Intel Core i7 920 Processor Whines - help!

[Lorenx]

Hello all,

I have recently built my pc based on a P6T deluxe asus motherboard and i720 processor.
Great performance but I have a problem that is curently driving me crazy.. che CPU whines, under some circumstances, more often than not, it emits a constant high pitched noise that gives me a headache (a real one not a figure of speech one).
For example, the OS loads (XP) and all is fine, then when I launch google Chrome the noise will start. (Interestingly Firefox does not cause the noise) Closed Chrome, the noise immediately ends. It is not only Chrome though, it happens frequently with other applications too.
Now I am not being too fussy here, the noise is really annoying.. I have 5 PCS at home and this one was supposed to be my pride and joy but it is happening to be a pain in the.. ears.
Since I found out that this could be a pyezoelectric noise caused by the CPU changing power modes I have then downloaded a program that does a stress test on the CPU and whenever the noise is audible if I launch the stress test (just one) it will actually go away.
Now that is handy but on the other hand it takes up a considerable amount of processing power when not really necessary and I would like to not have to do that.
Am I the only unlucky person to have this issue or is there anybody out there with the same problem, do you know what can fix it? I am thinking of placing my desktop into a soundproof enclosure.. just to get rid of that annoying piercing sound.

Thanks for your replies

[dicecca112]

Its not the CPU, its either the power subsystem on the motherboard or the power supply, which is indicative of a failure. Which one is failing is unknown

[Lorenx]

Its not the CPU, its either the power subsystem on the motherboard or the power supply, which is indicative of a failure. Which one is failing is unknown

Jeez.. that does not sound like good news then.. the motherboard is an Asus P6T deluxe and the power supply is a Corsair TX650.. Everything on this PC is brand new.
I might be able to swap the power supply soon with another one, so in case the noise persist after that does that mean that the mobo is faulty? Should I send it back or send the PSU back otherwise?
I read of many people having issues with intel CPUs noise (mostly on laptops) how come you exclude it 100% in this case?

[dicecca112]

You'll need to post the rest of the specifications of the computer you have. More than likely its the motherboard if your not taxing your Powersupply too much

[Lorenx]

sure

ASUS P6T deluxe motherboard
Intel i720 (SLEBJ) with stock cooler
Patriot Viper 6GB 1600MHz DDR3
Corsair TX650 PSU
2 x seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500 GB HD GB in raid 0
1 x WD 640 GB HD
ati X1800XL all in wonder PCI expr. vga card (temporary, to be replaced with HD 4770 soon)
3 fans on an Antec Three Hundred case

* oops and an LG SATA DVD RW drive

[InspectahACE]

I'm gonna put my vote on the motherboard. If I top out around 650 watts under load on my rig, I can't imagine he'd be taxing the power supply too much on that rig.(it's possible that it's defective though)..Try another power supply. if the noise is still there, then it's something else

[ibleet]

I agree. Your best bet is to swap out parts (if you have that convenience). Process of elimination is what I use.

Also, how good are your ears? Open the case and listen closely inside and you may be able to pinpoint the origin of the noise.

Power down a few of your fans to decrease background noise and remove any disc from the optical.

You may get lucky and find out its the video card that you're about to replace! Good Luck!

[Lorenx]

Just replaced the old vga with a more recent ati hd3870, no changes in the noise.
It is not the graphic card.. sadly
The noise is very difficult to pinpoint, as it has a very high frequency but it really does not seem to be coming from the PSU (which is mounted at the bottom of the case).
So if you are telling me that the i720 does not emit this annoying sound under any circumstance, I would say that the culprit is the motherboard. What should I do next? Can I RMA a mobo because of this high pitched sound it makes?

[InspectahACE]

I don't see why you couldn't RMA it. I've personally never heard a processor make a noise other than " POP!" ..While I may still think it's the motherboard , I also still believe you should try another power supply to rule it out. You never know, especially since the location of the noise isn't positively ID'd yet...I remember I replaced a PSU, and it turned out to not be the issue. Replaced the mobo and it worked...as ibleet mentioned, the process of elimination..it's PITA sometimes, but it's really the best way to go through it..

[Major_A]

My guess would be one of the power phases on the motherboard. What revision board do you have? If you can isolate the noise to a certain capacitor sometimes coating it in hot glue shuts it up.

[Lorenx]

the motherboard is an Asus P6T deluxe V2
I have tried a few things now and discovered that if I go into the Asus TurboV application (to overclock from Windows) and slightly increment the CPU voltage from 1.22 v to 1.23 v the noise will cease. Interestingly it seems that even when reverting to 1.22 v the noise does not come back.

[Major_A]

What if you set the voltage to 1.23V in the BIOS?

[Lorenx]

That was the next thing that I was thinking of doing.. I bought this processor with the intention of overclocking it to around 3.6 GHz which I believe should be achievable.
For that purpose I also have a Titan Fenrir cooler to install that will require me to take the motherboard out of the case, just being lazy at the moment.

Nevertheless if a slight increment of the voltage to the CPU fixes the noise, then it shows that it is the CPU to generate the noise or not?

[dicecca112]

to me shows its the motherboard. There is nothing in the CPU that gets to high enough voltages to cause a whine like this. I'd start with RMAing the motherboard.

[Apoptosis]

I'd unplug everything from the PSU and fire it up with the paperclip trick... Might be a bad component in the PSU that is getting ready to blow... I have had more than a couple whine before they blew..

[Lorenx]

Sorry what is the paperclip trick? Never heard of it..

I have also noted the following, when the noise was audible, the Vcore voltage (according to Speedfan) was around 0.96 v and would fluctuate between that value and 1v when launching other applications.
Now it seems to be stable at 1.22 v and there is no whine going on.
Is that voltage supposed to fluctuate (energy saving feature?) or should it be stable at all times?

Why are you guys categorically excluding the hypotesis of a piezoelectric noise? I found a lot of people on the web who had that issue with their intel cpus (on laptop when on batteries mostly) and also on Macs.

[bubba]

Sometimes people will refer to the case and all internal parts as the CPU. I have folks coming to me at work all the time and say "my CPU is rattling can you fix it" well a CPU can't rattle, a case panel/fan/loose drive can.

In all my years around computers I have never heard a CPU make a sound, well outside of a thump when I dropped one.

The hum will always be some other part of the system. I have power supplies that will have a hum/whine to them as they are dieing, but this is a very noticeable and annoying sound.

To jump start the PSU to see if this is your noise. First unplug all power connectors and from the wall. Then on the main 20/24 pin connector find the green wire (there is only one) shove one side of a paper clip into the pin for the green wire and the other side to any black wire. Plug it back into the wall, if your PSU is the prob you should still hear the whine.



If no noise, unplug from wall reconnect the to the motherboard, remove the video card, power up the system. If you hear the whine its the motherboard, if you don't hear it, the video card is the issue.

[Major_A]

I have a hard drive that whines. It's done it since day one so there are more components that whine. But I still think think this is a power phase that is acting up.

[bubba]

Whine from a drive, that'd be a new one on me. Other then the sound of spinning up I have had them click, sound like a box of rocks, sound like a angle grinder (old school 10K scsi hard drive)... no whine.

I hit up youtube on "hard drive noise" and found this vid of the ibook drive death, you can hear the heads drag on the disk... impressive

[Major_A]

Definitely not like that, I equate it more to a dog whistle. Very high pitched whine that if I get too close for too long it does give me a headache, well it compounds my typical headache.