Strange noise from new build.

geraintthomas · 23 Nov 2020 at 23:50

So this is a little strange. I've recently built an ITX build, but am getting a very odd noise when the CPU is under load.

Here's the specs:

Case: DAN Case A4
Board: Aorus B450 I AORUS PRO WIFI AM4
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700 (from my old build)
GPU: Gigabyte GeForce 1660 OC (from my old build)
RAM: 16gb (2x8gb) Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200Mhz DDR4
PSU: Corsair SF600 SFX
Storage: Crucial P2 M.2 1TB
CPU Cooling: Alpenfohn Black Ridge w/ Noctua NF-A9x14 HS-PWM
Case Cooling: Noctua NF-A9x14 HS-PWM

It's a lovely build, but the strange thing is... it sounds like I've got a conventional hard drive in there when the CPU is under load. The sound is coming from this area:

Here's the noise when idling, then when stressing the CPU by using a CPU renderer in a 3D application:

If I perform a disk read/write test, it's silent, so I can rule out the M.2 causing the noise. It's also silent when rendering using a GPU renderer. When stress testing the CPU however, it goes nuts. It sounds the same when overclocked as it does when running standard clocks.

The CPU was in my old build and I've never had an issue with it. Could it be an issue with the new board? The computer runs perfectly with no other issues at all, so it's a bit of a shame that I've got this with a new build.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone.

liltimmy · 24 Nov 2020 at 16:20

Can you double check in your BIOS which fan is at fault, using manual fan heat curves? ie in my gigabyte bios I can tell each fan to do full speed I wanted.

It's likely to be CPU but good to double check this.

EsaT · 24 Nov 2020 at 19:41

That's CPU VRM's coils (those square blocks next to heatsink) "whining" there.
High pulsating current happens at frequency at which wire loops of those coils resonate.
And obviously those coils have enough loose in wire wounding/lack damping glue etc.

liltimmy · 25 Nov 2020 at 14:04

Mmm I was also wondering if it was related to the VRMs. Perhaps you could check with others users with the same motherboard if its an issue and if there any fixes for it? Might just be one of the caveats of a budget board :/

geraintthomas · 22 Dec 2020 at 10:32

Sorry for the very late reply to all of you. I'm pretty sure it's the VRM's too. I had a little look online and it seems some others have a similar issue, with a YouTube video of someone with the identical board with the same noise.

The board functions perfectly, but it just has noisy VRM's. I'm in a conundrum whether to keep it as, for the money, it's an oustanding board that I've put quite a decent overclock onto with other features such as RGB, etc. Or do I return it for a similar board that doesn't have the same features.

For the meantime I'll most likely keep it. I've just never heard VRM's be so loud before. Thanks for the help everyone!

adrichardson81 · 22 Dec 2020 at 17:27

Can you swap for an indetntical mobo? You may just have ended up with a bad sample...

Tetras · 22 Dec 2020 at 22:24

When silence was more of a thing, you could easily go through half a dozen boards or GPUs to find one that didn't squeal, so if you do decide to swap it out, be aware it can turn into a saga pretty fast.