GPU noise playing through speakers

[Netherspark]

I can't understand how or why but the coil whine and electrical noises from my graphics card have suddenly started playing out of the speakers, and quite loudly.  I've had this PC for over two years and it never did this before yesterday.  This is over a hi-fi amp and large'ish bookshelf speakers, running via a Jack-RCA cable from the sound card (Soundblaster AE-5).  I've tried the outputs on both the Sound Card and onboard audio and it's present on both of them, though is much quieter from onboard audio.

 

It's literally the exact same noise coming from the graphics card, you can hear it and the speakers 'singing' in unison.  It's almost as if it were being recorded through a microhpone and played back through the speakers.

 

I've tried everything I can think of.  Tried replacing the PCI-E power cable, replacing the audio cable, removed the sound card and tested over onboard audio, re-seated both graphics card and sound card.  I have no idea how or why this is happening. 

 

Things that make it worse/louder:  Using "Direct Mode" on the amplifier  /  Connecting the Sound Card's optional molex cable for its RGB lighting  /  Increasing the volume on the amplifier  (but not when increasing volume in Windows)

 

Is it possible the graphics card is feeding back into the PSU or something?

 

Is it a problem with the graphics card?

the sound card?

the power supply?

motherboard?

... the amplifier?

 

Please help.

 

[HanZie82]

I can only think of a physical change to make this happen.
Like dust in the wrong place or a broken capacitor, but your stuff is pretty new (2years isnt old) so that should not really happen.
(But it sounds like there is a error on the grounding if it increases when connecting RGB)


ps. also Make it easier on everyone and just list the full spec list. Gpu could matter same as motherboard etc. Help us help you.

[Netherspark]

6 minutes ago, HanZie82 said:

I can only think of a physical change to make this happen.
Like dust in the wrong place or a broken capacitor, but your stuff is pretty new (2years isnt old) so that should not really happen.
(But it sounds like there is a error on the grounding if it increases when connecting RGB)


ps. also Make it easier on everyone and just list the full spec list. Gpu could matter same as motherboard etc. Help us help you.

CPU:  Intel 8600k

Motherboard: ASUS Z370-F Strix

Graphics Card:  ASUS GTX 1070 08G Strix

Sound Card:  Sound Blaster AE-5

PSU:  Seasonic Focus Plus 650w

 

The only thing physically that's changed is that I removed my old hard drive shortly before this started.

 

I assume the thing about the molex making it worse is delivering more power to the sound card, rather than specifically due to the lighting.

[HanZie82]

More power isnt a bad thing. Unstable power is.

Is it possible to try headphones or somthing, to make sure the humm doesnt come from the amp?

[vong]

I've had this issue with my HTPC and I couldn't find a single thing to fix it other than downgrading my GPU. I had a 1060 (no noise) then upgraded to a 1080 Ti (lots of noise) then downgraded to a 1660 Ti (hardly any noticeable noise).

 

I've looked around and people say it's a ground loop.

[Netherspark]

13 minutes ago, HanZie82 said:

More power isnt a bad thing. Unstable power is.

Is it possible to try headphones or somthing, to make sure the humm doesnt come from the amp?

Headphones via Amp - still there

Headphones via SoundCard LineOut - still there but quieter

Headphones via SoundCard HP - nothing

 

So this rules out the amp, though it does seem to be making it louder (as amplifiers do).

 

[Jeppes]

Could just be emi coming out of the gpu. Are your devices plugged into grounded outlets?

[Netherspark]

25 minutes ago, Jeppes said:

Could just be emi coming out of the gpu. Are your devices plugged into grounded outlets?

Yep.  Even checked it on other outlets to make sure there's nothing wrong with the outlet or the power strip.

 

EMI seems likely, but it's not just interference.  It is literally the exact noise coming from the GPU, as if it were being recorded through a microphone and being sent to the speakers.

[HanZie82]

3 minutes ago, Netherspark said:

Yep.  Even checked it on other outlets to make sure there's nothing wrong with the outlet or the power strip.

 

EMI seems likely, but it's not just interference.  It is literally the exact noise coming from the GPU, as if it were being recorded through a microphone and being sent to the speakers.

Im not sure if it would matter much, but if you connect your case to the ground/case of your amp. Is it still there? Cus if not its definitely a ground loop.

[Jeppes]

1 minute ago, Netherspark said:

Yep.  Even checked it on other outlets to make sure there's nothing wrong with the outlet or the power strip.

 

EMI seems likely, but it's not just interference.  It is literally the exact noise coming from the GPU, as if it were being recorded through a microphone and being sent to the speakers.

You could also try another pcie-slot. The bottom x16-slot should put the card a bit further away from gpu.

[Netherspark]

1 hour ago, HanZie82 said:

Im not sure if it would matter much, but if you connect your case to the ground/case of your amp. Is it still there? Cus if not its definitely a ground loop.

This had some weird results.  Connecting the amp's grounding post to the case did nothing at all, but when I connected it to the back of the graphics card the noise got louder.

 

I also took apart a plug and tried connecting the graphics card directly to the earth pin on the power outlet but nothing happened.   It should have either neutralized the noise or made it louder like the amp's ground did.  Either way something should have happened.  I even tested the earth pin beforehand to make sure it was properly working.

[Netherspark]

As an additional update I put together a makeshift EMI shield out of Aluminium foil and carboard and tried placing it between the graphics card and sound card.  It had no effect at all, meaning that whatever is happening is probably happening through the motherboard.

[an actual squirrel]

It seems to me like some type of wiring issue. Try connecting the bare minimum amount of things and maybe try a different rca cable.

[ShearMe]

On 3/15/2020 at 1:33 PM, Netherspark said:

This had some weird results.  Connecting the amp's grounding post to the case did nothing at all, but when I connected it to the back of the graphics card the noise got louder.

 

I also took apart a plug and tried connecting the graphics card directly to the earth pin on the power outlet but nothing happened.   It should have either neutralized the noise or made it louder like the amp's ground did.  Either way something should have happened.  I even tested the earth pin beforehand to make sure it was properly working.

I dunno, sounds a lot like a ground loop to me. Adding another wire to an outlet ground isn't going to fix it, and connecting it to the amp could just improve the circuit. 

 

Does your sound system have an optical option? I'd recommend trying that for troubleshooting at the very least.

[Mysticode]

I'm having the same issue, for sure EMI from the GPU because it only occurs when my GPU is being used. About to move the soundcard to the lowest PCI-e slot to move it away from the GPU, but my hunch is nothing will happen.

 

Update: Moved to lowest slot, no change.

[AndyRau]

I have the same issue with two different GPUs.  Both from Gainward. A 980 and a 2070. I have tried three other GPUs, but they are older and from AMD.  There is no  sounds from any of them.  Are your GPU from Gainward too?  When I run games without the side panel on my case and no audio connected, I can here a similar sound coming directly from the GPU . Reminds me of the sounds from the problems with the first RTX3000 cards....

 

Does anyone have a solution for this problem, on the audio side?