I’m back once again trying to just get this system functional. If I had the cash I would probably just throw this entire thing in the dump and start over.
Since you probably don’t know what I’m talking about, this is the previous thread with the full story. http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=1644035&high=
 
Once I removed the 3^rd hard drive I was completely in the clear. This lasted for 1 month, although I was forced to keep my CPU clock at stock (3.3 – 3.8 Turbo) clocks. When I tried a mildly aggressive clock at 4.2 it froze again in less than a day. It was obviously a power supply problem, being that either I was maxed out, or the PSU was mislabeled/faulty. It shouldn’t be losing so much capability since it’s only about a year old.
 
For a full month I never saw an error, or heard that horrible sound. That sound is the worst thing known to man. It haunts me in my sleep. My paranoia told me to keep an ear out for it at all times. I was finally easing up. And then it happened again. I was watching a video, and made it almost an hour and a half in when suddenly…BZZZZ….I couldn’t tell if I honestly heard it right. I tried to convince myself that the movie had a weird drum roll in that scene, and I was just being paranoid. BZZZZ…Again, 5 minutes later, but the scene had some sort of plastic film being moved, so I convinced myself it was just another weird sound from the movie. Then it happened once more. BZZZ…I knew I was hearing it right this time. There was no plastic wrap, or drum roll, and I was paying attention this time. The sound is back.
 
I restarted my computer hoping that would at least let me finish my movie uninterrupted before I went on my quest for a new component. I set the movie back to where it had left off. 3-4 minutes later….BZZZ…Oh my god…It had never happened this fast even when it was at its worst. It’s taunting me right now. I’m afraid to finish my movie even though it only has about 10 minutes left. I want to test it on another movie, or try a game, but that sound. It makes me think of how a demon would torture his target, knowing he doesn’t have to harm the target physically, but just drive him insane.
 
So what should I do now? Well I’m currently looking at new power supplies. I don’t really know what to get. I’m staying away from Kingwin, since it seems they have faulty products manufactured in the 5^th level of hell. I hear cooler master has some nice ones but are there any other brands I should look at? I don’t want to spend much more than $200-$250 max.
 
There’s a slim chance this won’t even fix the problem. It could be the Motherboard, or even the CPU. If that’s the case I’ll just have to RMA them and be without a system for how many weeks.

What is this sound you are talking about? Does it come from the speakers and then goes away? Or is it from the PSU?
 
Try hard resetting your BIOS and put everything manually back to stock and see if that helps.

Blizzie


What is this sound you are talking about? Does it come from the speakers and then goes away? Or is it from the PSU?

Try hard resetting your BIOS and put everything manually back to stock and see if that helps.

 
It comes from the speakers. Its hard to explain even though i hear the noise in my head as i type this. It reminds me of an interference sound. Like when you hold a cell phone to a speaker while it rings (No my cell phone is nowhere near it). It hits in short bursts, barely a second long. Sometimes this sound would continue until i shut the system down, which always indicated a hard system freeze. I still haven't had any freezes, but i figure its only a matter of time now. I havent reset the bios on this board before so I'll give it a go and see what happens. 

Reinstall your sound drivers. The sound port might be going bad or the onboard chip itself.

Are the speakers hooked up to ports in the rear or front of the case?  Front panel audio cables are usually not shielded very well and can cause quite a bit of added noise, but I can't imagine that being a cause for hard lockups.
 
I hate to tell you to just replace parts until you figure it out but I can't think of much else to try that is free.
 
First I'd suggest to look and make sure there's no damaged wires anywhere.  Damaged wires could be causing poor power delivery to something, causing parts to act up.
 
Second maybe make sure there's nothing being grounded where it shouldn't be.  Especially since something is causing this sound to go through the speakers.
 
Third, I suppose it could just be a bad power supply.  I have no experience with Kingwin, but if they are as bad as you say then you might consider replacing it, or finding out the proper way to test voltage and make sure they are all within spec.  I like Corsair but I hear Antec is another good brand.  Silverstone might be another brand to consider but the lack of an on/off button on the PSU itself might be a bother for you.
 
And yeah maybe try to reset the BIOS just to play it safe.  Perhaps also update all the drivers you can.
 
Just trying to think of some suggestions to try before shelling out more money on another power supply.

I would definitely try resetting your sound drivers. If that doesn't work check your speaker cables or try a different input.

