PC emits a whistling sound during 3DMark testing.
PC emits a whistling sound during 3DMark testing.
I’m just starting out with benchmarking and decided to try 3DMark because it was affordable at $4.99 on Steam. After launching it, I selected the "Run 3DMark" option and checked the welcome screen. Then I started the primary tests, which initially worked fine but soon produced a strange whistling noise from inside my computer. I’m confused about what could be causing this and have no idea why it happened before. I quickly closed the program and left the benchmark. Since I’m not familiar with the process, I’m wondering if I overheated or if something was wrong with my setup. I’ll share my specs here if anyone finds it helpful, but I’d like to resolve this issue before doing more tests.
You don’t have to be concerned about coil whine—it won’t harm anything—and the 64 setting doesn’t affect performance.
To the best of my understanding, it doesn't harm the card. Based on my GPU's core clock and voltage settings, my 980 might produce some coil whine. If this doesn't appear in games, I shouldn't be concerned. Should it happen during gameplay, you can attempt to tweak your overclock settings and observe if it impacts performance. The software itself likely isn't responsible for the issue. Running the GPU at full capacity—what benchmarks do for strength testing—can trigger coil whine because the power delivery system gets fully taxed.
It doesn't occur in games. I'm unfamiliar with this concept before. Yet I was caught off guard by its appearance in Ice Storm, the weakest test case. My computer runs smoothly during games, but I suspect benchmarking is more challenging than expected. I'll just disregard it for now unless it escalates. Thanks!