Long term issue, random freezing/buzzing.

[Twiggy1995]

So, my last post was a very long time ago. I believe it was about the same issue, and the advice was to get new drivers and a better power supply.

The issue was that sometimes randomly my PC will freeze and the speakers will "buzz".

I have tired a few different things, and I am still having this issue,

Things I have already tried:

- Updating GPU drivers (I have Nvidia GeForce Experience and update drivers regularly)
- Getting a more powerful and reliable PSU (upgraded from 500W EVGA 80plus bronze, to 750W 80plus gold)
- Tried capping the processor use at 80% in Windows.

and I am still having the issue.

Here's the basic system config:

Intel I7-4790K 4.0Ghz
4 x 4GB DDR3 RAM
1 & 2 TB hard drive (actual old fashioned hard drives)
DVD Burner
GTX 1060 6GB
Dell OKWVT A03 motherboard

I did just notice that 2 of the ram sticks are Samsung brand, and the other 2 are Micron brand, and they slightly differ in terms of the frequency each stick appears to be running at compared to CPU-Z (609mhz, 685mhz, 761mhz, 800mhz) they are supposed to be 1600mhz sticks though, and they are running in dual channel. Could that be an issue?

Does anyone else have any other ideas? I think I already tried all the most obvious things.
 

[Bombastinator]

It may or may not be two different issues.  Knowing where exactly the buzzing is coming from could do a lot.  Some sort of field serviceable stethoscope or ear horn (which could be a rolled up piece of paper) could provide enough directionality to pinpoint it.  It could be a fan (so probably not related) or the PSU or some other component (so very possibly related) if it is related knowing the location can make things go a lot faster. 
 

PS. That handle makes me wonder when twiggy died.  It was some years ago.  She was the first really skinny supermodel.  

Edited July 27, 2022 by Bombastinator

[Twiggy1995]

5 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

It may or may not be two different issues.  Knowing where exactly the buzzing is coming from could do a lot.  Some sort of field serviceable stethoscope or ear horn (which could be a rolled up piece of paper) could provide enough directionality to pinpoint it.  It could be a fan (so probably not related) or the PSU or some other component (so very possibly related) if it is related knowing the location can make things go a lot faster. 
 

PS. That handle makes me wonder when twiggy died.  It was some years ago.  She was the first really skinny supermodel.  

Thanks.

The buzzing is coming out of the speakers. It seems my system is locking up at random times, most times it is multiple days apart, but when I am actually gaming, it happens a lot more. Today I was just playing Far Cry 5 for about 10 minutes, when it happened.

[Bombastinator]

1 minute ago, Twiggy1995 said:

Thanks.

The buzzing is coming out of the speakers. It seems my system is locking up at random times, most times it is multiple days apart, but when I am actually gaming, it happens a lot more. Today I was just playing Far Cry 5 for about 10 minutes, when it happened.

Speaker buzz can be a software problem, a hardware problem in this case would be possibly a form of emi that could be generated either inside or outside the case, or actual speaker damage.  Blown speakers buzz.

[Twiggy1995]

2 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Speaker buzz can be a software problem, a hardware problem in this case would be possibly a form of emi that could be generated either inside or outside the case, or actual speaker damage.  Blown speakers buzz.

When you speak about EMI, my wifi connectivity on this machine is pure garbage, and I use ethernet on it, through a wifi bridge because of that. Maybe I'll remove the wifi module from the case and see.

Anything else that could possibly produce emi interference?

It's definitely not actual speaker damage as the speakers work perfectly fine, all the rest of the time, and it gets quieter (all the way to silent) the further I lower the speaker volume).

[Bombastinator]

6 minutes ago, Twiggy1995 said:

When you speak about EMI, my wifi connectivity on this machine is pure garbage, and I use ethernet on it, through a wifi bridge because of that. Maybe I'll remove the wifi module from the case and see.

Anything else that could possibly produce emi interference?

It's definitely not actual speaker damage as the speakers work perfectly fine, all the rest of the time, and it gets quieter (all the way to silent) the further I lower the speaker volume).

All kinds of stuff including even stuff outside your house.  It drops off heavily with range though so stuff even more than a few feet away has to be producing a lot.  Old electric motors were famous for it.  (So famous new electric motors have to have shielding that prevents it) so a really old air conditioner or refrigerator or vacuum can do it.  One that can come up is arc welders.  Really big ones are actually often illegal in residentially zoned areas it’s so bad. Inside the case it could be as small as two insulated wires crossing each other at just the wrong place and angle. 

[Twiggy1995]

1 minute ago, Bombastinator said:

 Inside the case it could be as small as two insulated wires crossing each other at just the wrong place and angle. 

 

Okay, so I'll remove the wifi module, and also try some better cable management.

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, Twiggy1995 said:

 

Okay, so I'll remove the wifi module, and also try some better cable management.

I doubt pulling the wifi card will do anything but it’s non destructive.  It could also well be a software issue.  It’s all about removing variables though and none of these things are damaging or cost money.  What kind of speaker is it?  Some kinds don’t blow.

Edited July 27, 2022 by Bombastinator

[Twiggy1995]

6 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

I doubt pulling the wifi card will do anything but it’s non destructive.  It could also well be a software issue.  It’s all about removing variables though and none of these things are damaging or cost money.  What kind of speaker is it?  Some kinds don’t blow.

they're the speakers on my tv that I use as a monitor. Works fine with other things too like ninetendos witch, ps4, ps3, etc so the speakers I know are not damaged themselves.

Also the buzz only happens when the freeze happens, when the PC is working fine, the speakers are working fine too, so as I said, it's not the speakers themselves.

[Bombastinator]

4 hours ago, Twiggy1995 said:

they're the speakers on my tv that I use as a monitor. Works fine with other things too like ninetendos witch, ps4, ps3, etc so the speakers I know are not damaged themselves.

Also the buzz only happens when the freeze happens, when the PC is working fine, the speakers are working fine too, so as I said, it's not the speakers themselves.

If it’s something that comes and goes it’s probably not EMI inside your case.  That would require things to move by themselves.  So software (not EMI) or a large outside force, such as a major appliance in your house or a large device outside it.  If it’s EMI with a large device inside your house old wiring circuits could be contributing.  Might do to see what else is on the circuit that outlet uses.  Also look at the timing.  Does the problem coincide with something in your house turning on?  Refrigerators an air conditioners are on thermostats so the can go on and off seemingly randomly.  If home wiring is to blame isolating the circuit could solve the issue.  I want to say a UPS but I don’t know if that would help or not.  Someone else may know.

Edited July 27, 2022 by Bombastinator

[Twiggy1995]

10 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

If it’s something that comes and goes it’s probably not EMI inside your case.  That would require things to move by themselves.  So software (not EMI)

Thanks,

In terms of software do you have any ideas as to what to check? I was originally told a long time ago to update my drivers, which as I said in the OP I did and I keep on doing, but that hasn't fixed anything.

[Twiggy1995]

I think I narrowed down the issue, it was the GPU the GTX 1060. Yesterday and today, when gaming in Euro Truck Simulator, Far Cry 5, and GTA 5 it kept doing it, and it's doing it multiple times a day now. I decided to try with the original GTX 745 card that came with the machine, and after swapping it, everything seems to be going good so far.