PC Grinding noise narrowed down, please advice

kokotas

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Aug 29, 2012
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Hello there I need your help!

This is a new rig recently built, specs are below:
Cpu: Intel 10900K (SP 81)
Mobo: Asus Maximus Apex XII
GPU: Asus tuf 3080
OS drive: 970 Evo Plus nvme 500GB
PSU: Seasonic 750W Prime Ultra Plat
Sound card: Creative Sound Blaster AE-7
Cpu cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360
Fans: x7 Arctic Bionix P120 pwm
Ram:G.Skill Trident z RGB 2x16GB B-dies
Case: Lian Li o11 Dynamic XL

So this is most perplexing for me as I have never bumped upon something like that before. Thing is the noise source is kinda difficult to isolate. Here is a sample so you can get the idea:
https://vocaroo.com/Pur5vPAzuPa

Now I have managed to find the exact reason which causes this noise. With that said, I'm still lost as to where it's coming from. Is sound like it could be coming from the psu, the gpu, the pump or even the motherboard itself.
So here's what's happening. Whenever I play a video using NVIDIA Cuvid as the video decoder I get this super loud grinding noise. If I change the decoder to DXVA2 (Copy-Back) then the noise is almost inaudible. In both cases the noise gets louder if I go full-screen.

I'm worried because after sticking my ear next to the open case for a few minutes, I'm 80% sure the sound is coming from either the pump or behind the pump... Weird thing is the using prime95 or furmark doesn't produce any such noise, at least continuously like when playing back videos.
I would appreciate any insight that will help me isolate the issue and contact the respective support team.

One more thing to notice is when the noise abruptly subsides for a second before it starts again, this translates to frame dropping or stuttering in the video.

Ok, last thing I can do to demonstrate the issue. Hoping for the right person to see this and provide an answer:
(kindly turn up your volume)

Final attempt at finding help:
disabled hardware acceleration for HEVC, loading the CPU, alternating between window mode and full screen:
https://vocaroo.com/dwlzrjzvaob
re-enabled hardware acceleration for HEVC, loading the GPU, alternating between window mode and full screen:
https://vocaroo.com/dxSvJircyHa
BTW I manually stopped the pump fan, gpu fans, psu fan and that didn't affect the noise. At this point, I think it's the pump or the PSU... I swear the sound comes from the pump. Or is it possible for the motherboard itself to make such a noise?
 
HDDs make terrible sounds on their way out. Hope you have good back ups.
Psu fans can fail and make terrible noises as well.

Process of elimination is the only way. Start unplugging things.
You can boot your system with your HDD disconnected, you just won't load anything past the bios.
 
PWM fans can also get screwy if they start getting improper PWM signals. That's the only way I can see this being software related
 
So I kind of isolated the issue to gpu and psu. Thing is this very bizarre reaction can only be triggered with specific software or should I say renderer.

By using megamix lav filters pack, and setting up as:

Potplayer
Madvr renderer with 4k profile
Lav video decoder, using nvidia vivid

Playing back a big video file like 4k to 5k, 10bit hvec.

This causes the gpu to reach 90% utilization and that's the only scenario that I get that noise. Furmark was normal. Playing the same video with mpc-be and default renderer and settings, again no noise.

My conclusion is madvr and the specific software setup causes a very high power draw from the gpu which causes that noise from some part of the system, most likely the gpu itself.
 
So I kind of isolated the issue to gpu and psu. Thing is this very bizarre reaction can only be triggered with specific software or should I say renderer.

By using megamix lav filters pack, and setting up as:

Potplayer
Madvr renderer with 4k profile
Lav video decoder, using nvidia vivid

Playing back a big video file like 4k to 5k, 10bit hvec.

This causes the gpu to reach 90% utilization and that's the only scenario that I get that noise. Furmark was normal. Playing the same video with mpc-be and default renderer and settings, again no noise.

My conclusion is madvr and the specific software setup causes a very high power draw from the gpu which causes that noise from some part of the system, most likely the gpu itself.
Could be really severe vibrations from the coils in the GPU or PSU, but I've never heard coil whine that bad. :/
 
If that's coming from the GPU power components, wow.
Past experience tells me when PC components start talking like that, expect them to go bye bye soon.

Do you have any way to test your power at the wall? Is it possible your getting dirty power? I've also never heard anything like that, that wasn't a fan or HDD.
 
I have had sleeve bearing fans that made a grinding noise as they started to die.
I can't hear anything in your video so either your mic sucks or its not that bad.
 
If that's coming from the GPU power components, wow.
Past experience tells me when PC components start talking like that, expect them to go bye bye soon.

Do you have any way to test your power at the wall? Is it possible your getting dirty power? I've also never heard anything like that, that wasn't a fan or HDD.
I have already contacted asus so let's see what they have to say. Psu is on a ups so I think that takes care of dirty power right? I will purchase a wall power consumption meter asap.

