help Coil whine noise + AC/Battery switching under AI or Rendering load - GM5ZG8W (RTX3080 mobile/AMD R9 5900HX)

[Cendoohh]

Hi everyone,
I’m reaching out to see if anyone has experienced a similar issue or has any suggestions.

Custom-built laptop with Windows 11
CPU AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX
Power mode set to dGPU only in BIOS (mobile RTX 3080 16gb 150+15w)
Inference workloads via Python-based AI rendering (e.g. ComfyUI/Stable Diffusion/Framepack)
Rndering through Premiere Pro

I'm dealing with a couple of issues on my laptop that I can't seem to figure out, and I'm hoping someone here might have some insights or similar experience.

Over the past few days, I've noticed that the coil whine coming from the laptop has become noticeably louder, especially when launching heavy GPU tasks like AI rendering (sometimes it makes noise even when moving the mouse while doing notihng. When I stop the mouse, it gets completely silent). It used to be a soft, barely audible noise, but now it's more like a sharp buzzing or whistling, and it's much more frequent.

At the same time, something more concerning has started happening: during these rendering tasks, the system randomly seems to switch from AC power to battery for just a brief moment, then switches back. I can tell because the keyboard backlight dims momentarily (as it normally does when unplugging the charger), and I’ve confirmed it through the Windows Event Viewer (there are entries saying “Power source changed” even though the charger is firmly connected and hasn’t moved (of course I can see that aswell on the icontray and I've tested it with HWInfo aswell. It doesn't happen when I'm just browsing or in idle.


I’ve done quite a bit of testing already. I reinstalled the NVIDIA drivers with a clean install, switched the BIOS setting from dGPU only to hybrid graphics and then back to dGPU because nothing changed, and even adjusted my Windows power plan to limit the CPU performance to 85%. That last step helped reduce CPU temps from 95°C (while rendering) to about 83°C during rendering, but the power-switching issue still happens, albeit maybe a little less frequently.

 

Other things that I tried:

I tried to charge the laptop while it's off, and even if it's off, as soon as it starts charging, the coil whine goes crazy. If I remove the charger and turn on the laptop in battery only, as soon as it's on ("Welcome" screen) the coil whine starts again for some seconds, then it stops. There's not coil whine when I'm using only battery. As soon as I plug the power supply, the coil wihne starts to go crazy.

I started a render test with GPU-Z and the coil whine goes crazy while doing that (with the AC connected)


During inference and rendering, especially when the GPU is working hard, something triggers this switch.

The laptop is 4 years old and 2 years ago It started having problems on performance so I sent it back and they said that the 3080 "couldn't stay active" because a MOSFET was broken. So they changed the MOSFET with a new one and they tested it for days and changed some more things to make it like new. Indeed everything was perfect and the performances were great. Now these problems make me think something is about to die.

Do you guys think it's possible that the problem is the power supply? It's the same since I bought the laptop so 4 years old. Could it maybe be not giving anymore enough energy/stable energy to the hardware and causing all these problems?

I’d really appreciate any ideas, especially if someone has experienced something similar.


Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Sawa Takahashi]

13 hours ago, Cendoohh said:

Over the past few days, I've noticed that the coil whine coming from the laptop has become noticeably louder, especially when launching heavy GPU tasks like AI rendering (sometimes it makes noise even when moving the mouse while doing notihng. When I stop the mouse, it gets completely silent). It used to be a soft, barely audible noise, but now it's more like a sharp buzzing or whistling, and it's much more frequent.

Are you sure it's coil whining ? It could also be the mouse signal interfering with the sound circuit.

13 hours ago, Cendoohh said:

At the same time, something more concerning has started happening: during these rendering tasks, the system randomly seems to switch from AC power to battery for just a brief moment, then switches back. I can tell because the keyboard backlight dims momentarily (as it normally does when unplugging the charger), and I’ve confirmed it through the Windows Event Viewer (there are entries saying “Power source changed” even though the charger is firmly connected and hasn’t moved (of course I can see that aswell on the icontray and I've tested it with HWInfo aswell. It doesn't happen when I'm just browsing or in idle.

it is causing a malfunction ?  Your AC charging circuit may be enable to provide enough power for heavy tasks and then the laptop falls down on battery (the alternative would be a shut down, so it is preferable switching to battery).

