ROG STRIX B650E-I: Coil whine?

[karakartal3]

Hi everyone,

I built a new PC and I'm experiencing terrible coil whine when booting into Windows 11. It almost never stops, even when idling on the desktop. It gets noisier when moving my mouse or scrolling a web page. If I have to describe the noise, it is like a mechanical hard drive writing on the disk, or like a cricket chirping continuously.

Here is my build:
- Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B650E-I (BIOS version 0821)
- CPU / Cooler: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X / Noctua NH-L12S
- Memory: 2 x 16 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5-5600 CL36
- Storage: 2 x Samsung 980 Pro 500GB M.2 NVME SSD
- Power supply: Corsair SF600 80+ Platinum
- Monitor: Dell U2720QM (plugged via HDMI for 4k60hz)
- GPU: None

Some details:
- I didn't mount the motherboard to the case yet, as I wanted to make sure everything is working before doing so.
- Only the ATX24_1 (24-Pin), EPS_1 (8-Pin) and the CPU fan are connected. On the I/O panel, I have the HDMI and a USB receiver for my keyboard and mouse.
- When I boot on the BIOS, there isn't any noise. I kept the BIOS open for about 15 minutes to check if everything was OK. All components were recognized without issues. CPU temps were between 40-55 °C, which seems pretty normal for a 7700X. Still no noise.
- I have Ubuntu installed on the second SSD, and the coil whine is less present when booting on it. It is still there, but not as much as when I boot on Windows 11.
- The noise seems to be coming from the CPU area, I assume the VRAM area on the left? Difficult to pinpoint with the CPU Cooler on top.

What I already tried but with no change:
- I made sure that the PSU is plugged into a socket with proper grounding, separate from other components.
- I verified the CPU fan doesn't touch anything. And it looks like there isn't a VRAM heatsink fan, or the BIOS doesn't recognize it?
- I tried disabling C-State on the BIOS, but no change.
- I tried undervolting in the BIOS (Precision Boost Overdrive), but no change.
- I tried to change "The Acoustic Noise Mitigation" in the BIOS, but couldn't find the option.
- At first, I thought it was one of the SSD, but I checked them separately, and they weren't the culprit.
- This is my second motherboard. I thought I was unlucky with the first one (same model) and replaced it with a new one.

Did anyone else experience this issue? I'm not sure what else I can do for decreasing the coil whine, or make it disappear if possible.

[hollywood]

try 1.2volts in the bios.

[wildman99]

What specific setting(s) should be configured to try the "1.2V" in the bios?

[papaBeastwood]

I have the same issue with my ASUS ROG strix b650e-e motherboard. I hear this noise when the system is idle, around the cpu and the same noise around the PSU as well which is a Seasonic Vertex GX-850W. 
CPU is: AMD Ryzen 7 7900X / Noctua NH-U12A

Have you found any solution to the problem since then? Thanks!

[Edelf]

Hi, 

I'm also having this problem. I cannot tell if the coil whine is coming from the CPU or VRM, but it's annoying.
It only happens in the OS (tested only in windows 11) with low/medium loads.

Tested with:
- EXPO on and off
- PBO on and off
- CO on and off
- ECO mode one and off
- PPT 175w, 200w

Here is my build:
- Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B650E-I (BIOS version 1222)
- CPU / Cooler: AMD Ryzen 7 7950X / EKWB AIO 240 D-RGB
- Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  <-- Happens regardless of memory timings/EXPO
- Storage: 1 x Samsung 990 Pro 1TB M.2 NVME SSD
- Power supply: Corsair SF750 80+ Platinum
- Monitor: Gigabyte G34WQC (plugged via USB-C to DP)
- GPU: None

[CUBIC-FILM]

Any update on the B650E-I coil whine issues?

My board is a bit chirpy in 105w eco mode. It's not terrible and I haven't tried the voltage offset or other bios tweak workarounds yet.

[wildman99]

I can stop the idle coil whine (for a while) by simply enabling or disabling the iGPU in device manager.

It only lasts until the next reboot or comes back after a while without a reboot (day or so). So then I flip the enable/disable again (if there's coil whine and it's enabled, I disable; enable if it's disabled) in device manager.

[Edelf]

@hollywood Could you clarify your comment please?

I've tried setting "CPU SOC Voltage" to 1.25v but that didn't help.

Or are you talking about CPU Core Voltage?

[Silent_Scone]

Silent_Scone

Super Moderator

‎

Hello, some points below:

1) PSUs produce their own coil whine. How much depends on the quality, type, specs, and size of the components used.

2) The graphics card, motherboard and VRMs also produce coil whine, or otherwise inductor noise. Again, how much depends on the quality, type, specs, and size of the components used.

3) Interaction between the PSU and components can result in louder coil whine.

4) Coil whine is related to frequency and current.

5) Rapid changes in current demands (such as rapid load modulation when transitioning from low power state) is a major contributor to piezoelectric noise (some capacitor types are more prone to this).

6) As ripple frequency and other sources of power related noise can impact the level of coil whine, some combinations of psu and graphics cards may exhibit more noise than others. For a vendor, it is very difficult to account for all permutations because cost is a factor if you want to increase resilience to coil whine. There is only so much a vendor will or can do.

7) As current plays a part, the amount of audible whine will vary from system to system.

[Silent_Scone]

1) PSUs produce their own coil whine. How much depends on the quality, type, specs, and size of the components used.

2) The graphics card, motherboard and VRMs also produce coil whine, or otherwise inductor noise. Again, how much depends on the quality, type, specs, and size of the components used.

3) Interaction between the PSU and components can result in louder coil whine.

4) Coil whine is related to frequency and current.

5) Rapid changes in current demands (such as rapid load modulation when transitioning from low power state) is a major contributor to piezoelectric noise (some capacitor types are more prone to this).

6) As ripple frequency and other sources of power related noise can impact the level of coil whine, some combinations of psu and graphics cards may exhibit more noise than others. For a vendor, it is very difficult to account for all permutations because cost is a factor if you want to increase resilience to coil whine. There is only so much a vendor will or can do.

7) As current plays a part, the amount of audible whine will vary from system to system.

[valigp]

I agree with everything you mentioned. However, there is one specific behavior that doesn't fit in any of those categories. The ROG Strix B650e-i doesn't have any coil whine during changes in current demands  or high power demands. The coil whine appears only during steady state low power demands. I'm talking less than 2W on the CPU and less than 17W on SOC, according to Ryzen Master. The moment I start moving the mouse, the coil whine is gone. I got 3 samples of this board(through RMA) and they all have identical coil whine in the exact conditions. Just to make sure it's not caused by the PSU or GPU I tried with different PSU/GPU vendors as well, but no change. I also tried a different motherboard vendor with the same HW components. That one did not have any coil whine. So, it's clearly something that ROG Strix B650e-i is more prone to, as many on Reddit have reported.

Asus has been able to resolve this for other boards in the past with a BIOS update: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?123459-Fix-to-coilwhine-on-Maximus-Hero-XIII

Not sure if a VRM controller workaround to adjust the idle state would be possible with a BIOS update.

[Edelf]

@Silent_Scone 

You can see my specs on my first post. 

I have no GPU and a platinum PSU which is not the source of the coil whine. 

The rapid change in load doesn't apply either since this happens when the system is idle.