# High pitched and static noise directly from motherboard (behind CPU backplate)



## Fraka (Oct 24, 2020)

Hi everybody, 

Recently I assembled a new PC, and all was going well untill I hooked up my speakers and heard a horrible high pitched noise and static. the high pitched sound was made everytime I moved my mouse. I have done a LOT of troubleshooting to get to the source of this sound, being the motherboard itself. On the backside of the motherboard you can hear this sound directly coming from the board. Just behind the CPU backplate. 

I contacted the store and asked for a RMA, they accepted and found the exact same issue on their test bench, so they send me a replacement motherboard. I hook everything back up and... the exact same issue.. Again. SO I am wondering, am I extremely unlucky? Is there something wrong with this line of boards or anything else going on? 

Here are my specs:

*NEW setup:*
BIOS: 0806 (sound was even noticeable in BIOS, softly)
OS W10 Pro 64 bit
CPU Intel i5 10600K
CPU cooler noctua d15 chromax
RAM 16GB Corsair DDR4 3200mhz memory LPX
GPU Zotac RTX 2060
MB Asus Z490 TUF Gaming WIFI
SSD Samsung 970 EVO 1tb M.2
PSU First used Coolermaster 620watt PSU now switched over to Corsair RM650X 
CASE Corsair 4000x
Soundcard Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro
Speakers (KRK Rokit5)
Keyboard Corsair K68 RGB
Mouse Logitech G500
Screen Asus vg27aql1a
Headphones Hyper X cloud II

Here is what I have tried so far:

Remove all USB devices/peripherals from pc, noise still active
Plug in other mouse and/or keyboard, noise still active
Plug computer and speakers in multiple different outlets and power strips(all grounded), noise still active
Plug in speakers into macbook, no noise
Plug in speakers to Hyper X cloud USB soundcard, noise still active but a bit lower volume.
Plug in speakers to front mounted 3.5mm jack, noise still active
Plug in speakers to motherboard integrated audio jack, noise still active
Mute all sound in the windows volume mixer, noise still active. 
Plug in headphones,  no noise
Replaced old PSU, noise still active
I have tried another speaker (from an iPhone dock with 3.5mm jack Line-in), this produces no noise in the speaker dock. 
Untangled all cables behind PC from monitor, speakers and pc. Noise still active.
Removed soundblaster card and plugged speakers into motherboard audio, noise still active. 

*UPDATE* I removed the GPU and switched to internal graphics to make sure it was not the GPU or the power draw of the GPU causing this. Then I heard the exact same noise as through the speakers, coming directly from the motherboard. It is most noticeable on the backside of the motherboard just around the CPU bracket.  










be sure to raise the volume to hear the beeping caused by moving the mouse back and forth. This is without any speakers.


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## dont whant to set it"' (Oct 24, 2020)

Severe motherboard vrm coil whine syndrome I'd call it, I've experienced something similar recently ,  yet not so "melodic" as yours , in the end my motherboard died within a week without giving up the ghost. Mine was a Gigabyte ab350m ds3h v2 , I think.
Le:


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## Fraka (Oct 24, 2020)

@dont whant to set it"' thanks for your reply! The 'melody' comes from physically moving the mouse, it makes a sound based on that movement. But I also hear that crackling/static sound you have, just a bit lower in volume. What baffles me most is the fact that this is already the 2nd board and it has the exact same problem. Perhaps a design issue? Or just really bad luck?


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## dont whant to set it"' (Oct 24, 2020)

I'd try retesting it out of the case with bare minimum, one dram dimm and just the boot drive , allthewhile running the setup from the CPU's Igp to the monitor.


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## blobster21 (Oct 24, 2020)

The problem lies within the motherboard's PCB, the high pitched noise you hear is caused by electric parasites generated by a components sub-set (audio chipset, network chipset, usb controller, sata controller,etc...) and spreading to the other components subsets because it is not properly isolated.


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## Fraka (Oct 24, 2020)

@blobster21 Interesting! Would that mean that disabling some internal components could 'improve' it? Because disabling the internal Audio chip does not accomplish any relieve from the issue. 

Is there anything to mitigate this issue then? Or are there motherboards with better PBS's?


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## Salpingo27 (Dec 8, 2020)

I wish I knew but this is EXACTLY the noise I'm experiencing. @Fraka did you ever figure it out?

