Noise from the coil following the UEFI update
Noise from the coil following the UEFI update
I own an ASRock Z690 PG Velocita board that I purchased roughly a year and a half ago, paired with an Intel i5-12600KF which I also got new at the same time. My complete details are provided below. Recently, I chose to upgrade the UEFI to the latest version 21.01 (changing the CPU microcode to 0x12B) from the previous 20.02. I bypassed several beta updates. The update proceeded without issues, except since then, I've been noticing a persistent, somewhat constant coil whine coming from both the motherboard and CPU. This type of noise is permanent unless I switch between UEFI or the Windows login screen. From what I see, this change likely affected something, making the sound much more annoying. Testing methods suggest it's probably related to the motherboard or processor. In my troubleshooting, I disconnected everything except what needed to boot into Windows—just the PSU, CPU, RAM, and SSD. When I power on, the whine appears only when I enter Windows. The sound disappears with heavy CPU activity. During normal Windows use it keeps whining steadily, pausing only when CPU usage spikes. For a more reliable check, I ran a Prime95 test; the noise vanished when starting the program and returned when stopped. This pattern is consistent. I also tried the ASRock Phantom Gaming tool. Its settings were adjusted to performance mode, but it didn't start up with Windows, so I'm unsure if that helped. It didn't resolve the problem. Standard mode set to quiet and less frequent "creaking" appeared, though the noise returned when using my mouse, albeit softer. I experimented with mouse DPI and polling settings, tried various USB ports and hubs, but nothing changed the situation. Using this tool didn't reveal a link between these settings and the OC Tweaker options. I prefer not to tweak voltage levels, and adjusting clock-related parameters seems ineffective. Anyone have insights or solutions for this? I've filed a support ticket with ASRock already, but I don't anticipate a response within 24 hours. I've been working with PCs for about thirty years, so this issue is completely unfamiliar to me. Full system specs: Motherboard: ASRock Z690 PG Velocita CPU: Intel i5-12600KF GPU: XFX Qick319 Radeon RX 6750 XT RAM: 2 x 16gb Corsair Vengeance DDR5-5200 PSU: Be Quiet! 850 Watt Straight Power 12 Modular 80+ Platinum Audio: Creative Sound Blaster Z SE PCI-E Cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 A-RGB Case: Lian Li Lancool III OS: Windows 10 Pro
Have you considered lowering the BIOS settings? It’s possible the issue isn’t the BIOS itself but something else like the PSU or GPU. Since you’re hearing noise without a GPU, the power supply might be the culprit. A fan could also be the source. To pinpoint the problem, try using Spectroid on your phone to detect high-frequency spikes and move the microphone around to locate the origin—think of it as a fun little challenge.
I’ve actually reverted to my earlier BIOS version and am pleased to say the noise is gone. That sound was definitely noticeable before the update. If I have to attempt another BIOS update to see if it returns, I’ll definitely try Spectroid to investigate further. Thanks for the suggestion!
It's quite unusual. The BIOS update seems to be triggering coil whine. If I could demonstrate it, I'd contact support and say something like, "This is really strange, would you consider sending me a new board along with a return label? I could also forward this to the engineering team for review."
The only thing I can say is the new BIOS slightly adjusted voltage, current, and frequency. It seems to align with the coil’s resonance. This might explain why the whining happens during various operation modes. Even within the same model, differences in coil placement or setup could cause this issue. I’d reach out to the manufacturer to investigate and possibly fix it in the next update. Backward compatibility was once advised against unless a CPU change was planned, but recent BIOS updates have addressed security, heat management, and other concerns. Updating might be necessary even without obvious stability problems. Consider updating next time a new BIOS is released and be ready to revert if the problem returns.