Coil whine and heat spikes occur when overclocking.
Coil whine and heat spikes occur when overclocking.
CPU: fx8370
GPU: MSI rx480
Power Supply: Corsair Cs750m
Motherboard: Asus 970 pro gaming aura
Cooling: Cooler Master Hyper evo 212 (single fan setup)
Thermal paste: Generic Insignia (I know!)
RAM: 2x4gb ADATA XPG (Blue)
Recent updates: I recently purchased an fx8370 and tried overclocking. After 10 minutes, it reached 4.5ghz and remained stable at 45°C with a voltage of 1.43v using prime95. Initially, I increased the frequency by 0.01v each step from 4.3ghz, but only achieved one BSOD before that. Following the BSOD, screen freezes began. While checking temperatures, I observed a noticeable heat rise of about 5-7°C after eight minutes of prime95 and heard a coil whine. When the whine stopped abruptly, the screen froze. Upon inspecting my motherboard, I found the GPU covers on the SB950 chipset. Listening closely, the whine seemed to originate from either the chipset or the GPU itself. My suspicion is that the GPU might be the culprit, possibly due to the screen freeze. The GPU appears to be running at stock speed and hasn’t been overclocked. Could a GPU screen freeze occur during CPU overclocking? Is this typical? After ten minutes of prime95, it stabilized at 4.5ghz with 45°C and 1.43v, but the consistent coil whine persisted. Should I try again for an hour?
CPU model is fx8370, GPU runs MSI rx480, power supply Corsair Cs750m. Motherboard is Asus 970 pro gaming aura. Cooling solution uses Cooler Master Hyper evo 212 with a single fan. Thermal paste is generic Insignia (I’m sure of it). RAM setup is two 4GB ADATA XPG (Blue) modules. Recently purchased an fx8370 and tried overclocking. Achieved 4.5GHz for 10 minutes, stable at 45°C and 1.43V with prime95. Initially reached 4.3GHz, adjusting voltage by 0.01V each step. Experienced one BSOD, then screen freezes began. Monitoring temperatures showed a spike of 5-7°C after eight minutes of prime95 and audible coil whine, which stopped abruptly causing the freeze. Inside the case, on the motherboard and GPU covers, I suspect the SB950 chipset is present. Listening closely, I heard...
Coil whine usually points to the GPU, but I'm unsure why it occurs during peak usage when the GPU is nearly idle. The CPU fan might be the next suspect if you're confusing its noise with a coil whine.
Thank you for your prompt response. Initially I believed the issue was related to the thermal paste reacting to temperature changes. While examining the case, the noise appeared more concentrated around the GPU or the VRM where the GPU is placed. I recorded the coil whine using a stopwatch. When starting Prime95 (I consistently use Blend), the whine consistently begins after exactly 8 minutes. In unstable situations it halts suddenly, causing my screen to freeze instantly. After stabilizing for about 10 minutes at 1.43v and 4.5ghz, the whining persists and then stops abruptly, similar to before, except the screen doesn’t freeze or fail completely. I suspect this isn’t related to a fan; I also have a slightly squeaky CPU fan that occasionally bothers me, but a gentle tap resolves it. The noises differ. I use the whine during Prime95 testing to determine if an overclock is stable. If the whine stops suddenly and the screen freezes, the overclock is unstable. (I then adjust BIOS or increase voltage by 0.0.1). If the whine ceases and the screen remains stable without a core failure, it’s at least somewhat reliable, though the whining continues, stopping intermittently with no failures. During these periods, temperatures rise by 5-7°C and then drop by the same amount.
I have a CPU model fx8370, paired with an MSI rx480 GPU, powered by a Corsair Cs750m PSU. The motherboard is an Asus 970 pro gaming aura. I’m using a Cooler Master Hyper evo 212 with one fan. The thermal paste is generic Insignia (I’m sure of it!). My RAM is two 4GB ADATA XPG (Blue) modules.
I recently purchased this FX8370 and tried to overclock it. After 10 minutes, I reached 4.5GHz and stayed stable at 45°C with a voltage of 1.43V using prime95. Initially, I increased the frequency by 0.01V each step from 4.3GHz, but only achieved one BSOD before that. Following that, screen freezes began to occur. While checking temperatures, I observed a heat rise of about 5-7°C after eight minutes of prime95 and heard a coil whine. When the whine stopped abruptly, the screen would freeze. Looking inside my case, on the motherboard, GPU covers, I think the SB950 chipset is involved. By listening closely, it seems the coil whine likely comes from either the chipset or the GPU. My guess is the GPU might be the issue, especially since the GPU itself was running at stock speed and wasn’t overclocked.
Could a GPU screen freeze during CPU overclocking be normal? After 10 minutes of prime95, it stabilized at 4.5GHz with 45°C and 1.43V, but the coil whine persisted for about an hour. Should I try it again?
In short, CPU overclocking shouldn’t cause GPU coil whine. To rule out problems, save a BIOS overclock and reset it to defaults before testing again. Also, verify that your cache settings are stable—overclocking often leads to freezing if cache speed or voltage is off.
By the way, once I suspected the GPU was causing the whine, I changed it to see if that resolved the issue, but then realized it wasn’t the GPU at all—it was my PSU. Are you certain the coil whine is coming from the GPU? It’s usually normal, though not very loud, and can occur regardless of GPU brand.
I've been relying solely on the cpu multiplier, meaning only the CPU was overclocked. Nothing else like RAM or other components was boosted. I saw others make the same mistake about coil whine by changing the GPU, but it turned out the issue was with the PSU. My PSU is at least four years old, and I haven't upgraded it along with the other hardware—maybe I need a different one. I'm planning to settle for a 4.5GHz 12-hour stress test and then tackle the rest with a new PSU to see how it goes. Thanks everyone for your support.