Ok, figured it out. It was due to plugging an RGB strip into the digital mobo header (Aura Sync). I just plugged them into the controller instead and voila, sound gone.


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## Asryan (Dec 18, 2020)

Hi

I have quite a similar issue but could not find a solution yet..









						Weird noise coming out of the motherboard : vrm coil whine?
					

Isn't it weird that I have the same issue with this board and the one before? Might be the psu itself then it can't be the cpu or the ram..  Swap out the PSU as some models can induce coil whine in the Motherboards chokes.




					www.techpowerup.com


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## ohigs (Jan 4, 2021)

@Fraka did you ever solve this issue? Mine is making EXACTLY the same noise.


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## Deleted member 193596 (Jan 4, 2021)

in some cases it is caused by C States.
try disable them.. maybe it helps


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## Asryan (Jan 4, 2021)

Didn't worked for me


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## AleXXX666 (Jan 4, 2021)

dont whant to set it' said:


> Severe motherboard vrm coil whine syndrome I'd call it, I've experienced something similar recently ,  yet not so "melodic" as yours , in the end my motherboard died within a week without giving up the ghost. Mine was a Gigabyte ab350m ds3h v2 , I think.
> Le:


cheapest b350 money can buy lol
don't get it unless for athlon cpu lmfao


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## ohigs (Jan 4, 2021)

Disabling C-states didn't work for me either.


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## dont whant to set it"' (Jan 5, 2021)

AleXXX666 said:


> cheapest b350 money can buy lol
> don't get it unless for athlon cpu lmfao



Be that as it may, it took me to set core performance boost off and apply an all-core oc in order to brake over the 65Watt power usage, 4.475GHz@1.375V with the R3 3300X, so yeah most of the time the IO die used more power than the cpu chiplet.


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## AleXXX666 (Jan 5, 2021)

dont whant to set it' said:


> Be that as it may, it took me to set core performance boost off and apply an all-core oc in order to brake over the 65Watt power usage, 4.475GHz@1.375V with the R3 3300X, so yeah most of the time the IO die used more power than the cpu chiplet.


For 4 core cpu it’s just perfect 
Great choice so


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## dont whant to set it"' (Jan 5, 2021)

I've long since returned the board and got an Asus ROG Crosshair VI Extreme instead.


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## AleXXX666 (Jan 5, 2021)

dont whant to set it' said:


> I've long since returned the board and got an Asus ROG Crosshair VI Extreme instead.


This shit will OC every supported cpu, cool!


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## R00kie (Jan 5, 2021)

ah yes, the VRM coil whine, my Z390 has it, I kinda got used to it, but you can change the amount of it by setting your power plan to High Performance, at least that's what I did, and it slightly subsided.


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## ohigs (Jan 5, 2021)

Fixed my issue by disabling Core Performance Boost in bios and setting a manual core voltage.


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## MihaiPop (Jan 28, 2021)

Hi guys,
I have the exact same problem. 
Here are my specs to the pc i built just this week:
Asus tuf gaming z490 plus wifi.
CPU intel i9 10850K
CPU cooler arctic ac liquid freezer ii 360 v3
DDR4 G.Skill ripjaws V red 32 gb 3600 mhz
M2 SSD XPG Gammix s11 pro 1tb
Case NZXT H710
And gpu..... Well gpu i use an temporary ASUS GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER TUF Gaming, 4GB GDDR6, 128-bit. (will change this one soon)

So I have the same issue I hear that noise in my studio monitors Yamaha hs8.
When I move the cable to my 10 y old pc that sound is not there. But in the new one it is. 
I also noticed that sound slightly changes itself when I adjust power plans.... From balanced to high performance. 
Any hints?


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## dont whant to set it"' (Jan 30, 2021)

@MihaiPop  ; it could be improper grounding by what you are describing .

A quick test withe the newer hardware powered the same way as you did the old one ,or from the same outlet with the same cable used to power the older pc.

1) You have not listed above the make /type of the PSU used on for new pc , which is the most important component .
2) Assuming PC PSU is up to spec and in full working order, it would lead me to improper chassis grounding for the motherboard.
3) If mb to chassis grounding is not the issue ; bad mb design or bad sample.

It is late for my two cents right now, take care.


