I recently built a new PC, and I've noticed a high-pitched whining sound that occurs about every 8 seconds, lasting for the same duration. It's quite bothersome, especially when I'm not using headphones. I went for quality components, expecting a quiet build, but it seems noisy even at idle with the fans set to silent in the BIOS. My temperatures are within the normal range. I suspect the Arctic Liquid Freezer III might be the source of the issue, but I've heard good things about it and replacing it seems challenging. Does anyone have suggestions on how to address the whining noise or reduce the overall sound levels? Here are my specs:
* CPU: AMD 9800X3D
* GPU: ASUS TUF RTX 5070 Ti
* PSU: Seasonic Focus GX ATX3 850W
* RAM: 32GB DDR5
* Motherboard: ASUS B650E-E TUF Gaming WiFi
* AIO: Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 280
* Fans: 2 BeQuiet Silent Wings 4
* Case: Qube 540 Cooler Master
1 Answer
It sounds like you might be experiencing coil whine, which can happen with any electrical component. It’s often common in GPUs and PSUs, and the quality of the parts doesn't necessarily prevent it. Try to pinpoint where the whine is coming from. If it's too annoying, you may have to consider replacing that component, but be aware that a new one could present the same issue.
That's strange that you mention coil whine; both my GPU and PSU aren't spinning when idle either. I've noticed that the whining tends to disappear when I'm gaming, though.