asus ve278q high pitch whine?

Joined
Jan 27, 2012
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I know that all monitors have a high pitch sound but on this monitor its ridiculous, i can be sitting 2 feet away and still hear it. I muted the sound and everthing. I couldn't find the dynamic contrast to turn off. When the brightness is lowered to 50% there is a significant loss on the high pitch sound but even at 0% its still there.

Should i return it? or should i wait 10 days and let it break it in before returning it hoping it will go away? Or will all of the monitors I get have it this badly?
 
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Oh and I brought my brother and father into my room to see if they hear it and my dad can't hear anything even when he puts his ear next to the monitor and my brother can only hear it when putting his head at the monitor but I can hear it and it is super loud no matter where I am in the room.
 
I have the exact same problem and it's very bad, so bad that I'm getting a headache from it. I can only imagine how annoying this is to my cat.
I've had the monitor for 9 days now and it seems like it's actually getting louder, and the bottom right corner of my screen is starting to become oddly lit with bright and dark patches.
After contacting Asus custom service and waiting a week for them to reply, they suggested that my monitor is faulty.
I'm returning mine right now, and I'd suggest you do the same.
 
Was your problem fixed? I returned mine and got the same monitor and the sound is still there.

I am trying to find another monitor and I'm looking at the SAMSUNG S27A350H

Too be honest though I don't like the look of the design but I shouldn't complain too much.
 
The only place that really sells monitors where I live is BestBuy, and they don't carry this particular model in the store. I'm currently waiting for my replacement to ship to me, and it should be here by the 4th. I'll be sure to update here on whether or not my issue is resolved when I get the replacement in.
The S27A350H might be pretty nice, but the stand looks similar to the LG IPS236V which I recently purchased and returned, and let me tell you that thing wobbled like crazy. Taking the design into consideration is actually something you should be concerned with, so I feel you have a valid complaint. I also saw some other Samsung monitors with a similar stand at the store and tried moving them a bit, and they wobbled just as bad as the LG. If this is something that concerns you, you might want to try messing with a display model at the store, if they have one.
By the way, my previous monitor was a Samsung 226BW which looked great, but died after 3 years. I gotta say, the colors on my old Samsung were a bit better than the Asus VE278Q.
 
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I brought three of this monitor and two of them have this problem, I RMA it, but they didn't fix it only add scratches to the back of my monitor and I'm HOLY PISSED. I'm going to keep RMAing until they fix the problem. A monitor that produces a high pitch sound is WORTH ZERO dollar to me. I don't want to waste $640

I'll update what their customer service is going to do about this problem.

I spend thousands of dollar buying computer stuff each year, if they don't fix my problem. I'm never buying asus AGAIN.

I should of brought the HP 2711x 27-Inch LED Monitor - Black
 
You guys have any monitor recommendations around the same price as the VE278Q? I'm looking for one with excellent picture color (not easy) and for games no speaker needed. What I really would like is a stable stand just like the Asus.

It really sucks though.
 
Only bad part about eh HP 2711x is the glossy screen as my monitor will be next to the window and the glare will just get to me for sure
 
I think out of the 27 inch monitors within this price-range the VE278Q might be the best option, if you can get one without any problems that is. The only other thing to do is look for a good 24 inch, or up the price-range quite a bit.
As for the HP 2711x, I have to agree with Appledappleman. I can't stand glossy screens, and that 5ms response time doesn't help either.
If anyone here has had any experience with multiple 27 inch monitors and tested them against the VE278Q I would love to hear what they have to say and recommend. If I get another faulty monitor, I might just return it and try something else if I find anything.
 
I just got this monitor and I too have the high frequency tone, but it is very faint. I'm an music/sound professional and even in my "old" age can hear pretty high frequencies. I noticed that the pitch of the tone changes as the monitor comes on. Overall, I'd say the tone is not noticeable unless I focus on the frequency and is not going to make me return it. It is totally possible the dB level varies between different monitor builds. I'd say mine is pretty low.
 
Could be as simple as an electrical problem / grounding issue / EMI line noise. I had a fluorescent light plugged into the same circuit (not the same outlet) as my computer monitor at one time and the electrical noise it produced made an audible buzzing in my monitor. I even hade one of those line conditioners and it didn't stop the noise completely although it was worse without it. I'm not saying that's what your issue is but it's worth checking out. Plasma TVs can create a bit of RFI too. Might want to try some ferrite cores.

