too that's if you don't as it is.

Valid point here, VSync tends to mitigate coil whine on the GPU in some cases, as it's when the GPU is processing extra frames to your refresh rate. e.g. When I run 3DMark icestorm, I got coil whine, due to it rendering around 2000FPS, whereas firestrike at around 60 fps would not.

 

[ELiTRiGG3R]

With the PSU it's more tricky and could get shocked if your don't watch what your hands touch.. Bu in this case that has much less chance of happening as you should only need to take the lid of the PSU.

On the PSU the problem would be on one of he coils, and as Rcoon said make sure you use some thing non conductive.

Another thing is warranty's they or at least the PSU one will be void..

You could try using a paper towel tube to see were the sounds coming from but even try this be very aware were you re pointing it and you should find out the source of your issue.

EDIT: you could try playing with vsync on too that's if you don't as it is.

Well, yes I do play with vsync but I cannot determine the source without opening the side panel, when I open it, the noise is gone..most probably this is caused due to high temp (37-38C ambient here).what is the difference between the noise from PSU and GPU..I think that if the noise is continuous, it's coming from PSU, but it's not..any other distinctions...I cannot determine the source without opening the side panel..

@RCoon ..I just want to know if it is normal and safe or not..otherwise I will do some work..I don't care about the sound..Well, I will have to take the side panel out every time I play BF3...is there a way to run a bf3 benchmark..I can't even get the console open key above tab and left of 1 does not work here..

 

[ELiTRiGG3R]

I just want to make sure that the humming won't damage any component in the pc like gpu or PSU

 

[ste2425]

Is it not possible that something is vibrating the side panel? Yes temps will drop with it off but surly not quick enough for the humming to instantly stop if it is heating making it worse?

 

[buildzoid]

While coil whine is does no damage to computer components. The nerves of a human can end up shortened greatly
If it's from your GPU you can get rid of it by adjusting core voltage or frequency. If it's from the PSU your gonna have to open it up and glue the coils.

 

[zenlaserman]

I always play with the headphones on, one time I heard a buzzing noise...at first I thought it was athe game but it kept going ..(not continuous)...Then I read up some forums and realised that it is either GPU or PSU..then I did some cable management to improve the airflow..still the same noise after 1/2 hour of gaming..then I noted the temp eariler (before cable management), it was 72-73..now it never goes over 68-69..but then I took the side case off and the buzzing sound was gone, I can't locate the source as that would require taking side panel off, bu then the noise is off ...Please Help ASAP

Likely it was the side panel itself, vibrating from PSU and/or GPU fan(s). You might want to try isolating the PSU from the case by using a gasket (example) or even felt strips from your local hardware store.

While coil whine from PSU and GPU is possible, I think it's more likely that your PC case isn't as tight as it could be.

 

[ELiTRiGG3R]

While coil whine is does no damage to computer components. The nerves of a human can end up shortened greatly
If it's from your GPU you can get rid of it by adjusting core voltage or frequency. If it's from the PSU your gonna have to open it up and glue the coils.

Thanks, the answer I was looking for...I don't care about the sounds

Likely it was the side panel itself, vibrating from PSU and/or GPU fan(s). You might want to try isolating the PSU from the case by using a gasket (example) or even felt strips from your local hardware store.

While coil whine from PSU and GPU is possible, I think it's more likely that your PC case isn't as tight as it could be.

Well, it is not continuous even if the fan is at max speed

Is it not possible that something is vibrating the side panel? Yes temps will drop with it off but surly not quick enough for the humming to instantly stop if it is heating making it worse?

Yeah..I forgot to mention that as it was screwed tight I couldn't really take it out instantly..and it is a possibilty

THANKS FOR ALL THE ANSWERS..Gues I will not screw the side panel and take it off when playing bf3 then put it back on..not really a big hassle when compared to the great game..