Tier A PSU coil whine after 5 months

[DV2FOX]

Years ago i had this:

ASUS TUF GAMING X570 PLUS
3800x
GIGABYTE RTX 2070 Super White Gaming OC
CORSAIR AX860 PSU (Fully modular)

It was all great till the GPU coil whined but i thought "Time for a partial upgrade".PSU had NO issues...Big mistake

Everything in the list above and more was kept except the 3800x to a 5800X3D, a CORSAIR RM1200x SHIFT and a GIGABYTE RTX 4070 Super among the CPU fan cooler to a bigger one (Noctua NH-D15 CB).

First 5 months all great. No CW on anything

2 weeks ago the PSU decides to "say hello" and cause CW. More noticeable if i put a game like MARVEL's GOTG or DOOM ETERNAL on the main menu or a random level with no enemies around. Even moving the mouse around caused a variation of the noise

So i thought "Maybe i could try a smaller PSU from the same brand n model as many people do!". 850W bought 2 days ago. Popped it in and no CW until 3 hours passes and tadaaaa, another CW in record time!...Returned the PSU immediatly yesterday and refunded (They tested it in my face, all smiling..."Maybe it's something else from your PC that won't turn on!". Had to lie or else CW reason would be DENIED)

I tried an "OCCT" with the POWER option so far and before starting it the CW was there. Started the test and the noise didn't went up but the entire PC became an oven in my Be Quiet! DARK BASE PRO 901,so i turned the fans to the MAX just in case. 1H th test ended and 2 minutes after the noise was gone.. Until this afternoon today it came back here and there

The noise is ear and brain hurting as i am very sensitive. I can't use a headset for reasons. The high pitched noise or whatever it makes is driving me crazy

I want to know what can it be done. I can't return the 1200W unit because "Coil whine is normal, don't worry" MY REAR!...I had to lie with the 850W one above FOR ONCE to prevent the same answer and get the refund

This PSU was suggested to me months ago along a Be Quiet! STRAIGHT POWER 11 one but then the BQ ones, old and new, are said to either have CW or even worse: Rattling fan.. And nothing has been said if they fixed the issue just yet!

And then the same CORSAIR PSU is in that Tier A list from that PSU tier guide

Below you can see vids of both game and IDLE (Yes, IDLE is the worst thing here) causing the noise. Forgive my awful voice:

Game:

CORSAIR RM1200x SHIFT PSU coil whine test with MARVEL'S GOTG

www.youtube.com

IDLE:

IDLE COIL WHINE on CORSAIR RM1200W SHIFT even if turned off later

www.youtube.com

 

[Tetras]

Coil whine is a nightmare topic, tbh, there are a lot of things that might help, but it depends on the individual config of each person.

E.g. sometimes with the exact same PSU, or motherboard, or GPU, with a different PSU, motherboard, or GPU combination it does NOT whine.

Outside of getting a glue gun, you can try:
- Disabling/Enabling the CPU power saving states in the motherboard and/or Windows.
- Using/Not using V-Sync and frame caps.
- Disabling/Enabling hardware acceleration in your browsers and all other software (except games obviously).
- Change the PCI-E version in the BIOS.

And then the same CORSAIR PSU is in that Tier A list from that PSU tier guide

Unfortunately the pedigree of the PSU has little to do with coil whine, it is the same with graphics, since higher-end models often have more coil whine than the cheap ones

 

[DV2FOX]

Thought of putting some recent proof. The PSU has been quiet for 5h until now...Most of the time on Idle

All cables (minus energy socket one) removed. The noise is still there. Tried different wall sockets. Everything the same

I did some video encoding but while it was being done , and after returning home, there was no CW at all ...

PSU still coil whines after every component is unplugged

www.youtube.com

 

[Tetras]

Thought of putting some recent proof. The PSU has been quiet for 5h until now...Most of the time on Idle

All cables (minus energy socket one) removed. The noise is still there. Tried different wall sockets. Everything the same

I did some video encoding but while it was being done , and after returning home, there was no CW at all ...

PSU still coil whines after every component is unplugged

www.youtube.com

Have you seen buildzoid's video about coil whine? He explains why sometimes it can be intermittent and even disappear entirely.

Some PSUs use a lot of glue on all the vibrating coils/components, but other PSUs do not.

