Thread: Computer Issue

The whine noise you hear when using USB devices (usually noticed with mouses). Is due to the motherboards power delivery system design for the usb bus powered devices.

Things to try to get rid of it:
-plug mouse into different bank of USB ports (note usb ports always come in pairs, use a different pair).
-try to identify where exactly it is coming from. It most likely is a capacitor exhibiting coil whine (a sign of aging or bad caps, though could be normal as well) Once identified inspect for damage or 'bulging' or burn or goo marks mostly on the top of it.

If it is indeed coil whine due to poor USB power delivery it is your motherboard going bad (unless its always done this which can sometimes be the case and then its normal).



Now for your sound issue. As your headset is USB. This could be drawing too much power from the USB power delivery system and causing the issue to start with, or it did the damage, or it might have just been the last straw on the camels back so to speak and made the problem start.
USB headsets do not utilize onboard sound or sound cards, and process the sound themselves......

Thanks for your first suggestion rush but I think you missed where I said the sound issue occurs for both my on-board sound and usb headset.

Just to be outside the box (literally), what do you have your rig plugged into? Is the outlet on the wall a three-pronged type of outlet? If so, have you tested to make sure you have a solid working ground?

Not having a ground can cause all kinds of weird little anomolies......especially interferance which will result in different whines and odd noises.

Originally Posted by gehn

Thanks for your first suggestion rush but I think you missed where I said the sound issue occurs for both my on-board sound and usb headset.

Ah your right I did miss that bit.

Well.... you could also just determine if it is indeed power delivery issues on your motherboard then the problem is more widespread than just the USB subsystem and is affecting the onboard sound chips as well.

overall i'd say your mobo is exhibiting issues (or the possibility exists that its your power supply as well). Only really way to be sure is swap out components or if you have a lot of electrical knowledge use a multimeter..... etc. etc.

Originally Posted by dex71

Just to be outside the box (literally), what do you have your rig plugged into? Is the outlet on the wall a three-pronged type of outlet? If so, have you tested to make sure you have a solid working ground?

Not having a ground can cause all kinds of weird little anomolies......especially interferance which will result in different whines and odd noises.

It's a modern apartment so its all 3-prong and all my components are plugged into my UPS. http://www.apc.com/products/resource...otal_watts=200

Originally Posted by gehn

It's a modern apartment so its all 3-prong and all my components are plugged into my UPS. Buy APC Power-Saving Back-UPS Pro 1300 - Technical Specifications and Information | APC

MMMMkay. It just needed to be ruled completely out, first. No sense in taking the side panels off if there were no ground as it would just be a wild goose chase.

It could still be a grounding type of issue, though. Maybe at the psu or mobo level since it affects both your soundcard and usb slots.

Just for shits and giggles, you could try directly grounding your box. Just take some wire (if you have access to some) and find a metal spot on or in your case to attach it. Maybe run it in and out of a couple/few vent holes (bare, stripped copper, of course) or pinching it between your side panel and case body, and then wrap a bunch of it around a plumbing fixture so as to get a solid ground. Then see if it still making noises. If not, you know it is a grounding issue.

Sounds like capacitor or coil whine. Bad or cheaper caps/coils tend to make high pitched whining when in use. I had some graphics cards that had some cheaper coils that had some whining. It didn't have impact on the performance, and it typically didn't whine unless under load. It very well could be your PSU or your GPU whiling. Not sure why it would do it, but maybe it is a sign that your PSU needs to be replaced if it is that annoying to you. Try to narrow it down a bit more. Here are videos of both a PSU and GPU with coil whining issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4d23F2jehQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP73edpQwgc

In terms of goo, I've honestly seen more capacitors "take a shit" than "throw up".