Motherboard coil whine under load

MrlUnleashed · December 10, 2020

I built a new pc a little while ago, some used some new parts.

The motherboard I got (new) was ASRock B450 Steel Legend and under load I noticed a pretty loud coil whine coming from the PC. After some troubleshooting I found out it was the motherboard. Psu also produced some kind of quiet buzzing noise while the pc is completely off, but not when powered on.

This week I got a mobo Msi B450 Tomahawk Max, psu and a graphics card (all new).

And again same story, the motherboard makes the same whining sound as before but a little less loud.

The Cpu Ryzen 7 1700 (all stock) and the cooler Shadow Rock 3 are still in from the previous build.

Shadow Rock 3 has plastic spacers that separate the screws and metal parts from the motherboard so I think it cant be it causing any shorts or whatever. Its screwed in as much as it could go and I did not force anything too much.

Both GPUs are fine, fans were fine, all checked, no sounds other than fans spinning.

Today Im getting an extension cord/brick that has all kinds of protections and what not to see if the problem might be in the wiring in my house causing it, since both motherboards had coil whine, on the same outlet.

The pc and monitor were both plugged in with the same basic cord I had so ill try to separate those 2 aswell.

Monitor also produced some whine if I restarted the pc and didnt turn it off then back on.

Lastly, if that doesnt help, Im worried if the CPU could be the issue here. I got it used, the guy was legit, he did some video editing and stuff like that and it was under watercooling the entire time he had it, unless he had some really high OC on it that I dont know about.

No pins were bent, it looks perfect and I have no stability issues when pc is in use. I even had it overclocked a bit and undervolted at one point, it was all fine but the whine was still present. Its all stock now.

HW monitor shows about 40-55/60A (about 60 was on Aida stress test I believe) and about 80-90W power draw on the CPU under load.

Also to mention the previous pc I had and was plugged in the same outlet I didnt notice any sounds besides fans.

Im mostly worried if it could cause issues later and it is a little bit annoying.

If anyone has any knowledge on similar issues or what it could be Id very much appreciate any info.

Kilrah · December 10, 2020

You didn't mention the most important, what your PSU is. Coil whine is a result of the interaction between the PSU and whatever draws from it.

DoctorNick · December 10, 2020

Seem more likely that if you're using two GPU's they are the source for the coil whine

MrlUnleashed · December 10, 2020

32 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

You didn't mention the most important, what your PSU is. Coil whine is a result of the interaction between the PSU and whatever draws from it.

With Asrock one it was the Straight Power 11 500w 80+ Gold

GPU was RX 480 4gb with one 8 pin

Now CX650F 80+ bronze

GPU is Gtx 1070 with one 8 and one 6 pin power connector

11 minutes ago, DoctorNick said:

Seem more likely that if you're using two GPU's they are the source for the coil whine

Now and before Ive powered the system without the gpus just to clear that and under load Ive opened the case and checked precisely where the whine is coming from, and its from the vrm area of the motherboard, just before the back IO.

Sorry I didnt mention where exactly do I hear the whine.