Buzzing/Humming noise present when playing game

Silkdad · March 2014

I hear a strange buzzing/humming sound while playing the game. Changing the audio settings has no impact.

HenryH3894 · March 2014

"Hissing" "Static" noise as well? If so, are you sure it isnt present when even out of the game... cause that would be a sound card issue. ^^

Silkdad · March 2014

It only happens when the game client is running. Even if it's running in the background (and I don't have background audio selected). Only having a problem with ESO.

pgiambal · March 2014

Is there any chance at all that your system has more than 1 CPU socket? I had the same problem and it ended up being related to my system being multi CPU.

Silkdad · April 2014

No, only one CPU socket. It's very strange. It seems to only happen out of my analog audio output (to speakers). My USB headphones don't have the problem. I have tried lots of different things and it is definitely only happening when ESO is running. I tried other games, etc. Just ESO.

Eliry · April 2014

I have the same issue. You can easily hear some strange humming|buzzing especial is the game runs in backgound (with sound in background option disabled)

murklor007neb18_ESO · April 2014

Does it change in pitch with the framerate? Buzzing/hissing/squeeking is usually old capacitors on the motherboard or graphics card that give interference on your analogue sound. A USB headset would not have this problem as sound is processed in the software. Hearing it depends on the game as some are easy to hear it in and others impossible, easiest way to test is to download a 3D demo (HDR rendering, whatever) that doesnt have sound and fool around with settings to make the fps bounce up and down.

Censorious · April 2014

This game uses a lot of power and it tends to run the computer hot. So all your fans will spin up to full speed. That could be causing a mechanical vibration that translates into humming or buzzing through a slightly dicey sound card or a loose connection somewhere.

It might be worth taking a vacuum cleaner to your air vents and making sure all cards are properly seated and secure.

DeanGrey_ESO · April 2014

I have the same issue and it is certainly none of the suggested causes. Multiple ports have been used and it only ever happens during ESO with the exception of during ESO loading screens and the login screen. It has occurred since beta. It is clearly an ESO issue.

If others get the issue I encourage them to speak up.

DeanGrey_ESO · April 2014

If you set every setting to the lowest, the sound can barely be heard.

Saerydoth · April 2014

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coil_whine

It's probably from either the video card or power supply. It's usually not an issue. I get some light coil whine from my power supply when playing. This is more often a problem with high end gear...more current = more potential for vibration = more noise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP73edpQwgc

Socratic · April 2014

Was about to say coil whine but saer beat me to it. The only ay to try and get rid of it is by changing components, but that's expensive of course. I have it too, sounds more like a fan that anything electrical, but when I really get my ear stuck in I can differentiate between a fan noise and the electric vibration. Nothing to worry about of course, just annoying if you don't have a headset with big ear cups on.

kanebrewerb16_ESO · April 2014

I have this issue too!

This only occurs in ESO.

I use a Logitek 5.1 surround sound connected to a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio.

Works perfectly with every other game.

My Fan speed does not change when I play this game (mainly becuase I have them set at max speed at all times).

That said, ESO isnt that resource intensive, it probably uses 60% of my system resources. I have played much more intensive games and never experienced sound interference to this intensity before!

I have tried:
Checked all my cables for loops, tears or breaks.
Turned off wireless & mobile device within my house.
Updated my sound card drivers.
Reduced game settings to minimum.

In my eyes, this is an issue isolated to ESO. I shouldnt have too, nor how can I guarantee buying new hardware specifically for this game is going to solve the solution? I cant.

Saerydoth · April 2014

It doesn't always do this even in ESO. What I figure is, ESO is causing my GPU to pull *just exactly* the right amount of current, so the PSU is putting out *just exactly* the right amount to cause the coil to resonate. Basically, electromagnetic fields can cause vibration, and vibration manifests as audible noise. There really isn't anything you can do about this.

Sometimes just the right combination of things can cause the coil to hit a specific frequency, that resonates much easier than other frequencies. I think ESO just managed to get unlucky and hit the exact amount of power draw on high end video cards. This is an electromagnetic effect in the coil of the power supply itself, there is no way that a "bug" in software can cause this.

Reykice · April 2014

Its not that the sound is in the headphones... i have it too since today it was not present before.

Its not a PC hardware, the sound is in the headphones clearly noticed when ESO is started but alt tabbed. If i close ESO it stops.

