Buzzing sound with GPU under load

[Entreri]

Hello everyone,

I have a Denon AVR 4700h hooked up to a computer through HDMI (on a Geforce 3080), playing audio on a 7.1.2 system. Movies play extremely well and it's a pleasure to listen to concerts. The problem is when playing games and having the GPU under heavy load, there is a very annoying buzzing sounds coming out of the LCR speakers. Muting the speakers makes is easy to play with settings to try to get rid of the buzzing because then only the buzzing is audible, but, nothing works. The best I can do is put all graphic settings and resolution to very low and the buzzing decreases, but never goes away.
I've tried multiple Nvidia drivers, doesn't make a difference.
I've tried changing audio format to every option Windows 11 has, 16bit, 24bit, DTS, Stereo,... doesn't change a thing

Anyone has an idea to solve this?

 

[dolynick]

Sounds like it's an issue with noise rising in step with power consumption/load.

This shouldn't be the case and I can't say that I've ever noticed the same when gaming on any of my HDMI connected HTPCs (not that I do a lot of that anymore).

It might be a problem with the card. Do you have another you could swap to test with in a basic way? You could also try a different PSU in the PC but that might be a longer shot.

 

[Entreri]

Don't have a spare card layong atound unfortunately, and this one is watercooled with hard tubing, would be a pain to swap.
If you think the card is the issue, is there a way to get the sound processed separately with an external unit of some sort? A DAC maybe?

 

[dolynick]

You can use the TosLink included on most motherboards and soundcards for up to 5.1 non-HD multichannel (so no DTS-MA, TrueHD or Atmos). It might be worth a shot to just do a quick two-channel test to see if the noise is gone via a connection not from the GPU HDMI.

I'm not aware (off hand) of a USB based device that supports multichannel and the surround sound codecs. A miniDPS Flex HT will do 8 channels over USB but that's still just 7.1 and does not support Atmos, or other HT codecs. HDMI may be the only practical way of passing something like Atmos for 10 channels as you require. Perhaps someone else reading knows of a USB device that might work though.

 

[dolynick]

If you haven't tried this yet, try turning on VSync for games or imposing an FPS limit in the NVidia driver.

I would expect this to apply more to physical buzzing/whine from the card, but it's worth a shot. Try limiting to 60Hz and see if it stops. If that works and your display supports 120 Hz or higher, try moving up and seeing if it comes back at the higher rate.

This is effectively limiting the load on your GPU without reducing quality. An FPS limit avoids some of the lag of just turning on VSync and is targettable if you need. It will still allow tearing and that sort of thing though.

 

[Entreri]

I had tried Vsync and FPS limiting, didn't change anything. The frequency change to 30Hz brings it down to a small hum barely noticeable unless you're next to the speakers. So I'm going to keep it like that together with the Nvidia Studio driver from 2022 I found improved the buzzing as well. Games say the driver is not compatible but they work fine.
I honestly don't notice a difference between 30hz and 60hz (it's a laser projector)

TosLink is the same as through HDMI, so I kept HDMI. This makes it even weirder though, how can the GPU under heavy load generate interference with the Optical port??

 

[dolynick]

TosLink is the same as through HDMI, so I kept HDMI. This makes it even weirder though, how can the GPU under heavy load generate interference with the Optical port??

Is there a reason why you're using the studio driver? If it's 10 bit color for video, the game ready drivers allow a 10bpp output now as well. The studio driver is more for 10bit support in specific applications (photoshop, etc).

Coming through TosLink as (while I agree, bizarre) suggest this is systematic and not the GPU. My guess is you still had the HDMI cable connected for video though. I would start looking at a ground loop or a PSU issue. Something that could affect all components. TosLink should be immune to ground loop issues but something must be creating the hum in the processed signal.

You don't happen to have input/recording devices set to "listen" in the audio section do you?