I have read over a hundred reviews on Newegg for this monitor and and none are having the issue you guys are talking about.
 
From Newegg reviews.

N/A
1/28/2012 1:08:15 AM
Cons: So this monitor has a horrible HIGH PITCH WHINE on it. I looked everywhere to fix it but its just so high I can hear it 7 feet away.

N/A
1/4/2012 5:15:31 PM
Cons: Monitor emits a high-pitched whine that I find severely aggravating, so I'm forced to return it. Not everyone seems to be able to hear it though.

I'm sorry Donat76, but there are other people with this problem on Newegg. Also, for a brand-new monitor that I paid $300.00 for I feel I shouldn't have to do DIY repairs on it the day I buy it. It's a bit ridiculous.

AstroCat, you're probably right about the noise level varying from monitor to monitor, or maybe some people are able to hear it better than others. I know that I can hear mine from any spot in my room, and when I'm directly in front of it the sound is just too loud to ignore.

My replacement monitor still hasn't come in yet, but as I said, I'll be sure to update on whether or not the replacement has any problems when it does come in.
 
I used Newegg's search feature on all the reviews for the VE278Q and VK278Q and searched for "whine" and "buzz". I own the VK278Q and researched and purchased it back in December and can't hear what you're talking about. I found the 2 reviews that you are talking about under the VE278Q for January of this year and one is a verified owner and one is not. Could be the same person.

So out of 345 reviews if you add up both the VE278Q and the VK278Q, there is one person, possibly two people that say they have this problem. They don't even leave a username???

Out of all these monitors that Newegg sells you have to figure that only a small percent post a review. Then figure in that people are more likely to post something if something is wrong with it. You get a very very small percentage with this problem.

I'm trying to save you the hassle of returning this monitor so you can check into other issues regarding electrical interference. Your next monitor may very well have the same problem you're describing because of this. Hope things work out for you but if you don't try other trouble shooting steps besides for just returning it I'm afraid your frustration is only going to increase with each new monitor you get.

These monitors have the transformer inside them and they can make noise. The transformer for my laptop chirps every now and then at random times due to electrical noise but it rarely happens. It's even plugged into one of those Monster HTS 1000 power centers with digital voltage readout and power filtering. Would never had bought it if it weren't on sale for $45 since Monster is mostly ripping people off with marketing BS, but I digress. My point is even if you plug this monitor into a power strip that claims to filter out line noise, you may still have this problem.

The interference may even be coming from your computer. Try hooking it up to another computer at a friend's house if that isn't much of a hassle and see if you have the same problem. Try some ferrite cores around the power and signal cables. Not guaranteeing any of this works of course but it is worth a try.
 
Thank you for the suggestions Donat76, I will be sure to try out the monitor at my friend's house if the new one has the same issue. I can understand how it looks like it's the user's fault for this type of thing occurring since there are so little people with the problem. Google search also yields a few more results of people with the same issue, but just a few.
There are also currently 5 computers in my house and none of the other monitors have this problem, and none of my past monitors have suffered from this issue either. I'm currently using another Samsung 226BW on my computer.

Here is what Asus tech support had to say,
"Please reset the monitor for a test.
Press Menu key->system setup->>Reset->Yes
If no effort, if possible, please test the monitor on another computer with another cable for a try.
If it doesn't work, please contact with your retailer for check. If the monitor is faulty, they will arrange RMA service for you. If you could not get any reply from them, please complete this RMA Submittal Form and send to us, and then will arrange RMA service for you:"

I tried their suggestions and the problem was still there, so I went on to return it. I never really considered taking the monitor out of my house and over to a friend's place, but like I said I'm willing to try if the problem still exists with the new monitor, and I'll look into ferrite cores as well. Thanks again for the help and suggestions.
 
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All right, I picked up my replacement today from BestBuy. After 30 minutes of use things are looking good, and I can't hear any high pitched whine so I'm very happy. It is daytime, however it's still relatively quiet in my room, but even so I'll update again when I try it out tonight and there's no noise going on.
Just noticed something when turning it off, it makes a popping sound in the back which I think, and hope are the speakers turning off. This never happened with the previous VE278Q I had. Anyone else have the same thing happen when turning the monitor off?
 