I don't see a problem with it unless you are running heavy loads for extended periods of time. In that case, you 'll need to figure out a more powerful charging circuit (or a more powerful wall brick).

13 hours ago, Cendoohh said:

they said that the 3080 "couldn't stay active" because a MOSFET was broken.

Well. The mosfets are part of the power delivery system and another bad mosfet can indeed cause coil whine and erratic power to the GPU.

13 hours ago, Cendoohh said:

Do you guys think it's possible that the problem is the power supply? It's the same since I bought the laptop so 4 years old. Could it maybe be not giving anymore enough energy/stable energy to the hardware and causing all these problems?

It is possible that the power brick does not deliver as much power as before but before investing in a new one I'd make sure that the GPU is not dying like 2 years ago. 

Bottom line

It is not my money so it is entirely your decision. If it was my computer, I'd keep the laptop for gaming and doing computery stuff and get a tower to do the AI rendering and heavy stuff. I know the laptop's appeal of portability but a tower is really more rugged in regards to running at full capacity without issues. You can even build a headless tower completely controlled via your laptop that can also be accessed via the Internet so it will feel you are still rendering on the laptop but it will be offloaded to the tower instead.

Just a suggestion.

Good luck !

[Cendoohh]

2 hours ago, Sawa Takahashi said:

Are you sure it's coil whining ? It could also be the mouse signal interfering with the sound circuit.

it is causing a malfunction ?  Your AC charging circuit may be enable to provide enough power for heavy tasks and then the laptop falls down on battery (the alternative would be a shut down, so it is preferable switching to battery).

I don't see a problem with it unless you are running heavy loads for extended periods of time. In that case, you 'll need to figure out a more powerful charging circuit (or a more powerful wall brick).

Well. The mosfets are part of the power delivery system and another bad mosfet can indeed cause coil whine and erratic power to the GPU.

It is possible that the power brick does not deliver as much power as before but before investing in a new one I'd make sure that the GPU is not dying like 2 years ago. 

Bottom line

It is not my money so it is entirely your decision. If it was my computer, I'd keep the laptop for gaming and doing computery stuff and get a tower to do the AI rendering and heavy stuff. I know the laptop's appeal of portability but a tower is really more rugged in regards to running at full capacity without issues. You can even build a headless tower completely controlled via your laptop that can also be accessed via the Internet so it will feel you are still rendering on the laptop but it will be offloaded to the tower instead.

Just a suggestion.

Good luck !

First of all, thank you very very very much for you answer. And I surely agree completely about the tower, but since I move around a lot constantly, the laptop is a must. The oe that I have now is a 15.6" and trust me, its size already caused me a lot of problems when moving...imagine a tower ahahh

The idea about using it as a "rendering farm" by rendering with it through internet is genius tho!

You're right tho, what you said is 100% true.

 

About the noise, is surely coil whining. I can make a video if that could help, but I don't think it would. You tell me if that could help.

What do you mean by "heavy loads for extended periods of time"? 1 hour of rendering can be considered "extended".

I'm scared to stress the laptop as of now, so I'm not really testing if it's still ok in terms of performances. Is there any test you would suggest me to do to see if there's something wrong specific or if the laptop is still usable even if making noise and switching AC/battery? It's not like I care much abut these things if the laptop doesn't die in a week or lose performances.

 

I can try to see if I can manage to borrow an AC with the same specifics as the one that I have now and see if the problem goes, so I know if that's the problem or the problem is laptop side/hardware.

[Sawa Takahashi]

2 hours ago, Cendoohh said:

What do you mean by "heavy loads for extended periods of time"? 1 hour of rendering can be considered "extended".

Well, a laptop has limited airflow and cooling capacity. If you use it on your lap (or worst, on a bed), this is really asking for trouble by blocking ventilation pathways.

