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GPU coil whine can be heard through HDMI connected to TV

9K views 30 replies 9 participants last post by  mrplow999 
#1 ·
Hello everyone!

First post here. This subforum seemed like the most appropriate for my problem. You guys are my last hope figuring out this headache of a problem I have with my setup (see attached image). Also, another link to my earlier Reddit post where the video with sound is located which demonstrates my problem ( /r/pcmasterrace/comments/hlmcmr/hooked_up_pc_to_my_living_room_tv_but_weird_noise/ )

The setup
I have a GTX 970 which is connected to my Sony Bravia TV through HDMI. From the TV I use a 3.5 mm Jack to RCA split cable to deliver audio to my Mackie studio monitors.

The problem
I can say 100% that the noise you can hear on the video linked above is coil whine coming from the GPU, put my ear right up against it. The higher the framerate the worse the whine becomes and only goes away if nothing taxing is running (like browsing the web, clicking about Windows etc.).
Also, this only happens when using the speakers, no noise whatsoever when I use headphones.
The PS4 and the Switch does not have this problem, only my PC. Even when someone's watching TV and the HDMI from my PC is connected to the TV and I'm playing some game, the whine can be heard, does not matter if the active input on the TV is the PC one.

What I tried

  • Plugging everything into the same wall socket, the issue persisted
  • Tried using my monitor, HDMI in, 3.5mm audio jack out to RCA, the issue persisted
  • Tried lifting the ground on one of the speakers with an adapter, the issue went away, but only in the lifted speaker
Thoughts on possible solutions

  • New speakers? New TV? New cable?
  • Ground loop isolator? If it's a ground loop problem at all?
  • New GPU? Dying? Faulty coils?
I'm honestly out of logical ideas. Thank you for any help!
 

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#2 · (Edited)
We may need to restate the problem.
Coil whine is a mechanical noise and if associated with high-performance graphics use, it should still make the mechanical noise whether you use speakers or headphones.
Where are the headphones connected? The PC, or a headphone jack on the Mackie speakers?

The fact that it goes away when using headphones, and behavior changed when changing the ground on the speaker implies another source of noise over the speakers, which may be independent of coil whine.
Can you describe in more detail how you affected the ground on 1 speaker (what was the adapter?) and the state of the other speaker? Is that something that can be replicated for the other speaker?

When the HDMI is connected from the PC to the TV, and the TV's input is not the PC, and that other input is silent (not muted, but maybe paused), will playing a game on the PC generate sound on the Mackie speakers?
If yes, then you seem to have some radio noise generated by the video card picked up by the audio circuits of the TV or Mackie speakers. Is the PC case all metal, or see-through?

Hello everyone!
The problem
I can say 100% that the noise you can hear on the video linked above is coil whine coming from the GPU, put my ear right up against it.
Also, this only happens when using the speakers, no noise whatsoever when I use headphones.
The PS4 and the Switch does not have this problem, only my PC. Even when someone's watching TV and the HDMI from my PC is connected to the TV and I'm playing some game, the whine can be heard, does not matter if the active input on the TV is the PC one.

What I tried
  • Tried lifting the ground on one of the speakers with an adapter, the issue went away, but only in the lifted speaker
 
#4 ·
I'm sorry, I would have sworn that what I'm hearing here is coil whine, my audio experience is very limited.



We may need to restate the problem. Coil whine is a mechanical noise and if associated with high-performance graphics use, it should still make the mechanical noise whether you use speakers or headphones.
Where are the headphones connected? The PC, or a headphone jack on the Mackie speakers?
When I use headphones in front of the TV I connect them to the headphone out on the side of the TV, the same output I connect the Jack to RCA cable which then goes into my speakers. My speakers don't have any outputs.


The fact that it goes away when using headphones, and behavior changed when changing the ground on the speaker implies another source of noise over the speakers, which may be independent of coil whine.
Can you describe in more detail how you affected the ground on 1 speaker (what was the adapter?) and the state of the other speaker? Is that something that can be replicated for the other speaker?
I lifted the ground loop with adapters (see attached image) on both speakers successfully eliminating the aforementioned noise. This is only a temporary solution sadly, since as far as I know, lifting the ground is a very bad idea.




When the HDMI is connected from the PC to the TV, and the TV's input is not the PC, and that other input is silent (not muted, but maybe paused), will playing a game on the PC generate sound on the Mackie speakers?
If yes, then you seem to have some radio noise generated by the video card picked up by the audio circuits of the TV or Mackie speakers. Is the PC case all metal, or see-through?
Yes, it definitely will make noise. My SO was playing some game on the PS4 while my PC was still hooked up to the TV with the HDMI cable, I started a game and the noise instantly started.
I tried eliminating the TV as the culprit by connecting the whole setup to my HDMI capable monitor which has 3.5mm jack audio out. This noise also comes through the monitor. So it must be something with the speakers.
Also, the PC case is all metal, except the front panel which is full plastic.

Hesitated on buying an AV receiver and using the optical out on the TV and connecting the speakers to the receiver, but it seems like overkill for a problem like this. I'd never use a full-fledged AV receiver's functions. Maybe going some kind of cheap audio kit route? I'd rather not throw away my trusty Mackies though.

Thanks for your help!


Are your speakers active or something? If lifting the ground solves it on each speaker why not just do that for each speaker and all it good? This can be a difficult problem to solve so I'd take whatever solutions you have that are working.
Yes, these are active studio monitors each plugged in to separate wall sockets. As far as I know lifting the ground permanently is a very bad idea, for safety reasons, that's why I haven't done it yet. Was I misinformed?
 

