Computer literally screams at me when I play games

[Shoop]

So I am not sure what is going on... At first I was thinking it was coil whine... but looking into what exactly that is... I am certain this can't be what it is... unless it literally is the worst case of coil whine. 

A few months ago when covid started forcing people to stay home... I busted my old gaming rig out and dust it off and try to get back into PC gaming.  However I ran into this unique issue.  Whenever a game is running, whether it is a game like Destiny 2 or WoW... the whine is persistent ONLY when the game is up. If I alt tab out of the game, it instantly goes away, until I alt tab back into it. 

At first, I thought it was an alarm because the temps were spiking... seeing as it sat for years without any use.  I opened the case, cleaned all the dust out, and went the extra mile and re-applied the thermal paste on BOTH the GPU and CPU... fired it back up and the problem didn't happen for a few days... then magically it came back. 

Running cinnebench and other stress tests to get the computer at max load for CPU, GPU and RAM, temps etc, not a single peep.  I let the computer cool down and rest.  When things got back to normal ranges, I fired up WoW and BAM... started screaming again.  I thought it might be a voltage alarm, but according to open hardware, the volts didn't change more than .5-.75v in either direction.  

I am not overclocking this computer or card, have never OCed it in the past.  

Here is a video to give you an example of what I am talking about.  Even with a headset on, it pierces through, and I can't just ignore it, because my headset mic picks it up and it gets broadcast in whatever chat channel I am in.  

The MOBO is an Asus Maximus VI Hero, and the error read LED is reading AO, which according to the manual, is a normal reading? (Correct me if I am wrong). 

I am not seeing anything in the event log that might point any fingers at something... I am truly lost on this. Looking to hopefully get some fresh set of eyes (and ears) on this to maybe figure out what is causing this issue.  A new build is out of budget, but if it is one or two minor components causing this, then I could update those if need be. 

Build info:
MOBO: Asus Maximus VII Hero
CPU: Intel i7 4790k(Devil's Canyon)
RAM: G SKILL Sniper 16gb
GPU: Sapphire R9 280
PSU: Not sure at the time of the writing. I will have to tear apart the case to look at it. 

 

[kelvinhall05]

Lol wtf that's so weird.

 

 

Are any of the fans making the noise? I doubt it, but try stopping each one individually with your finger (on the hub, not the blades) while the "beep" or whatever is going. If that doesn't work, try reinstalling Windows.

[Chris Pratt]

7 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Lol wtf that's so weird.

 

 

Are any of the fans making the noise? I doubt it, but try stopping each one individually with your finger (on the hub, not the blades) while the "beep" or whatever is going. If that doesn't work, try reinstalling Windows.

Actually, I think that is it. It sounds like the bearings in one of the fans is bad. Doing things like cleaning out the dust and replacing thermal paste would help, because it would lower the temperature threshold, meaning the fans don't have to kick off as soon, but once they ramp up the problem would still be there. This is good advice. If you have a UEFI BIOS, or just some way to control the fan curves, in general, that would be the better approach. Stop each fan one at a time to see if the noise goes away. If it does, replace that fan.

[PC LOAD LETTER]

If you can access the offending coil and don't mind a bit of DIY you can pot it with wax or epoxy, at your own risk of course.

 

Otherwise just swap out the offending part. (PSU, GPU etc.)

[svmlegacy]

11 minutes ago, Shoop said:

<snip>

You know, once upon a time, motherboards used to scream exactly like that when the CPU was overheating. Pretty sure my ASUS CUV4X is one of them.

 

That being said, how is your temperatures?

[Shoop]

1 hour ago, svmlegacy said:

You know, once upon a time, motherboards used to scream exactly like that when the CPU was overheating. Pretty sure my ASUS CUV4X is one of them.

 

That being said, how is your temperatures?

Here is another recent video, I didn't realize that the CPU temps were minimized, but normally when I look when this is happening, the temps are anywhere between 68-72c... which is to my understanding normal.  As I am typing this comment, my temps are at 44 idle(only running chrome with a few tabs open and open hardware monitor).  
 

This clip shows that the screaming happens when the game is "active", and when I alt tab out of it, it stops, then when I alt tab back into it, it starts up again.  You can hear the fans ramp up in the midst of the scream, which would seem to indicate a bearing.  However, during the day when I use this computer for work, and only run Outlook, Teams, Chrome, and a few other work related apps, the fans occasionally ramp up, but not a single peep other than hearing the fans ramp up. 