 

[DV2FOX]

Yeah well, the issue comes and goes here but when it's on it's desperating and abnormal and i haven't been productive at all because of it (I've done more research than doing things)

People says to try another brand like Seasonic although some people using FOCUS or VERTEX from em also seems to have the same issue but it might be bad luck or something

What can i do?.. And the whole C-States i'd rather not touch due to energy increasing (power bill) . I've already rolled up a paper with a stick to use to pinpoint the Motherboard everywhere and no noise came out from it so it cannot be the MB, although someone else mentioned that changing their MB solved their PSU issues but... https://forum.level1techs.com/t/eve...-whine-to-come-from-the-psu-s-edit-yes/209200

 

[Tetras]

People says to try another brand like Seasonic although some people using FOCUS or VERTEX from em also seems to have the same issue but it might be bad luck or something

I don't think the brand and quality of the part has much bearing on the likelihood of coil whine, you can spend £300 and get coil whine and spend £20 and get no coil whine.

I've already rolled up a paper with a stick to use to pinpoint the Motherboard everywhere and no noise came out from it so it cannot be the MB, although someone else mentioned that changing their MB solved their PSU issues but... https://forum.level1techs.com/t/eve...-whine-to-come-from-the-psu-s-edit-yes/209200

Yes, changing components does sometimes fix the issue even with the same PSU, it is just very hard to predict and you can go through a lot of parts before you find the combination that works.

What can i do?.. And the whole C-States i'd rather not touch due to energy increasing (power bill).

One alternative you can try is to just change the power settings/power plan in Windows, but realistically if your PSU has coil whine when everything is turned off, I don't think the C-States will solve your problem.

In any case, I was not suggesting you leave the C-States disabled forever, we're just trying to isolate the issue.

 

[DV2FOX]

The only setting in W10 related to energy is to prevent the PC to go hibernate/sleep/whatever makes it shut down or make the screen go black till the mouse is moved. These things back then occassionally made the internet to lose connection or cause some issues when slapped awake

I mean, if the PC gets turned off (No hibernation nor similar. Simply 100% shut down) then the noise from the PSU remains but vanishes in a matter of minutes i guess, slowly (I am not there to witness that due to home tasks), and stays shut/quiet until i power it up again and comes whenever it wants

Hopefully that explains my situation a tad bit more. And yeah, the C-States thing...I mean, if i can't hear a thing from the motherboard itself (surrounding the huge Noctua NH-D15 CBlack or the huge GPU, AND EVEN FROM BEHIND (right side of the tower WITHOUT THE PANEL)) with my ear sticked to it or with a tube (I don't want to unscrew the MB off the tower...) then it's a cat and mouse game

 

[Tetras]

And yeah, the C-States thing...I mean, if i can't hear a thing from the motherboard itself (surrounding the huge Noctua NH-D15 CBlack or the huge GPU, AND EVEN FROM BEHIND (right side of the tower WITHOUT THE PANEL)) with my ear sticked to it or with a tube (I don't want to unscrew the MB off the tower...) then it's a cat and mouse game

I think you're misunderstanding the point there, what you can hear from the motherboard does not necessarily mean the motherboard is not a cause.

The noise can be caused by certain behaviours or voltages of the components connected to the PSU, because of how the PSU reacts to them.

Therefore, if you change the behaviour of the motherboard, or the graphics card, it may stop the coil whine from emanating in a different component.

This is why swapping parts (like motherboard, or graphics) can cause coil whine even in a PSU that has never before had any coil whine.

The only setting in W10 related to energy is to prevent the PC to go hibernate/sleep/whatever makes it shut down or make the screen go black till the mouse is moved. These things back then occassionally made the internet to lose connection or cause some issues when slapped awake

You can change the power plan, e.g. balanced, power saver, maximum performance.

I mean, if the PC gets turned off (No hibernation nor similar. Simply 100% shut down) then the noise from the PSU remains but vanishes in a matter of minutes i guess, slowly (I am not there to witness that due to home tasks), and stays shut/quiet until i power it up again and comes whenever it wants

Ah, I see what you mean, that would suggest the standby circuit/behaviour is not the culprit.

 

[DV2FOX]

Today i've spent like 3h with a very tiny coil whine from the PSU and i barely heard it from the distance (I usually checked from time to time), but after that the noise ramped up again. I'm starting to give up hope on this but i need to solve this issue..