All right, I picked up my replacement today from BestBuy. After 30 minutes of use things are looking good, and I can't hear any high pitched whine so I'm very happy. It is daytime, however it's still relatively quiet in my room, but even so I'll update again when I try it out tonight and there's no noise going on.
Just noticed something when turning it off, it makes a popping sound in the back which I think, and hope are the speakers turning off. This never happened with the previous VE278Q I had. Anyone else have the same thing happen when turning the monitor off?

It's probably just the speakers. I don't use the speakers in mine so I can't say for sure but I wouldn't worry about it.
 
It's probably just the speakers. I don't use the speakers in mine so I can't say for sure but I wouldn't worry about it.

Yeah, I'm guessing so.

It seems that this monitor doesn't have the high pitched whine problem like the previous monitor did, however there's a new problem.
My screen is constantly flickering, well not really flickering, it's more like the screen constantly has this wavy look to it like there's a problem with the display frequency or something. It's most noticeable on standard mode. Could this just be the monitor needs a little breaking-in, or does anyone know what might be causing this?
I really don't feel like returning this one and waiting a week for a replacement to ship again.

Okay, I just messed with the brightness settings and on any mode if the brightness level drops below 80 it starts to become noticeable, and at 0 it's really bad.
Tried it with different power and DVI cables on multiple machines to no avail.
Maybe that popping noise isn't coming from the speakers after all.
 
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For the speakers: make sure Mute is turned ON in the OSD menu.
For the flickering: mess around with your display settings via Windows and your video card's software to test 59Hz vs 60Hz. Not positive on this, but worth a try...
 
For the speakers: make sure Mute is turned ON in the OSD menu.
For the flickering: mess around with your display settings via Windows and your video card's software to test 59Hz vs 60Hz. Not positive on this, but worth a try...

Thanks for the suggestions, however I did try all of the above already which yielded no results. Even tried the monitor on multiple machines with different cables and all the problems were still there on every machine. Thanks again though, I appreciate any help.
 
This is really depressing. I thought I had identified the perfect Monitor to buy, and now this whine crap comes up :(
 
This is really depressing. I thought I had identified the perfect Monitor to buy, and now this whine crap comes up :(

If you live next to any stores that carry the VE278Q and they have a good return policy you can try your luck with this monitor, and you might be able get one without any problems. The new one I got after my last return doesn't have the high pitched whine, but it does have the display problem so I'm guessing it's just a matter of trying again until you get one that works. Quality control just seems poor with this monitor.
 
I received this monitor yesterday and heard the high-pitched sound when I turned it on. Very annoying. It went down a little bit as I turned down the brightness and I could hear the pitch shift as I switched video modes. Too annoying for me so I sent it back.
 
I received this monitor yesterday and heard the high-pitched sound when I turned it on. Very annoying. It went down a little bit as I turned down the brightness and I could hear the pitch shift as I switched video modes. Too annoying for me so I sent it back.

Sorry to hear that. Did you send it back for an exchange, or a return?
Just asking because I'm wondering what you plan on getting if you're not going with the VE278Q.
If anyone else here has picked up a different monitor I'm curious as to how it compares to the VE278Q. My search for other 27 inch monitors hasn't been going well, and there aren't really any places here that sell monitors.
Also, I went ahead and exchanged the replacement monitor since the new issue seemed like a damaged/faulty monitor that I wouldn't be able to fix myself. I also didn't feel like waiting a week for a response from customer support telling me to RMA it, because then it would take me two weeks to get my replacement. I'm hoping the third one's the charm.
 
I bought one recently (2days ago) and it has this issue. i get a replacement and it still has the high pitch noise...

my conclusion is definite faulty as i had the same monitor with no issue. i would say this issue occurs only production after end of last year as i bought my other similar monitor early last year.

i am going to get exchange tmr and get Phillips 27" LED... ;)

@cubedice : get AOC 27" i had it as my 2nd monitor to my VE278Q.. looks good... ;)
 
LOL everybody is having this issue and ASUS wont do anything about it.

I RMA two of my monitor and they returned it without fixing it.

I'm never buying ASUS again period
 
I just received 3 of them. All of them make a whining noise. However, mine's not very audible, but it is noticible if I have no music / tv shows at all playing. Perhaps I'll play around w/ the settings for MUTING the speakers and see if it helps any.
 