I have had sleeve bearing fans that made a grinding noise as they started to die.
I can't hear anything in your video so either your mic sucks or its not that bad.
Mic is a quadcast so definitely doesn't suck. Maybe you need to turn up you volume a bit.
 
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I have already contacted asus so let's see what they have to say. Psu is on a ups so I think that takes care of dirty power right? I will purchase a wall power consumption meter asap.


Mic is a quadcast so definitely doesn't suck. Maybe you need to turn up you volume a bit.
AFAIK all UPSes have power filters, so you should be getting good power, and if it gets bad it should automatically switch over to the battery and inverter.

Keep us posted. Weird sound from PC parts (at least not a fan or HDD).
 
AFAIK all UPSes have power filters, so you should be getting good power, and if it gets bad it should automatically switch over to the battery and inverter.

Keep us posted. Weird sound from PC parts (at least not a fan or HDD).
Cheap UPSs may not have them, but should switch to battery under some circumstances. Cheaper UPSs have no filter and will only switch under low voltage conditions.
 
Still haven't heard back from asus but starting to fine-tune my search terms already bearing results:

https://www.reddit.com/r/htpc/comments/eijppr/madvr_and_coil_whine/

Hmm, I wonder how asus will respond to my case since I have provided them with evidence and already pointed them to madvr and the specific requirements to reproduce this.
The physics behind coil whine are complex. It is possible that your an isolated case where the specific combination of components in your build are interacting negatively. If that's the case I'm afraid Asus might not even respond. Asus has a bad rep around here regarding honouring warranties.
 
I'm just curious to see how they respond. Not expecting to rma the card or anything :p Their first reply was to bring the card to my local retailer for diagnosing, completely disregarding my troubleshooting. Ofc I'm not doing that since they're not gonna test under the conditions I mentioned. I asked to forward the case to higher support tier rather than redirecting me to the store. Let's see...
 
My conclusion is madvr and the specific software setup causes a very high power draw from the gpu which causes that noise from some part of the system, most likely the gpu itself.
One other pie in the sky idea/random thought: harmonic vibration? Get the fan spinning at just the right speed with this particular load and it makes it jiggle hard. If the length of a sound wave matches the size of the thing vibrating it'll move a lot more since the vibrations add up rather than canceling each other out. Basic explanation: https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/sound/Lesson-4/Fundamental-Frequency-and-Harmonics So... maybe try adding some length? Zip ties + chunk of 2x4 for testing?
 
This may be sort of repetitive but it can be an HDD going bad. Can also be any number of fans. Graphic cards depending on the model and brand may have anywhere from one to three fans on them. Certain heat syncs for the processor come with built-in fans mounted on the syncs. Many towers or computer housings come with as many one to three for ventilation purposes. I have seen as many as six ventilation fans in a tower before. The thing is it all depends on the number of movable parts you have on your system. If you have multiple HDDs then it can also be any one of them about to go bad.

There are tales that may occur while working on processes on your computer that may signify if it is a hard drive problem or not. These significations are not limited to the following but are amongst the most common happenings when an HDD is about to go out.

Pictures, images, files, and programs going corrupt for no reason.
Processes slowing down dramatically.
While installing or updating software Errors occur often.
While downloading software updated downloading stops for no reason. (Happens on game clients like Steam or Origin)
Abnormal glitches or stutters while software is in use.
Software Crashes happen often.

With those significations, you can track down which HDD(s) is the problem HDD. Many times the files showing these symptoms will all be located on the same HDD. If it's not the drive with your Operating System (OS) on it you can disconnect that drive and chances are your computer will run a lot better. If it is the HDD with your OS on it back up, clone, or copy the drive to another drive with enough space storage to copy everything over then disconnect the old and leave the new one connected and you should be set.

Many times these happen before the drive starts making any sounds. Many times you can fix the problem by running the repair protocols on the affected drive and extend the life a little before it dies. Chances are if the drive is making funny noises then it is already beyond the capabilities of a drive repair sequence.

The other thing that I mentioned with the fans making the noise well depending on how many fans your system has? Well, obviously the more fans you have the harder it is going to be to identify which fan(s) are the cause of the noise.

Another thing this can be is the consumption of power your system requires. It is a very common mistake to over-look but the amount of power your system requires may be greater than the power amount the power supply can produce. This can cause all the fans to start running all the time starting from a few moments after you start the computer. This mistake has taken everything out from entire Motherboards, Graphic cards, processors, and even other internal HDDs and hardware. If you are really lucky you may catch it at the noises but most likely if it were a lack of power you would be smelling some sort of burnt metallic.

If the noises have been going on for a while it probably isn't the ladder. It is probably an HDD or a fan.

I would highly recommend you check your actual power consumption and refer to the power supply capabilities. Many manufacturers may list the power consumption of a piece of hardware but those listings are not always accurate. I learned this the hard way when I fried the Northbridge in my old computer after installing a more powerful Graphics card. Nowadays I use a Power Consumption Watt Meter.

here is a link to one should you want to get one. Power Consumption Watt Meter
 
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