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.

[damian_arg]

Well, my case has a bit of soundproof and it definitely helps, I can recommend it as long as you have good airflow but the whining it's certainly there 😞

Now that they got the boot times right, they haven't published any bios updates for a while. I still get stupid crazy ramp ups in heat and voltage as well that are unnecesary, so far default to maximum 1.513V recorded on HWMonitor but perhaps this is to do with PBO as now I have set it to the default auto. Games just kept crashing on either 20,25 or 30 curves for me I cannot be bothered anymore.

If the problem remains unresolved I may have to get rid of it and get something else. Sadly not many boards provide the options as this one anymore and you have to spend a fortune on something that works like that..

[Rag2]

I changed my case today, I bought a Fractal Design Mini silent and unfortunately, it's not enough to cover the noise. The case is very well built, before the coil whine starts, there is absolutely no noise at all. But once it starts, silence is over.  It seems there is no solution for this noise.

[ruip]

I have a Dan Cases C4, and the noise is very audible there (no tempered glass panels in this case, the side is perforated aluminum).

For now I am stuck with this, since I bought CPU and motherboard separately and only noticed the noise after the MB the return period had expired.

I am a long time Asus costumer (had very good experiences with their products in the past: think 2000s and 2010s). For this motherboard, I had some faith it would be top tier quality, or very near to it. Adding to my faith, was the premium marketing and pricing on this product.

For now, since I can't return it, I will wait and see how the company responds to this issue (if at all).

I will surely be voting with my wallet, and with word of mouth as well. I can't in good conscience recommend Asus products if they let costumers down this way.

[booya]

The thing is that you need to block (put up a shield) the ventilation holes on the front of the case, but so that the air still flows.

There is a photo, as it was done on the example of one PC case. That is, in theory, from above and below the air will freely enter the case. However, I don't know anything about how this attenuates the noises in question. It will definitely muffle, but by how much?

[Rag2]

It seems I finally found a fix for that issue, so far I have not heard the coil whine for 2 days of use. I replaced my Corsair PSU with a Seasonic, the G12 GM, same power (650 W). It's a bit more noisy than the Corsair (well, you have to pay attention, but Corsair was totally inaudible) but no more this horrible noise, what a relief !!

I hope this might help other users.

[damian_arg]

I'm surpsiesd you managed to contain it somehow or get rid of it.

I tried with 2 power supplies already and same whine coming from the motherboard. Waiting on a possible bios patch for it.

[ruip]

I really hope this is not what is happening in my case, since I am using a ROG Loki 850 platinum (self described as "The Quietest SFX-L PSU") ...

[Rag2]

Maybe my issue was something different, maybe I got lucky, I don't know. What I know is I had during 3 weeks a noise, clearly annoying, coming from the motherboard and I searched and tried to fix it with different solutions (changing CPU cooler, changing fans, tweaking different options in the BIOS such as voltage, etc .., changing case and finally changing PSU). The last one worked for me and I am sharing my experience. This noise was really annoying  and I hope everyone who is experiencing it will find a solution.