If it is your power supply grab a corsair it's the only way to go. Kingwin are garbage the only reason I've heard of then is I've just read how crappy they are.

I would say it's a fan, but if it's coming from the speakers, you could probably disconnect them from your analog ports, and it should stop.  Thus proving the theory that it is your onboard soundcard.  If it doesn't stop, then ya, it's something else...
 
I would also check your realtek driver and hardware/audio manager...  Maybe you have something in the settings set wrong that's causing the issue.
 
BTW, I doubt your mobo or processor will making buzzing sounds unless it's about to go nuclear-blast on you...  As trivial as I am making it, it's not going to happen...
 
Since your system is so heavily air-cooled, my money is on a bad fan for the moment until you get back with a new update...  Your system is left on 24/7, so that would seem resonable--I skimmed your old threads on the same problem...

There's a well known issue where Realtek audio does not play well with nvidia cards 400 series and up, due to the sound built in to the card for the hdmi port, and it seems ASUS mobo's have this issue more often than others. Most people having audio issues with them get a soundcard, and disable onboard sound. You'll find their sound quality to be considerably better. I use a 30 dollar Soundblaster on my rig, and it sounds much better than onboard.
Also I'd agree the Kingwin psu's are mostly junk, get a Corsair, and that'll be much better quality, and will cure psu related issues you may be having...
Another thing to try: unplug the audio cable from mobo that feeds front panel audio ports. Some case companies ground them to the front usb's causing a ground loop with certain configurations.

Well I reset my bios last night. I’ve yet to hear the sound or see any errors. I watched the movie Heat almost all the way to the end with no problems. I’m wondering, or maybe just hoping, it’s just that other movie I was watching. That’s doubtful, but who knows anymore.
 
I’m not going to reinstall my sound drivers until I hear it again, but I don’t think you all understand the issue. The sound isn’t the real issue. The sound is a symptom of a much bigger problem. Before I removed my 3^rd hard drive, that sound was like a code saying “your system has frozen, or such and such program is about to crash”. It got to a point where it would crash any game I played, and freeze when attempted to play certain ones. It also made the sound on every movie, which would eventually freeze the video. I would be unable to move my mouse to try anything, so I would be forced to manually reset the computer. I also received several blue screens, which mostly tells me this is a hardware issue. One of these blue screens killed my Corsair RAM, which is one of the reasons I believed it was a memory issue a long while back.
 

thegardentool
 

 I hate to tell you to just replace parts until you figure it out but I can't think of much else to try that is free. 

 
 
This is what I may need to do…
 

neal0790
 

If it is your power supply grab a corsair it's the only way to go. Kingwin are garbage the only reason I've heard of then is I've just read how crappy they are. 

 
 
The power supply is just the next logical step in replacement rounds. I replaced my RAM after this evolved into an even more common thing, and eventually blue screened multiple times, killing my old RAM. Since the issue was gone for a month, I believed it was either the power supply was not giving me enough juice, or the hard drive is seriously messed up. I don’t need a 3^rd hard drive though, It was just a carry-over from an old system so I could transfer some things.
 

Hawaiiboi808
 


Since your system is so heavily air-cooled, my money is on a bad fan for the moment until you get back with a new update...  Your system is left on 24/7, so that would seem resonable--I skimmed your old threads on the same problem... 

 
 
 
I have 3 monitors. The 3^rd monitor is on the other side of the room, and is much larger. I use it for movies and sometimes games. Because of that, if I sit facing my other 2 monitors and the computer, this 3^rd monitor is at my back. That’s where I have my speakers as well. The sound is coming from behind me at that point, meaning the computer is not actually near the sound. Unless the fans are drawing too much power for some odd reason, I don’t think it’s the source of the problem.
 
 
 

Is the one across the room hooked via hdmi? And is that what you normally use for sound? Read my previous post about this. If the answer to these 2 questions is yes, your issue is as I explained, and your crashes are caused by onboard sound not playing well with the video card's audio. (Regardless which you're connected to)... Picture them both as Boxers fighting to win/control, they take each other out. That 'Demon Sound' is them fighting, mobo can't take it, gets confused, end result: hard lock, or crash.

HotRodPolk


Is the one across the room hooked via hdmi? And is that what you normally use for sound? Read my previous post about this. If the answer to these 2 questions is yes, your issue is as I explained, and your crashes are caused by onboard sound not playing well with the video card's audio. (Regardless which you're connected to)... Picture them both as Boxers fighting to win/control, they take each other out. That 'Demon Sound' is them fighting, mobo can't take it, gets confused, end result: hard lock, or crash.