But i've read that disabling the C-States causes an increase of the power feeding, meaning that, well, the electricity bill could rise up some and i'd rather not risk it in case it also does something wrong to my components..

The plan is "Balanced (Recommended)"

Some people recommended me, in case the worst happens (No solution after any possible solutions), to try EVGA, ASUS or SeaSonic PSUs. I've read that SS are "the origin of the PSUs" or something (where other brands grabs their PSUs and changes stuff here and there) but i don't know.. I still saw people complaining about issues, even recent ones, on FOCUS and VERTEX models but... uuuugh, i need help, seriously

Thanks for the help so far btw

 

[mickyflinn]

Do you still have your old PSU ?

 

[DV2FOX]

Sadly no. After 3 months of seeing the actual PC was doing fine i sold the old one

 

[DV2FOX]

I did a quick test. Downloaded DOOM ETERNAL (once again) and played it on the menu and a random level without enemies WHEN THE PSU DIDN'T DO THE CW (Aka powe the PC and run to the game before the PSU CW happens).

When playing the menu/level the GPU did it's usual CW due to FPS etc (Again, limited to 120hz/FPS) and moving the mouse around did vary the buzzing sound FROM THE GPU but the PSU did NOT had any noise from it

Can the GPU be discarded from this point?...

 

[Tetras]

But i've read that disabling the C-States causes an increase of the power feeding, meaning that, well, the electricity bill could rise up some and i'd rather not risk it in case it also does something wrong to my components..

The plan is "Balanced (Recommended)"

Disabling the C-States will not cause any damage to your components, but like I said before, this is ONLY for testing!

If it solves the problem, there are alternatives you can try to disabling C-States permanently.

If you won't take any suggestions, you're making troubleshooting unnecessarily difficult and likely to be more expensive.

Some people recommended me, in case the worst happens (No solution after any possible solutions), to try EVGA, ASUS or SeaSonic PSUs. I've read that SS are "the origin of the PSUs" or something (where other brands grabs their PSUs and changes stuff here and there) but i don't know.. I still saw people complaining about issues, even recent ones, on FOCUS and VERTEX models but... uuuugh, i need help, seriously

Seasonic are the original manufacturer of many PSUs, which includes some Asus and EVGA models, but they are not immune to coil whine, I doubt any PSU is.

Can the GPU be discarded from this point?...

GPU coil whine is usually very variable according to the frame rate, which it sounds like you're already familiar with. However, as said before, certain combinations of components can cause coil whine in other components, so the GPU could be partially responsible for the PSU whining.

 

[DV2FOX]

I apologize for that. I've not been feeling a bit well because of all of this.. You can imagine...

Ok, i went to my BIOS (ASUS X570 TUF GAMING PLUS) and followed a tiny guide: Advanced->AMD CBS-> Global C-States

That's the only option and only allows me to disable, enable or auto. There's no single C-State 1 or 6 or whatever other people mentions on the net tho..

I tried DOOM ETERNAL with the speakers turned off and slowly the PSU noise vanished (Although it was already low but there the moment i changed the setting) but i don't know how long it's gonna stay quiet...And how it could impact games or whatever... Or worse of all: THE ELECTRICITY BILL...

Note that when i disabled such option the mouse still caused varied buzzings to the GPU when moving the mouse (When some people says it helped), if that kind of helps pinpointing things out, but even with the speakers off i barely was able or be bothered by the GPU...

I'd like to know what other things i should do in case the PSU's CW returns or try other C-State settings or whatever to minimize the waste of power (and increase of the bill...) while keeping the PSU CW away

Or check other BIOS settings that i might've skipped...

 

[DV2FOX]

Aaaaaaand the noise came back even with C-State being disabled...I can't believe it at all....

 

[Tetras]

I'd like to know what other things i should do in case the PSU's CW returns or try other C-State settings or whatever to minimize the waste of power (and increase of the bill...) while keeping the PSU CW away

Or check other BIOS settings that i might've skipped...

Aaaaaaand the noise came back even with C-State being disabled...I can't believe it at all....

Pity, looks like that isn't going to help.

There's a few settings that sometimes help:
ERP, there's a thread about it here.