But even on the case you use a laptop with plenty of airflow and optimal conditions, it will deteriorate faster than a tower due to smaller size and tighter tolerances. Not counting the lower repairability in general.

2 hours ago, Cendoohh said:

. Is there any test you would suggest me to do to see if there's something wrong specific or if the laptop is still usable even if making noise and switching AC/battery? It's not like I care much abut these things if the laptop doesn't die in a week or lose performances.

I don't know any useful test that could tell how long a computer has to live. I think using it is the only valid test and when it quits, you know that it came to repairs or switch.

2 hours ago, Cendoohh said:

I can try to see if I can manage to borrow an AC with the same specifics as the one that I have now and see if the problem goes, so I know if that's the problem or the problem is laptop side/hardware.

It costs nothing to do a swap test but I think the power delivery is more likely to be the culprit (mosfets).

 

As an alternative to a tower accessible remotely, you can check the pricing of online services like AWS and Azure. If the price is not too scary, this may be nice way of doing renderings without purchasing hardware, or a temporary solution until you buy more hardware.

 

Have a nice day !

[Cendoohh]

9 hours ago, Sawa Takahashi said:

Well, a laptop has limited airflow and cooling capacity. If you use it on your lap (or worst, on a bed), this is really asking for trouble by blocking ventilation pathways.

But even on the case you use a laptop with plenty of airflow and optimal conditions, it will deteriorate faster than a tower due to smaller size and tighter tolerances. Not counting the lower repairability in general.

I don't know any useful test that could tell how long a computer has to live. I think using it is the only valid test and when it quits, you know that it came to repairs or switch.

It costs nothing to do a swap test but I think the power delivery is more likely to be the culprit (mosfets).

 

As an alternative to a tower accessible remotely, you can check the pricing of online services like AWS and Azure. If the price is not too scary, this may be nice way of doing renderings without purchasing hardware, or a temporary solution until you buy more hardware.

 

Have a nice day !

Today I tried to turn on the laptop in battery only. As soon as i clicked the power button, the backlights turned on, but the screen was off, for like 1 minute....then the laptop turned on very slowly and once it was on, the time was 00:00.

 

Now the new charger arrived. I tried it straight away and there is no coil whine anymore. No battery/ac switching anymore and the performances are great (at least for now...that's what it seems...) but when I turn on the laptop now...it's always the same story...black screen for 30secs/1min and then slow boot and time reset to 00:00...

 

Damn...

 

ps: just to be clear, I wasn't asking a test to know how long will it take to the laptop to die  I was asking if there is any test that you would reccomend to know what kind of problem there is. Like if there's a way to discover which part of the hardware is not working anymore properly

[Sawa Takahashi]

7 hours ago, Cendoohh said:

but when I turn on the laptop now...it's always the same story...black screen for 30secs/1min and then slow boot and time reset to 00:00...

At least that one is simple to figure out.

If your computer starts with the time 00:00 (and probably the date is January, 1, 1900 ? That means that the system clock experienced a power interruption. Most laptop computers I know also have a CMOS battery but sometimes they don'T and rely on the main battery to keep the clock running.

The CMOS battery (if you got one) is a lithium battery for watches CR-2032 and costs a buck or less in dollar stores. Replace it and you should be good to go for many years.

7 hours ago, Cendoohh said:

Now the new charger arrived. I tried it straight away and there is no coil whine anymore. No battery/ac switching anymore and the performances are great

It probably was the power brick in the end. If using the old one brings back the issues and the new brick isn't causing any issues, I think you got a winner

 

Have a nice day !

[Cendoohh]

9 hours ago, Sawa Takahashi said:

At least that one is simple to figure out.

If your computer starts with the time 00:00 (and probably the date is January, 1, 1900 ? That means that the system clock experienced a power interruption. Most laptop computers I know also have a CMOS battery but sometimes they don'T and rely on the main battery to keep the clock running.

The CMOS battery (if you got one) is a lithium battery for watches CR-2032 and costs a buck or less in dollar stores. Replace it and you should be good to go for many years.