 
Yes the monitor is connected via HDMI, however I'm using speakers and a sub, not monitor audio. I guess I could try a $30 sound card but its another power drainer, so I still might get a new PSU pretty soon. But if this is the case why would it get so much better after removing a hard drive? 

Not sure about that one, unless your mobo has 2 sata controllers, and the third drive was connected to the second controller. (not too likely). Makes more sense that either that hdd has issues of it's own, or the power consumption lowered enough with the removal.
Is that third drive formatted in a previous build? Say XP? If so, that may be part of it.
 For some reason, I thought you had an Asus mobo. Looking at the nets for others having issues with your board...

HotRodPolk


Not sure about that one, unless your mobo has 2 sata controllers, and the third drive was connected to the second controller. (not too likely). Makes more sense that either that hdd has issues of it's own, or the power consumption lowered enough with the removal.
Is that third drive formatted in a previous build? Say XP? If so, that may be part of it.
For some reason, I thought you had an Asus mobo. Looking at the nets for others having issues with your board...

 
I do. I just havent updated my mod rigs pic in a long time. Its an Asus P8-Z68V Pro 3rd Gen. 
The 3rd hard drive was the main and only drive in an old Vista setup. Its literally the only thing I have left from that old setup. Of course it was never loaded on this system as a primary, and once I moved all my stuff to the second drive I formatted it immediately. 

one post about audio issues w/that mobo:http://www.overclock.net/t/1097243/asus-p8z68-v-pro-audio-problem-help-plz

HotRodPolk


one post about audio issues w/that mobo:http://www.overclock.net/t/1097243/asus-p8z68-v-pro-audio-problem-help-plz

 
Pretty close to my build but his issue seems different and more constant, while mine is louder, happens for a couple seconds, and used to follow or happen right before serious problems. So far it hasn't happened again. 
 
I'll put some money in the bank tomorrow so I guess I'll end up ordering a few things over the weekend. That really sucks. I was also saving to get a new 680 card so I wouldn't need 2 cards for all 3 monitors. Plus SLI can do weird things to some games like Skyrims AI, and some like Alan Wake aren't even setup for it.  I'll bet 1 680 even uses less power than 2 560TIs. 

Is your memory on the support list for that mobo? And what driver are you using for the vid cards?
First, I'd get a new psu, since yours is questionable, preferrably a Corsair AX series, or Seasonic:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015&Tpk=ax-850
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151102
Either will eliminate possible power issues, and are 80+ gold certified. Both are top tier psu's, and are highly recommended.

Steyr84

HotRodPolk


one post about audio issues w/that mobo:http://www.overclock.net/t/1097243/asus-p8z68-v-pro-audio-problem-help-plz

Pretty close to my build but his issue seems different and more constant, while mine is louder, happens for a couple seconds, and used to follow or happen right before serious problems. So far it hasn't happened again. 

I'll put some money in the bank tomorrow so I guess I'll end up ordering a few things over the weekend. That really sucks. I was also saving to get a new 680 card so I wouldn't need 2 cards for all 3 monitors. Plus SLI can do weird things to some games like Skyrims AI, and some like Alan Wake aren't even setup for it.  I'll bet 1 680 even uses less power than 2 560TIs. 

Agreed, but given 600 series relative newness to the scene, brings issues of it's own to the table, therefore I'd get current issues cured before adding to the mix...

HotRodPolk


Is your memory on the support list for that mobo? And what driver are you using for the vid cards?
First, I'd get a new psu, since yours is questionable, preferrably a Corsair AX series, or Seasonic:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015&Tpk=ax-850

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151102
Either will eliminate possible power issues, and are 80+ gold certified. Both are top tier psu's, and are highly recommended.

 
Both my old Corsair Vengeance and the new Gskill Ram are on the list. My current card drivers are 296.10. I heard that 301.42 was pretty bad (or maybe it was another, I cant keep up sometimes), so i decided not to update till they got the bugs figured out, and I don't really like doing beta drivers. 
Those prices aren't too bad. I think I'll stick with 850W as my minimum though. And your probably right about adding a new card into the mix...

I'm going to LMAO literally if all this additional expense doesn't help Steyr84's situation.  The reason why is because the focus has now shifted from his audio to his memory, and now suggestions of purchasing a new PSU.  What's next after that? Get a new mobo?  Following after that, get a new processor...
 
Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to sound negative or offend anybody righteous attempts to help Steyr84.  I just dislike the whole idea that we need to persuade a member to go on a shopping spree, at their expense.  Of course Newegg or PerformancePC or Tiger or Bestbuy will have a big smile, and this could help the economy in a small way.   The method or approach of fixing a problem blindly by just replacing physical parts without fully understanding the issue doesn't sit well with me.  Furthermore, I don't feel Steyr84 is following our suggestions, or doing enough to help us better understand the source of the symptoms and the problem more.  I admire HotRod's determination to help, but I'd be really surprise if this actually works--don't take offense to this comment.

Thing about ASUS is there are SOOO many settings in bios that have to be configured correctly to get that sucker in line. Do you have latest bios installed?
In device manager, try disabling the HD audio controllers one at a time, should be 3, the first should be onboard, other two are for each card. When you see which is onboard, disable the other 2, and the audio conflict should be gone. (No longer have sound to 3rd monitor)...Also get latest update for realtek audio from ASUS. 

Hawaiiboi808


I'm going to LMAO literally if all this additional expense doesn't help Steyr84's situation.  The reason why is because the focus has now shifted from his audio to his memory, and now suggestions of purchasing a new PSU.  What's next after that? Get a new mobo?  Following after that, get a new processor...

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to sound negative or offend anybody righteous attempts to help Steyr84.  I just dislike the whole idea that we need to persuade a member to go on a shopping spree, at their expense.  Of course Newegg or PerformancePC or Tiger or Bestbuy will have a big smile, and this could help the economy in a small way.   The method or approach of fixing a problem blindly by just replacing physical parts without fully understanding the issue doesn't sit well with me.  Furthermore, I don't feel Steyr84 is following our suggestions, or doing enough to help us better understand the source of the symptoms and the problem more.  I admire HotRod's determination to help, but I'd be really surprise if this actually works--don't take offense to this comment.

 
Haha, I see your point, but I was already dedicated to buying a new PSU before i started this thread since I believe its still my #1 logical choice for troubleshooting. I'm not going on a shopping spree lol. Wish I could . I can agree that none of us, especially me, fully understand the issue though. There's just a few things I either can't communicate properly, or others just don't understand. But HotRod's been really cool trying to figure out whats up here. 

Hawaiiboi808


I'm going to LMAO literally if all this additional expense doesn't help Steyr84's situation.  The reason why is because the focus has now shifted from his audio to his memory, and now suggestions of purchasing a new PSU.  What's next after that? Get a new mobo?  Following after that, get a new processor...

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to sound negative or offend anybody righteous attempts to help Steyr84.  I just dislike the whole idea that we need to persuade a member to go on a shopping spree, at their expense.  Of course Newegg or PerformancePC or Tiger or Bestbuy will have a big smile, and this could help the economy in a small way.   The method or approach of fixing a problem blindly by just replacing physical parts without fully understanding the issue doesn't sit well with me.  Furthermore, I don't feel Steyr84 is following our suggestions, or doing enough to help us better understand the source of the symptoms and the problem more.  I admire HotRod's determination to help, but I'd be really surprise if this actually works--don't take offense to this comment.

Me, I would have gotten a Gigabyte mobo to begin with and we wouldn't be having this conversation...Pro-V's have lots of quirks, from what I've been seeing...

Matt, can you point us to that bulletin about conflict with card audio and onboard realtek?
Edit: Nevermind, found it:
http://www.evga.com/support/faq/afmmain.aspx?faqid=59211
Read this, it'll explain it better than I can...

Alot of the guys who had similar rigs, and similar issues, use a Soundblaster X-Fi card to skirt the issue which started with the release of the 400 series cards...Honestly, alot of games are designed to run X-Fi for the superior positional audio. Realtek just doesn't cut it... 

HotRodPolk


Thing about ASUS is there are SOOO many settings in bios that have to be configured correctly to get that sucker in line. Do you have latest bios installed?
In device manager, try disabling the HD audio controllers one at a time, should be 3, the first should be onboard, other two are for each card. When you see which is onboard, disable the other 2, and the audio conflict should be gone. (No longer have sound to 3rd monitor)...Also get latest update for realtek audio from ASUS. 

