Static from on-board sound when CPU is under load.

[TechnoSword]

Hardware in question-

Gigabyte GA-Z97x-SLI-CF

Realtek ALC1150 

i5-4690K (if relevant, stock speeds)

 

The chip and Gigabytes implementation of it seem pretty good. They've done some tweaks, but I'm having trouble finding the specifics of it again. I do remember that the front headphone port was rated higher, but for what I can't remember. I have my headphones hooked up to the back I/O for use.  

The problem is that when the CPU ramps up I got a TON of static. The heavier the load the louder the static. At desktop idle it doesn't seem to produce any.  It really makes me question what good the "dedicated audio hardware zone" is actually doing on the board. At first I thought it was the cheap acrylic shielding on my in-ears, but when I switched over to my MDR-v6's I'm still getting the issue. In fact even more so now since they're more sensitive to the internal interference I guess. 

 

Any legitimate* ideas? 

Is this normal for the board you think?

 

*By legitimate I mean anything other than "why are you using dat Realtek scrub stuff? Ya dang nub!". 

[iamdarkbowser]

Try using a sound card and check if the cable for your audio device is close to any power cables.

[Donk Quixote]

If you have a monitor (or TV) with speakers that you can connect to with HDMI try that and see if it still happens on the monitor speakers.  If it still happens it's probably a driver issue.  If it doesn't happen then it's probably internal interference and there's not much you can do about it other than getting an external soundcard or DAC+amp.  

[SSL]

The whole "dedicated hardware zone" is some marketing BS.

 

Driver issues are a common cause of static due to increased latency - probably more common than some people suspect.

 

Another solution I've seen is updating the BIOS - this could be a possibility given that the issue only occurs during heavy CPU load.

[BrightCandle]

Get the DPC latency tester and just confirm that isn't the problem (test it idle and under load).

[TechnoSword]

Update. Ran individual separate artificial tests for both he CPU and my GPUs. Separate they don't seem to make the static flair up, but together under load it gets really loud. Might be relevant, but my PSU isn't exactly the best quality, annddddd my system pushes it to its max limits. It's also multi rail and each GPU has its own rail to use so I'm not entirely sure how that contributes. 

 

The whole "dedicated hardware zone" is some marketing BS.

 

Driver issues are a common cause of static due to increased latency - probably more common than some people suspect.

 

Another solution I've seen is updating the BIOS - this could be a possibility given that the issue only occurs during heavy CPU load.

 

Nice to hear. Will update the drivers and BIOS and see if that helps. 

 

 

Get the DPC latency tester and just confirm that isn't the problem (test it idle and under load).

 

Broke it out, started up GTAV, had load distances/everything set to max minus AA, jacked a plane, and flew over the whole map while being able to make out the ants of people that lay below that's how far the view distance was set to. Test says it barely hit over 1500 at its worst, and while playing GTAV, when the static was the worst, the latency was well below the 1000 mark. Actually only hit the near 1500 mark when browsing in chrome, and even then the static was a lot quieter. 

 

Must not be it. *shrug*

 

 

If you have a monitor (or TV) with speakers that you can connect to with HDMI try that and see if it still happens on the monitor speakers.  If it still happens it's probably a driver issue.  

 

But then wouldn't it be using the GPUs sound processor and not my on board? I'm confused, and I do not own a TV or other audio device the accepts HDMI. 

[Donk Quixote]

But then wouldn't it be using the GPUs sound processor and not my on board? I'm confused, and I do not own a TV or other audio device the accepts HDMI. 

 

 

The GPU sound processor would be sending the digital stream through the HDMI cable, which would then be converted into the analogue signal by the DAC that's in the monitor/TV.  The monitor/TV DAC is away from all of the internal interference inside your computer.  It also runs on a separate power supply so it takes that out of the equation.

 

It's useful for troubleshooting, but it doesn't look like it matters much if you can't do it.  If you have something that accepts a toslink/SPDIF input (and your motherboard has a toslink/SPDIF output) then you can still do it.

[TechnoSword]

Updated the BIOS, audio drivers, and software to their latest versions. Static still present- sucks. 

 

The GPU sound processor would be sending the digital stream through the HDMI cable, which would then be converted into the analogue signal by the DAC that's in the monitor/TV.  The monitor/TV DAC is away from all of the internal interference inside your computer.  It also runs on a separate power supply so it takes that out of the equation.

 

It's useful for troubleshooting, but it doesn't look like it matters much if you can't do it.  If you have something that accepts a toslink/SPDIF input (and your motherboard has a toslink/SPDIF output) then you can still do it.

Don't have anything like that, but-

I plugged my headphones into my phone, ran something at extremely low volume to keep the port active, and put it right up the power cable for my PC (while it was running GTAV), inside the case, next to the back I/O audio ports, and against the power strip that my setup is plugged in to. No static, and my phone uses a plastic case so there's no chance possibility of a aluminium case filtering it out. My phone also uses one of those weird bare minimum jacks where the plug is still partly exposed when plugged in. 

 

If relevant, when I ran the synthetic load on both at once, the tone of the buzz/static was a much lower tone then that of the real use with various games. 

 

This is bothering me to no end since I like to play my games muted a lot and only remeber to change the videos that's playing in back till way after they're done. My ears ache from the static that's being produced. 

[Donk Quixote]

I plugged my headphones into my phone...

You wouldn't be able to troubleshoot internal noise from your computer doing any of that.  You might be on the right track with the power supply being overworked, especially if it's older as PSU degrade over time.  I would physically disconnect on of the GPUs and run the same stress tests (then reconnect and disconnect the other and do the same thing).  If the problem goes away that might be your answer.

[TechnoSword]

You wouldn't be able to troubleshoot internal noise from your computer doing any of that.  

Did it to troubleshoot environment interference.

 

You might be on the right track with the power supply being overworked, especially if it's older as PSU degrade over time.  I would physically disconnect on of the GPUs and run the same stress tests (then reconnect and disconnect the other and do the same thing).  If the problem goes away that might be your answer.

 

Ok, did it with the first and 2nd card in each of their respective slots they've been in by their self. 

The buzzing was much worse with the 2nd card then with the first. Find a bit weird since the first card draws more power and has its smoothing ceramic caps blown. 

I switched to a entirely different "Ultra" branded PSU from the "FSP" one that's in it- same buzzing static.  

[SSL]

Seems pretty clear that there isn't going to be a fix for your issue at this point.

 

RMA'ing a mothingboard is always a huge pain (assuming that you're even still in warranty) so I say it's time to consider a soundcard or external DAC+amp.

 

Usual suspects apply here; SMSL SD793-II, Fiio E10K, Schiit Fullah, Micca Origen.

 

If you want something internal, the Xonar DGX is the place to start. I wouldn't dump money into a soundcard unless you really want the software features. Note that drivers can be a struggle to get stable.