It probably was the power brick in the end. If using the old one brings back the issues and the new brick isn't causing any issues, I think you got a winner

 

Have a nice day !

Not only using the old one brings back the issues. I tried some rendering (both videos and AI) and tjhe laptop is faster then before...and when I say before I mean since the beginning...Ive never had this kind of performances ever. Can a power supply make all this difference? But most importantly...can a company sell a 3000$ laptop (and offer a 3years pickup and delivery warranty) and then spare 30-40$ on the power supply that lowers the laptop performances and stability? That's crazy. Completely nosense.

 

Btw, the problem is solved I guess. I knew about the CMOS battery, it just seemed weird to me that this problem appears only when disconnecting the power supply. But if I keep the laptop connected to the power, there is no problem at all.

I gues it is what it is ahahah

 

Thank you very much for your help!

Have a nice day!

[Sawa Takahashi]

1 minute ago, Cendoohh said:

Can a power supply make all this difference?

A bad power supply of insufficient voltage or wattage can force the laptop to throttle.

9 minutes ago, Cendoohh said:

can a company sell a 3000$ laptop (and offer a 3years pickup and delivery warranty) and then spare 30-40$ on the power supply that lowers the laptop performances and stability? That's crazy. Completely nonsense.

Welcome to capitalism ?

10 minutes ago, Cendoohh said:

Thank you very much for your help!

You're welcome  I'm happy if I've been of any help.

[Cendoohh]

3 hours ago, Sawa Takahashi said:

 

Welcome to capitalism ?

 

Ahahaha I know, but we are talking about a little company from Netherlands that is dealing with their customers as they were their sons because they don't have much clients and they have to grow and "make their name"...I swear, after more than 2 years they got the laptop back in warranty and they changed half of the things (they also changed the keyboard and the f***ing SCREEN with a brand new one! And we are talking about 16'' 2560x1440 QHD 165hz) all for FREE! And then you spare 40$ on the damn power supply that can cause lower performances and problems to the great laptop you built? People will (rightly so...) think that you didn't build a great laptop...they could think you built a laptop that is weaker than expected, that has problems and so on...but the only problem is the power supply...for 40$....that's such a stupid choice...I don't understand honestly...

[Sawa Takahashi]

11 hours ago, Cendoohh said:

And then you spare 40$ on the damn power supply that can cause lower performances and problems to the great laptop you built?

...

but the only problem is the power supply...for 40$....that's such a stupid choice...I don't understand honestly...

Well, don't be so hasty to throw that company under the train

Since they probably don't manufacture power bricks themselves, they had to buy from another company. They checked the specs and tested a number of them to make sure they meet the needs of their laptop builds.

But what if the supplier changes the specs without notice ? What if a few units slip through quality checks ? What if the supplier changes suppliers for the parts needed to build the power bricks ? Capitalism often leads to those questions.

These are all events / choices that the Netherlands company has almost no control over but that can affect their products one way or another. Contacting them to say that you found the solution to a lasting issue is probably the best you can do for both you and them. Maybe they'll go for another supplier or at least tighten quality checks.

Anyway, enough ramblings.

Have a nice day and enjoy your speedy laptop ?

[Cendoohh]

9 hours ago, Sawa Takahashi said:

Well, don't be so hasty to throw that company under the train

Since they probably don't manufacture power bricks themselves, they had to buy from another company. They checked the specs and tested a number of them to make sure they meet the needs of their laptop builds.

But what if the supplier changes the specs without notice ? What if a few units slip through quality checks ? What if the supplier changes suppliers for the parts needed to build the power bricks ? Capitalism often leads to those questions.

These are all events / choices that the Netherlands company has almost no control over but that can affect their products one way or another. Contacting them to say that you found the solution to a lasting issue is probably the best you can do for both you and them. Maybe they'll go for another supplier or at least tighten quality checks.

Anyway, enough ramblings.

Have a nice day and enjoy your speedy laptop ?

You know what? You are totally right! ahah wise words, really.

Yeah, I'll stop blether ahahah have a nice day and thanks for your help! :)