 
Im guessing the onboard controller is PCI bus 0? I have 3 and they are simply 0,1,2. I havent updated the bios since I installed it maybe 5 or 6 months ago. I'll have to try it later because I have to leave soon. I've got a long night ahead of me . When I get back I'll look into both a sound card and power supply. 
 
Its also telling me I have the latest drivers. 

Steyr84

HotRodPolk


Thing about ASUS is there are SOOO many settings in bios that have to be configured correctly to get that sucker in line. Do you have latest bios installed?
In device manager, try disabling the HD audio controllers one at a time, should be 3, the first should be onboard, other two are for each card. When you see which is onboard, disable the other 2, and the audio conflict should be gone. (No longer have sound to 3rd monitor)...Also get latest update for realtek audio from ASUS. 

Im guessing the onboard controller is PCI bus 0? I have 3 and they are simply 0,1,2. I havent updated the bios since I installed it maybe 5 or 6 months ago. I'll have to try it later because I have to leave soon. I've got a long night ahead of me . When I get back I'll look into both a sound card and power supply. 

Its also telling me I have the latest drivers. 

Okay, I know what you mean about long night, I'll heading out around 8 to go perform downtown, I won't be home til 5 am. I do this every night plus walk 6 miles each way...Long night indeed...

Well I'm back. Sorry it took so long to update. Since I disabled those other audio controllers I haven't had that noise anymore. I've been pretty busy so I haven't been able to order a new PSU yet, however I managed to get ahold of an old sound card for free. Its 10 years old, but I remember that old PC having amazing sound back in the day. Its an Audigy 2 sound blaster,SB0240. It looks to be in great condition besides being a little dusty when i found it. Should I try it and see if there's any changes?
 
I also picked up an old set of speakers and woofer that were just so incredible. When my neighbors were being annoying I would crank them up and everyone would go inside lol. 
 
Also here are some pics. Yes it was dusty, no it isn't anymore. 

 

 

Steyr84


Well I'm back. Sorry it took so long to update. Since I disabled those other audio controllers I haven't had that noise anymore. I've been pretty busy so I haven't been able to order a new PSU yet, however I managed to get ahold of an old sound card for free. Its 10 years old, but I remember that old PC having amazing sound back in the day. Its an Audigy 2 sound blaster,SB0240. It looks to be in great condition besides being a little dusty when i found it. Should I try it and see if there's any changes?

I also picked up an old set of speakers and woofer that were just so incredible. When my neighbors were being annoying I would crank them up and everyone would go inside lol. 

Looks good, should work fine for you. It's more or less the upline unit of my series card. And I figured the audio conflict was your issue, glad it's working right now. When you get your card installed, disable the onboard controller altogether.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_Blaster_Audigy_2

HotRodPolk

Steyr84


Well I'm back. Sorry it took so long to update. Since I disabled those other audio controllers I haven't had that noise anymore. I've been pretty busy so I haven't been able to order a new PSU yet, however I managed to get ahold of an old sound card for free. Its 10 years old, but I remember that old PC having amazing sound back in the day. Its an Audigy 2 sound blaster,SB0240. It looks to be in great condition besides being a little dusty when i found it. Should I try it and see if there's any changes?

I also picked up an old set of speakers and woofer that were just so incredible. When my neighbors were being annoying I would crank them up and everyone would go inside lol. 

Looks good, should work fine for you. It's more or less the upline unit of my series card. And I figured the audio conflict was your issue, glad it's working right now. When you get your card installed, disable the onboard controller altogether.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_Blaster_Audigy_2

 
Well I've finished installing it. Drivers took longer than i thought it would but everything is working great so far. I'm even shaking my windows with the bass as we speak lol. Quality has GREATLY improved as well, even before I plugged in the new speakers and woofer. 
 
I still wonder why after I uninstalled the 3rd hard drive the problem completely disappeared for a month. I wont be installing another drive anytime soon but it kinda has me worried that I added a new component. I hope it doesn't go back to those hard freezes that used to occur.
 
I guess only time will tell. I'll keep an ear out for that noise again. Might be even more annoying with this great quality lol. 

Well I just had my 1st freeze since I disabled all the audio controllers and installed the sound card. I didn't hear the usual noise but I wasn't doing anything to produce audio. I was just browsing the web before I opened steam. Right after steam opened I got a hard freeze (the kind where you cant even move the mouse cursor), and after a few seconds I was able to move the mouse, but not do anything. I guess I'm back to it being a power supply issue...