So, rewind to almost this time last year. I had upgraded my AM4 platform replacing the Ryzen 5 2600 with a 5600 and added an AIO and an RTX 3060ti FE. In June this year i changed case from the NZXT H510 to a Fractal North. My setup is my PC connected via USB to a Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 audio interface which is connected via balanced cables to two Yamaha H5 active speakers. Somewhere around this time if not a little before i noticed a faint "grinding" sound in game (which varies depending on in game location/ view) and at this time it was just in game coming through my active speakers. I put it down to maybe a windows update, or something that might be game related. A couple of months back however and to date i have noticed mouse sounds (scrolling etc) together with a constant low level digital sound also coming through the speakers which is not affected by volume changes. This sound is present in BIOS as well as in Windows btw. Also i am pretty sure the in game noise has worsened.
So i ran a "few" checks (these are the main ones):
The only things that resulted in this sound vanishing were the following:
I am now looking at my motherboard suspiciously. It is a B450 from 2018 so the oldest item in my rig and i do wonder whether it is passing on this interference. I did initially wonder whether this was a ground loop issue, however aside from component change in the PC all the power/ USB/ audio connections are the same as before.
So i ran a "few" checks (these are the main ones):
- Replaced the GPU,
- Replaced the PSU,
- Disconnected all non essentials,
- Tried all other USB ports for my external Audio Interface (which is bus powered),
- Tried a different USB cable,
- Tried another Audio Interface (external powered),
- Tried a powered Hub,
- Tried without cable extensions,
- Directly plugged in speakers in audio out of the PC,
- Tried other sockets in other rooms,
- Replaced the power bar ensuring everything was plugged in on the same strip,
- Tested Interface and Speakers on another PC,
- Rebuilt my PC,
- Reset BIOS and turned on and off the feature sets,
- Performed numerous driver updates,
- Used a socket tester on the wall and extension sockets,
- Changed screws for mobo and PSU to non painted ones.
The only things that resulted in this sound vanishing were the following:
- Disconnected Active Speakers from interface (just standard active speaker hum).
- Connected a Laptop to the interface and speakers.
- Connecting a DI in between interface and monitors and using "ground lift" (which also cut the volume level in general)
I am now looking at my motherboard suspiciously. It is a B450 from 2018 so the oldest item in my rig and i do wonder whether it is passing on this interference. I did initially wonder whether this was a ground loop issue, however aside from component change in the PC all the power/ USB/ audio connections are the same as before.