I will look into the BIOS and see if I can stop one fan at a time to see if it is in fact a fan.  The ONLY fans in the case are what came with the system: Two case fans(one on top, one at the back I/O shield) and the stock CPU cooler that came with the processor. **Forgot about the gpu fans as well. I have removed it and will see if the sounds persists. 

 

[Shoop]

1 hour ago, svmlegacy said:

You know, once upon a time, motherboards used to scream exactly like that when the CPU was overheating. Pretty sure my ASUS CUV4X is one of them.

 

That being said, how is your temperatures?

Temps when running any game, stay within 68-72ish range. When idle, temps hover between 44-50c. 

[Shoop]

1 hour ago, PC LOAD LETTER said:

If you can access the offending coil and don't mind a bit of DIY you can pot it with wax or epoxy, at your own risk of course.

 

Otherwise just swap out the offending part. (PSU, GPU etc.)

Typically I don't mind a bit of DIY... but this might be a bit above my DIY expertise haha

[Shoop]

1 hour ago, Chris Pratt said:

Actually, I think that is it. It sounds like the bearings in one of the fans is bad. Doing things like cleaning out the dust and replacing thermal paste would help, because it would lower the temperature threshold, meaning the fans don't have to kick off as soon, but once they ramp up the problem would still be there. This is good advice. If you have a UEFI BIOS, or just some way to control the fan curves, in general, that would be the better approach. Stop each fan one at a time to see if the noise goes away. If it does, replace that fan.

It could be, and I don't want to rule that out completely. But this clip demonstrates that the fans ramp up in the midst of the screaming, not before.  You can also see that when I alt tab out of the game to check OHM, the screaming stops, while the fans still are in full swing.  When I alt tab back into the game, there is a short delay, and then the screaming begins again. 

If I reduce the graphics settings anywhere from 1-10 within WoW, there is a short delay, and then the screaming continues. I can drop it down to 1, then increase it incrementally back up to 10, and the screaming persists between each adjustment.  It only stops when I close the game out or alt tab out.  But normally I just stop and call it for a few hours to try my luck in the game later. Sometimes, it stops altogether, other times I have to give up for the day.  

I have pulled the GPU out completely to eliminate a piece of hardware from the equation.  I am looking to see if there is a way I can stop the fans one at a time in the BIOS or if I can adjust curves. If not, I'll just manually stop one at a time or disconnect one at a time. 

[Shoop]

Well I have figured this out finally... spent almost $400 replacing parts tonight but at least I know what the issue is now... and boy do I feel stupid... 

 

bought a new cooler(replaced stock cooler that came with cpu to Noctua NH-15DS), bought 4 new case fans(two to replace the failing case fans already in the case and to add two intake fans in the front), and a new and higher power supply (went from 650 non modular to 750 full modular). 
 

at my local micro center I talked to a tech, and show him the few clips I have of the sound going off... he instantly tells me it’s my UPS and not likely anything inside the computer... however... being the stubborn IT admin I am, I decide to walk over to the service desk and pick their brains... the service tech told me it would be 40 bucks to leave it there for 6 days for them to look at it... and then charge me based of their findings... I kept talking to the service rep and he suggested it was most likely my power supply as it was older than the other components in my computer and could be failing... but wouldn’t offer to test it in store (I had brought my computer in with me on the off chance I could get some one to look at it in store)... didn’t like the idea of walking out of the store without my computer and having to pay who knows how much for an issue that isn’t/wasn’t easily replicable from my end... 

 

Went back to select the parts I was initially looking at and talked to the same guy before. Told him I was going to go with the internal components first(again, stubborn IT Guy)... and that based on my testing I would come back and get an UPs if needed... 

 

fast forwArd a few hours after I had gutted and rebuilt my computer... power it up.. launch wow and BOOM! The sound came back instantly.., 

 

however when the sound started I looked at the UPs and noticed that it was a solid yellow light instead of the usual green... 

boy did I ever and I mean ever feel like such an idiot..., 

 

to sum it all up... I never suspected that it was an UPS alarm even though I have heard that alarm countless times in my years of IT work.., 

 

thanks for the input earlier, just wanted to circle back and update yAll on the root cause of this issue... I could have spent a lot more than I did today... but at least my computer will now be much cooler ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

im gonna have to Go back to micro center and make sure I give that guy credit and props... had I not been as stubborn i could have spent much less money today to fix this issue altogether... ugh.