Reykice · April 2014

Ok so i fixed it for me, this is how:

I have both a headset and a microlab 5.1 connected to my PC, i went to the "Sound" setting in Windows(i use 8.1), i selected the speaker and on the "Levels" tab i made sure that the "Rear orange in" and "Rear Black in" and so on are set to 0(they were at 100). Moving the sliders reduced all static until it went away as soon as i reduced the last one to zero.

Saerydoth · April 2014

Ok, you had a different issue then. In my case, the sound definitely comes from my power supply itself and is just harmless coil whine. The noise is annoying, but it doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with the hardware. It's just a consequence of how power supplies work (especially higher end ones).

ToBbErT · May 2014

I have exactly the same problem. I recently switched from onboard audio to a dedicated card becouse i thought it might solve anything but the buzzing is still there (only in eso). Strange ****

Niyogi · May 2014

I have this issue also. Its coming from my speakers, only when ESO is going. Doesn't have the sound during loading screens or when alt-tabbed. Its most noticeable during the character selection screen.

Audigy · May 2014

In the sound management of your windows, turn off everything except the output which you have your headphones / speakers plugged in. Maybe it works.

Loqe · May 2014

If you can, check the voltage of the DC/DC adapter for your speakers, you might get feedback static from there.

Saerydoth · May 2014

Niyogi wrote: »

I have this issue also. Its coming from my speakers, only when ESO is going. Doesn't have the sound during loading screens or when alt-tabbed. Its most noticeable during the character selection screen.

Yeah, that's not the issue I have (sometimes). Mine does not come from the speakers at all, it's coil whine from the PSU.

megatrondelux1b14_ESO2 · September 2014

I am having the same issue. I have a loud humming/buzzing noise only while playing ESO, and only while using my wireless headset. No humming or buzzing while using my surround sound or wired headset.

Elf_Boy · September 2014

A number of things can cause this kind of whine. Some have been listed up-thread.

Speakers/speaker wires, are very prone to picking up interference. It could be nothing to worry about.

What kind of monitor do you have? Please list each and every item within eight feet of the speaker that in some way uses electrical power, batter, power socket, anything.

How many watts is your power supply rated? What is your CPU type/frequency. What is your GPU type and memory size, how much system ram do you have and how many drives do you have in your system. One thing it could be is your power supply starting to fail if it is over 80% load (based on what equipment you have) you might want to replace it now before it goes bang-bang-bang like a bomb, fills the room with a burning plastic smell and scares the body fluids out of you.

methroixb16_ESO · October 2014

I've just stumbled upon this issue as well.
As soon as the game starts rendering in 3D i get a constant buzzing noise in my speakers (or headphones, depending on which I'm using). The noise is present even when I alt-tab out of the game (whilst in a 3D rendered environment) with "Sound in background" turned off.
This buzzing follows the volume control of my amplifier, but not the in-game control, and disappears if I mute my amp.

The noise is not present at login and loading screens, i.e 2D rendered screens.

The noise is also not present outside ESO, regardless of what I'm doing.
Diablo 3:ROS, Divinity: Original Sin, Guild Wars 2, Softimage, Photoshop, or whatever, none of these produces this buzzing noise.

methroixb16_ESO · October 2014

SOLVED (for me)

It seems I was wrong in assuming the buzzing noise only happened when playing ESO; it is present in all games, but it varies with the refresh rate. In Guild Wars 2 I've set it to vsync at 30Hz, thus resulting in the pitch of the buzz being a lot lower than in ESO (60Hz).

What I was right in assuming though, was that it is indeed a new phenomena.
To make a long story short I've gotten myself a new amplifier, which unlike my older one is grounded. I simplly lifted the ground on the amp, and now the buzz is gone.
(Actually I disconnected the ground in my DIY powercable, which is a lot easier than opening up the amp)

Tdunbug · October 2016

For what it is worth!

I had had the same above issue with a humming/buzzing sound in the background while playing. I discovered that the issue was a hardware/driver conflict. It turns out that I had three sound card devices enabled on my system. Strix, Realtek Audio and AMD Device. To resolve the issue I had to first go into my bios settings and disable Onboard Audio. This forced the system to use my PCI-E Strix card. Then I had to open device manager and disable all audio drivers(under "Audio inputs and outputs" and "Sound, video and game controllers" that were not related to the Strix card. This included AMD Audio device and Realtek Audio. Finally, I rebooted my system and presto! clean and clear sound from ESO. I hope this helps anyone else who has been suffering from this issue