Computer making noise when playing games

No computer is entirely silent, but it should not be louder than your kitchen grinder machine. If you have to turn up your music to drown out the whirring or grinding noises made by your computer, you should look into it. It might be the first indicator of significant problems.

Knowing how to distinguish between different noises and what they can imply might help you rescue your computer. Or, at the very least, give you an unmistakable green light to get a new one.

Noise Problem That I Have Face

Whenever I play games on my computer, I hear a strange buzzing sound. It is loud enough to be irritating in games like Elden Ring and God of War (PC). The pitch of the buzzing varies depending on where I am with my character. When I glance at the ground, for example, the noise appears to calm down a little.

There is also a buzzing sound in the Control game, which leads me to conclude that this buzzing noise has nothing to do with the workload of my GPU. When I reduced the shadow settings in my games all the way, the buzzing seemed to go away after a few seconds.

Computer making noise when playing games

In terms of settings, I’m running Elden Ring at 1080p on all low settings to get 60fps. God of War (PC) is set to medium at 1080p to achieve 60 frames per second. Control is set at 1080p at 60 frames per second.

I’ve tried activating v-sync and limiting the frame rate to no more than 60, which in certain games reduces the sound, but the problem persists.

The buzzing sound is muted when the game is minimized since it does not occur when browsing the internet or watching movies on the desktop. The buzzing sound continues on some menus in certain games and ceases on others; it appears to be game dependent.

While searching on the internet I’ve found that several gamers have also faced these kinds of issues. Like:

  • Their Computer makes a loud noise or a beeping noise when playing games.
  • Another gamer reported that he heard a continuous beep when playing games.

In this article, I’m gonna guide you through your problems and how to solve those.

The main reason behind the Problem

Buzzing, Humming, and Rattling noises can be produced by various factors in a Desktop PC. There are several components that create noises in a PC. Such as:

Listed here below are some reasons and solutions for buzzing noises while gaming.

Coil Whining:

It’s most likely a “coil whining” problem. If the remainder of the hardware is cheap, such as a faulty power supply or motherboard, or if you are unlucky even with decent hardware, this might cause coil whining. Nobody can say for certain based just on the specifications.

On one computer, the same card can create coil whining while being silent on another. You could attempt an alternative version of this model, but I’m afraid it’s too late. I experienced the same problem with my GTX 1060 ti.

What Exactly Is Coil Whine?

On a technical level, coil whine is an unwelcome noise produced by an electronic component vibrating when power is passed via an electrical connection.

Coil whining may be created by almost anything with a power source, but it’s commonly caused by an electrical current passing through a power-regulating component like a transformer or inductor, causing its electrical wire to vibrate at a variable frequency.

This occurs in nearly all electrical equipment, generally at a frequency and level inaudible to humans, particularly within a metal or plastic PC chassis.

Coil whining isn’t something to worry about. Of course, it’s irritating, but it’s not like a rattling motor or a squeaky wheel—the noise is a result of your computer’s and graphics card’s regular operation. Coil whining does not affect the performance or longevity of your system.

A huge question can be whether it comes from the speaker or the computer. If your coil whining is coming from the speakers, which is unusual. Using a soundcard can be helped, but don’t use a cheap one. With a first-rate motherboard, power supply, and high-quality speaker arrangement, I no longer have coil whining.

How to make computer quieter when playing games

How to make computer quiter when playing games

Cleaning the CPU Fans:  

Try to locate the source of the noise, as it may be coming from the chassis/ CPU fans placed at the various sides of the computer case. However, if your side panel is see-through, you can easily identify any cables or anything else interfering with the fans. Just open the side panel and clean the fans. And see if the buzzing sound went away.

Changing the Speaker Cable: 

You can also bring your ear closer to the sound to see if it is coming from inside your computer or from the speakers. Speakers are designed to produce sound, but if you’re hearing noise from them even when your computer isn’t playing audio, something isn’t right. 

Check that the speaker cord is properly plugged into your laptop or desktop. You should hear a click when it’s fully connected, but sometimes you have to push it in to get that final millimeter in.

Whether it doesn’t work, you might try plugging your speakers into another device (such as your phone) to see if the sound remains.

The issue might be with your speaker cord, or it could be feedback from your PC’s internals, in which case a USB sound card, commonly known as a DAC, could assist. 

You might potentially be having a ground loop, in which case a ground loop isolator can help. I’ve even seen speakers pick up weak radio signals as a result of improperly insulated wires, which is a terrifying sensation.

Regarding the PSU: 

It can also be because of the Power Supply Unit (PSU). When you load a game, the PSU must give much more power to the GPU. The power requirement decreases as soon as you exit the game. 

So I’d wager that your power supply is on the verge of failing, and the buzzing is caused by a loose transformer within the power supply that is rattling around under increasing load.

Replacing CPU/ System Fan:

Insert your hand into the computer case and use your finger to temporarily halt the CPU fan. Is the buzzing going to stop? If this is the case, the fan blades are most likely rubbing against one of the cables coming to the motherboard.

Try to manage your cable to not touch the CPU fan. If it persists try to replace the CPU Fan or add a Liquid cooler.

You’d hear that on idle, not only when playing games, and it takes a few seconds for the CPU fans to spin down to idle after a game, so when you say: “As soon as I exit the game, the buzzing just disappears,” which does not accord with it being generated by the fan. Then you have to try other solutions.

Frequently Asked Questions:

My PC makes a buzzing sound when playing games with headphones. What to do?

The buzzing noise on your headphones that occurs when playing video games might be produced by several factors, the most likely of which is Electromagnetic Interference (EMI). Typically, it is caused by electromagnetic interference, and a high-quality DAC will assist you in eliminating this issue. If you have a modular cable on your Headphone try changing the 3.5mm cable to see if the problem is resolved.

Why there are Single or Three consecutive Beeping sounds when launching the game?

When you open a game, the three beeps signal that you have either Radeon Anti Lag or Radeon Chill active.

If you don’t have an AMD GPU then these beeping sounds indicate that you have a RAM/ Memory issue going on.

Why my Computer freezes and makes a buzzing noise when playing games?

If you regularly experience the ‘Freezing and Buzzing Noise Issue,’ you should clean your RAM sticks. This difficulty can also be caused by an error or malfunction in the connection. As a result, remove the RAM sticks from your motherboard and reinstall them properly to see if this resolves your problem.

If this doesn’t solve your problem try to remove any USB cable from your CPU. Another solution could be to apply a new thermal paste between your CPU & CPU air Cooler.

Conclusion:

PC gaming is an exciting hobby that demands gamers to be on high alert while devising plans and reacting to happenings in the game world. However, when there is a buzzing sound, it may be very annoying. As a result, try to find the source of the problem first and solve that accordingly. Hope my article helped you solve your buzzing problem while in a game session.

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