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#3 ·
Are your speakers active or something? If lifting the ground solves it on each speaker why not just do that for each speaker and all it good? This can be a difficult problem to solve so I'd take whatever solutions you have that are working.
 
#9 ·
How do you watch live TV? Cable, cablebox, sat., antenna?
 
#14 · (Edited)
I have the same problem. Here's a previous post describing it, some things I tried, and a workaround for my particular use case. In my testing, it seemed to be related to power consumption or clock speed.

One thing I found that does reduce coil whine a lot is to limit the GPUs power draw in its software. As a test, I limited power draw on my card to 50%, and it reduced coil whine by a lot. While it would obviously reduce performance in gaming and other maximum use cases, in this sort of video processing use case, I found it was still plenty powerful. The difference was with power not limited, it seemed to quickly ramp up, get a task done, then ramp back down, repeatedly, which contributed to those coil whine spikes. At 50% power, it wouldn't ramp up and down as hard, while still easily completing the task, so coil whine was reduced a lot.

I still have a small amount of coil while that gets into the audio through the HDMI output of the PC. I haven't tried a cheater plug yet, only for safety reasons, but that may turn out to be the only way to eliminate that. I tried running a wire from one of the power supply screws to the Signal Gnd on my AVR, but it didn't seem to help. I'm not 100% sure my connection to the chassis was good with that screw, so it's probably worth my investigating further, or maybe I should just bite the bullet and use a cheater plug.
 
#16 ·
I have the same problem. Here's a previous post describing it, some things I tried, and a workaround for my particular use case. In my testing, it seemed to be related to power consumption or clock speed.
Thank you! I might just try this one, maybe it alleviates some of the problem.


This is something to watch - Note that when the cable is not connected to the video card, but connected to the TV, if you touch the header, an audible analog signal travels down the cable, to the TV (or PC monitor) and makes it to the analog stereo output to play on the Mackies. Is that the video card or the TV? Is it the cable?
BTW, if not done yet, try replacing the HDMI cable or swapping with one from the game consoles which doesn't exhibit this problem, and verify if the problem persists. Sometimes symptoms like these can be caused by a bad cable.

Is the TV plugged into the same socket/ground as the PC? Can it be, to test that it's not a grounding issue between the TV and PC? Preferably with the Mackies as well. At this point I don't expect much, but it's an easy thing to check/eliminate as a variable.
Is there a store that you can get an open-box video card, or one with a decent return window?
Another thing to test is whether or not another pair of powered speakers/monitors has the same problem.

Are you using balanced or unbalanced inputs to the Mackies? If there are both, can you try to use the other one than you're using now?
Is that the video card or the TV? Is it the cable?
This what I'd ask too. I tried swapping HDMI cables, thought maybe the current one was low quality, did not solve my problem.

Is the TV plugged into the same socket/ground as the PC? Can it be, to test that it's not a grounding issue between the TV and PC?
This was one of the first things I tried, about a month ago or so, because I thought my problem was related to some kind of grounding issue. It did not change a thing unfortunately.

Is there a store that you can get an open-box video card, or one with a decent return window?
I could use the 14-day return policy that every EU country needs to have on most of the things you order online. But I might just replace the GPU anyway soon when next-gen comes anyway.

Another thing to test is whether or not another pair of powered speakers/monitors has the same problem
Yes, this one I will try next time my friend comes over, I'll ask him to bring his pair of speakers.

Thanks for all the help philpoe, but honestly, I'm tired and I've mostly given up on this.
I will continue to use my monitor as my display or just buy a bigger one, hell, might just buy a big second TV and be done with it. Maybe a local audio specialist could solve my problem easily if they would have a service like home audio troubleshooting or something.
 
#18 ·
I have a Hum X coming in tomorrow. Will report back here with the results.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Last I looked into it, my understanding was Hum-X is not UL (nor CSA) rated so your safety is in question just like when you use a 3-prong to 2-prong "cheater" for the same purpose. They may insist you are safe, assuming their product does not fail, but a third party testing organization has not.

Aron7awol, please look at the product and packaging carefully and let us know if anything has changed.
 
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#21 · (Edited)
I was aware of it not being UL rated, and I was (somewhat) okay with that, but I didn't realize it only works if a cheater plug works.

I already tried a cheater plug on the PC and it didn't help, so I canceled the Hum X order.
 
#22 ·
Would that coil hum be an intermittent?
Assume I really don't know much (anything!) (It's magic! right?)about how this all really really works

From my HTPC, I use a Fury 18.4 Gig Key splitter connected to the Nvidia 1030 (fanless) card to put the audio to my X5200 and the video to my 4K TV, all using high rate HDMI cables.

When my minidsp 2x4 is conncted to the HTPC via USB for access to the software for ( ch-ch-ch-changes) real or imagined,
when moving the mouse I can hear a veru detectable background hum . . . when BASH 300 amps have become active due to signal input
but
When the minidsp is powered thru a connection on the smart strip

no humming while mousing about with the amps lit up or not.

I have the feeling this is not quite the same problem as is being discussed here but it may be related . . .
somebody here knows what they're talking about
like many things in life, including humming, timing is everything
 
#23 ·
In my case, it is a high-pitched noise, not a hum, almost like a repeated squeak, which seems to occur as the video card draws power. If I leave the settings at default, it is really bad, as it ramps up and down. If I change the power target to 50%, it doesn't ramp up and down nearly as much, peak power draw also goes down, and the noise is massively reduced. If I underclock the GPU as well, it seems to reduce it even further.
 
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