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## MihaiPop (Jan 30, 2021)

dont whant to set it' said:


> @MihaiPop  ; it could be improper grounding by what you are describing .
> 
> A quick test withe the newer hardware powered the same way as you did the old one ,or from the same outlet with the same cable used to power the older pc.
> 
> ...


Hello, thanks for your reply.  
I was thinking that the psu might be the issue. I already ordered a new psu and will test it in a few days when the new psu will get to me. 
For now I use a brand new Corsair RM750, 750W, 80 plus Gold ->> brought specifically for this new pc. 
Looks like I'm gonna test it with another one which I ordered ->> Gigabyte GP-P750GM, 80 PLUS® Gold, 750W, PFC Activ.


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## Chaba422 (Jan 30, 2021)

i had EXACTLY same issue with my Z390 Maximus XI hero, what i did is unplugged RGB Fans and rgb Fan hub and just plugged them onto PSU Cables, it stopped, but what boggles me is i recently few months ago decided to try plug back in my rgb fans and header and it didnt coil whine, maybe it takes time or something i dont know how it cured itself


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## MihaiPop (Jan 30, 2021)

dont whant to set it' said:


> 2) Assuming PC PSU is up to spec and in full working order, it would lead me to improper chassis grounding for the motherboard.


How do I verify the grounding?
I haven't plugged in an wire in MB to chassis. 
I'm not sure what to do.


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## Unknownowl1806 (Mar 12, 2021)

blobster21 said:


> The problem lies within the motherboard's PCB, the high pitched noise you hear is caused by electric parasites generated by a components sub-set (audio chipset, network chipset, usb controller, sata controller,etc...) and spreading to the other components subsets because it is not properly isolated.


I have the same issue, i hear static noises inside my pc, so do you think i got what you just described? for refrence i got a hp omen 30L


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## guardiny (Mar 13, 2021)

MihaiPop said:


> Hello, thanks for your reply.
> I was thinking that the psu might be the issue. I already ordered a new psu and will test it in a few days when the new psu will get to me.
> For now I use a brand new Corsair RM750, 750W, 80 plus Gold ->> brought specifically for this new pc.
> Looks like I'm gonna test it with another one which I ordered ->> Gigabyte GP-P750GM, 80 PLUS® Gold, 750W, PFC Activ.


I dont think its about PSU, cause motherboad has own components to set voltage like a mosfets, regulators etc. not using directly PSU.


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## zfi (Apr 28, 2021)

I had a horrible noise coming from the motherboard, near the CPU. I finally solved it just by setting some BIOS settings. Disabled C-states and some other settings and now it's gone 

I wrote a quick guide if it helps anyone: https://randompctips.blogspot.com/2021/04/how-to-get-rid-of-coil-whine-by.html


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## Asryan (Apr 28, 2021)

What are the drawback of disabling turbo and Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology ? does it means the CPU will remain at max OC all the time?


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## zfi (Apr 28, 2021)

As far as I understand, they only slightly increase the power spent when the CPU is idling. But I might be wrong. Also, my setup is not overclocked, and I'm not in that game. So I cannot tell how it will affect a heavily overclocked system...

There might be a better combination of settings, some of those might be possible to enable without coil whine. I haven't gone through all the possibilities. I'm just happy the noise is gone!


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## Asryan (Apr 28, 2021)

I have my cpu OC at 5hz all core ( 9900k) if someone can tell me what would change by disabling it 

Thanks


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## zfi (Apr 28, 2021)

The BIOS itself had some descriptions on each of the settings. Try checking there. You might also just try it out and see what happens. No point disabling it if it doesn't even help in your case.


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## Asryan (Apr 28, 2021)

By disabling turbo, now my CPU is capped at 3.6ghz, what should i do to keep my oc?


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## zfi (Apr 28, 2021)

You got rid of the noise? I'm afraid it looks like a tradeoff between small performance improvement vs noise.


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## Asryan (Apr 28, 2021)

I haven't really checked.

just without EIST, the noise is still there.

But i won't run my cpu at 3.6ghz instead of 5ghz, that's not a solution for me no point having a 9900k if it's to have it run at 3.6 
Is there a way to OC without turbo boost?

BTW what's the difference between speed shift and speed step?


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## patomack (Oct 16, 2021)

Hey all, I'm having similar issues on my setup. MB is only noisy when moving the mouse around.

I duel boot both windows and linux. This is only an issue on windows for me.


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