Mine has this but it is extremely faint and can only be heard when it turns on for a second or two then the level goes way down, the pitch changes as well. I have pretty good high frequency hearing so I can hear it but on my monitor it pretty much disappears after a second. If it stayed as loud as it does when it first comes on I'd return it as well but it doesn't, strange, must vary between monitors?
 
My replacement monitor just came in, and it has the same problem as the last one.
The monitor makes a popping sound when powering off, and there's a wavy pattern that runs across the screen that's very noticeable when the brightness level is set to 0.
So in the end that's 3 out of 3 monitors that are defective, and it took about a month to try them all due to the monitors having to ship here.
Getting my refund today. I'm done with this monitor.

Update: Looks like it will take 2-3 business days for my refund to process into my bank account.
I'm looking at buying the VK278Q online, since it's the same monitor but it includes the webcam.
If the price doesn't go up, it should cost me the same amount of money I spent on the VE278Q, and I haven't found any reviews or comments on any forums about this monitor having the same problems as the VE278Q.

Hopefully I'll have a new working monitor here soon.
In the meantime I ordered some capacitors online to try and repair my 226bw since three of the capacitors seem to have gone bad, if it ends up working I'll use that for the time being, and then I'll give it to my brother if the new monitor works.
I'll update here on my experience with the VK278Q, if/when I get it.
 
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Just got the VK278Q, and it has the same wavy pattern running across the screen at low brightness levels.
It's not as bad as the VE278Q, but it's still bad enough that I'll be sending this one back as well.
Yet another week wasted, and I had to pick this one up from the UPS customer center.

I also managed to repair my Samsung 226bw.
Guess I'll just stick to using that, and return this monitor for a refund.
 
At this point you need to start ruling out some variables besides the monitor. Have you tried a power strip or filter? UPS Maybe?
 
At this point you need to start ruling out some variables besides the monitor. Have you tried a power strip or filter? UPS Maybe?

I've tried different power outlets (wall, surge protector, backup battery, around the house, etc.), different cords, and even tried hooking up one of the past monitors in the store.
I've also tried connecting all the monitors to different computers, and got the same result.
Honestly, no one would even notice this problem unless the conditions are right.
It's hard to notice when the monitor is set to a higher brightness level.
Even at the minimum brightness level you can't really see it if the monitor is displaying pictures with bright or vivid colors.
I don't like having a high level of brightness, plus I do artwork on my monitor so I notice it all the time. Even when watching certain videos during low movement scenes, or if I pause the videos it becomes very noticeable again.
If anyone else wants to see if their monitor has this problem, set your monitor to standard mode (although it should work with any mode where you can adjust the brightness), then set your brightness level to 0, and use the image below in a slideshow so it takes up the entire screen.
http://postimage.org/image/8pbhqmnw7/full/
It seems most noticeable with darker colors and greys.
 
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With the brightness set to zero it must be a voltage problem. I do know the calibrated brightness for this monitor is around 30. Sorry for the bad luck, my VE278Q has been so perfect once I got it calibrated.
 
Yeah, the monitor looks great once calibrated, which is why I decided to go with the VK278Q since it's basically the same monitor as the VE278Q.
I guess the newer ones being manufactured have some bad parts, and there's just a large batch of them that are being sold through at the moment.
Asus might not even know about this issue yet, and I'm still waiting for an email response from them regarding this problem.
 
I have the high pitch whine and sent it in for RMA. The RMA place emailed me saying they can't duplicate the problem (no trouble found) and for me to provide additional information. I emailed him links on the internet of the same problem and told him to turn brightness to 100% to hear it clearly. The monitor was returned to me without any repairs being made. I feel like they made a fool of me, the problem is so obvious and the RMA place completely ignored it.
 
I've had mine for a week now and no high pitched whine. My eyes are still getting adjusted to it. For a while they hurt, not sure why really. Lots of ambient light around, and they still hurt. I think I am not blinking enough. Love this monitor however.
 
I'm surprised this thread is still going.

I completely just got a whole new monitor considering that 2 of the Asus monitors had the high pitch whine. Now I'm using a Samsung S27A350H. Only con about this monitor is that there is no VESA mount on the back, but everything else is perfect.
 
Got mine yesturday and none of the problems noted in this thread happens with mine. Maybe i just got lucky? or I got so much other PC related noised going on around me that i just don't notice and it is not a bother.
 
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