Some Asus motherboards have a setting in the BIOS called "acoustic noise mitigation", there's some talk about it here.

If the motherboard is not related to your coil whine, then I don't think ANY bios setting will help, unfortunately.

I tried DOOM ETERNAL with the speakers turned off and slowly the PSU noise vanished (Although it was already low but there the moment i changed the setting) but i don't know how long it's gonna stay quiet...And how it could impact games or whatever... Or worse of all: THE ELECTRICITY BILL...

The noise progressively disappeared?

Can you list exactly which situations cause the noise to be better, or to be worse?

I'm finding it hard to keep up.

 

[DV2FOX]

My head hurts from thinking too much, please bare with me ==;;;...I was happy and now this crap happened

The noise progressively disappeared?

Can you list exactly which situations cause the noise to be better, or to be worse?

When i was doing the C-State thing in the BIOS the PSU's noise was there, but in a matter of minutes it vanished once i've saved the settings into the BIOS and rebooted the PC, making me think the C-States did something and results in 2h of silence, but as ya can see it came back..

I could power up the PC after hours of being 100% turned off (PSU is silent when it happens because it probably discharged all the frigging whine after powering it off) and it could take minutes or hours for the noise to come up. It is completely random as to wether it goes better or worse, wether it comes sooner or later. but the moment i can hear it the most is on IDLE or doing light tasks like browsing, etc... You've already heard the noise in different situations above, and again i started the PC all cold , rushed into DOOM ETERNAL and the GPU did the noise but not the PSU...

The sound is more noisy if you approach to the PSU's behind where the power cable is connected when it happens. If i put the ear right on the connector's plug area of the PSU, almost touching it, it is the most electrical loudest part that there is, so maybe it's some connectivity issue but not sure if a different power cord will solve it (CORSAIR and anyone else always says to use the cables that comes with the box, so...)

I didn't said this but the power sockets on the wall are 220V (Used an AC detector thingy, sticked 2 sticks HARD into the holes and it said 220V). They don't seem dirty and they're security sockets, and i already tried different sockets on the walls with the same results. Same goes if i carried the PSU away from the tower (All unplugged minus the power cord) and plugging it on other parts of the house while the PSU still had the noise in it. Noise appears only when connected (It tries to fade away the noise from use) but vanishes completely if unplugged

I might've said some parts of the above already again but better remind about it...

 

[Tetras]

If i put the ear right on the connector's plug area of the PSU, almost touching it, it is the most electrical loudest part that there is, so maybe it's some connectivity issue but not sure if a different power cord will solve it (CORSAIR and anyone else always says to use the cables that comes with the box, so...)

@pastymuncher do you have any thoughts about that?

When i was doing the C-State thing in the BIOS the PSU's noise was there, but in a matter of minutes it vanished once i've saved the settings into the BIOS and rebooted the PC, making me think the C-States did something and results in 2h of silence, but as ya can see it came back..

Hmm, that's weird..., I suppose it could be when the CPU is sitting at particular clocks. What is the AMD version of Intel's Turbo mode? PB2? I forget. You could try disabling that, BUT, you also said that games are fine, right? So, it seems like your CPU running at full clocks is not the problem.

but the moment i can hear it the most is on IDLE or doing light tasks like browsing

I see, I'm not sure what to make of that.

 

[DV2FOX]

Is it possible that some Air Conditioner from the house could be provoking the coil whine?.. We have 4 down here (1 in my room, 2 next to my room, 1 more farther away) and i was told somewhere else that even with the PC turned off that the CW on the PSU could be caused by them

Because the PC has been powered off for like 30 or more minutes (had lunch 4h30min ago from this post's timing) and the CW was there when i returned (Still powered off btw) and the AC from the dining room (farthest one) was the only thing that was turned on, along a standing fan. Right now as i type the dining room AC and fan are off and the noise's gone, although my room's AC is turned on

Maybe there is really something in the house that causes it?... Although i've noticed today that i forgot to turn off and unplug the printer yesterday and whenever i approached it it made some light coil whine (If the power up light blinked then the noise varies also)

Could there be a connection then?...

 

[Tetras]

Could there be a connection then?...

Possibly, I think there are things that you can do (or you can buy) to isolate your devices (is it ferrite?), but I'm afraid that is way beyond my knowledge base.