 

[dolynick]

You could isolate a ground loop issue by disconnecting the hdmi video cable while using TosLink for audio. If the hum stops, that's likely it.

If that is the case, you can either solve the ground loop issue or switch to a fiber optic hdmi cable.

 

[Entreri]

Can you elaborate on the ground loop suggestion? My receiver has no ground connection so I'm not sure I follow.

While googling info on nvidia drivers, the Studio drivers were apparently the last stable version of the game ready version, didn't see anything on the color settings, do you have a link where you found differences?

 

[TLS Guy]

Can you elaborate on the ground loop suggestion? My receiver has no ground connection so I'm not sure I follow.

While googling info on nvidia drivers, the Studio drivers were apparently the last stable version of the game ready version, didn't see anything on the color settings, do you have a link where you found differences?

I don't think this is a ground loop. I would bet that the issue is a poorly designed power supply.

Computer power supplies are all pulsed devices and not linear. I had a similar issue with my last HTPC build. I was with my eldest son in Microcenter, and he talked me into buying one of their branded power supplies. He told me they had rave reviews. Well when I had what you describe, I put it on the bench. Well as I suspected that power supply was junk and had an untidy output as the load increased. Luckily I have a test bay with instruments.

So that power supply came out, and when I returned it the guy told me those power supplies were being returned in spades. I bet the Mag reviewers had been wined and dined at top end restaurants and a back hander to boot.

So, I ponied up for a top end Aurum Gold, with a reserve of power, which is what I wanted in the first place. That unit has worked perfectly since, with zero issues.

A ground loop would be constant, and not power related. I feel pretty certain your power supply in that computer is junk. My HTPC and DAW have Aurum Gold power supplies.

 

[Entreri]

Well this actually all sounds very logical and might explain the noise on the TOSlink. I ll start shopping for a psu and will update any findings

 

[dolynick]

Can you elaborate on the ground loop suggestion? My receiver has no ground connection so I'm not sure I follow.

While googling info on nvidia drivers, the Studio drivers were apparently the last stable version of the game ready version, didn't see anything on the color settings, do you have a link where you found differences?

Studio drivers are more intended for professional use (IE Studio) as they have extra support for various design applications built in. Sometimes the extra support in the Studio drivers can actually cause some issues. Unless you have a specific need for the studio drivers, the Game Ready drivers are almost always the same or newer.

I agree that ground loop isn't the best fit here as it should be more constant rather than load based. I did suggest trying a different PSU as well because it does seem that this is clearly electrical related. I still suspect it's being passed down the electrical link established by the standard HDMI cable (even if not being used for audio in testing). I doubt the noise is actually in the digital signal itself. An optical cable would sever that link but if this is a PSU problem with dirty power it should definitely be addressed anyways as it won't be doing any of your component any favors.

Any gold level power supply from one of the leading suppliers should provide clean power. EVGA, Corsair, Seasonic are all very good. Asus and Silverstone should be solid as well. Gigabyte had some egg on it's face recently so they're a bit in the doghouse. XFG, Thermaltake and MSI are all established players in the market too but I haven't checked reviews on their PSUs in a while.

 

[panteragstk]

Well this actually all sounds very logical and might explain the noise on the TOSlink. I ll start shopping for a psu and will update any findings

What power supply do you currently have?

 

[Entreri]

I have a
Super Flower Leadex Platinum SE 1200W
I tried an EVGA I had laying around, no difference. Shall I try to purchase another one?

 

[panteragstk]

I have a
Super Flower Leadex Platinum SE 1200W
I tried an EVGA I had laying around, no difference. Shall I try to purchase another one?

That looks to be a solid unit, but it's also old. The review I found was 10 years old, so if yours has been in service that long, it's probably time to upgrade anyway.

EVGA is fine, but not great. If the same issue persisted, and it happens via HDMI and toslink (optical), then something else is going on. One is on the motherboard, the other on your GPU. I could maybe understand if both were onboard, but they aren't.

This is tricky.