Hardware Buzzing While Playing?

[Frag_Dad]

Hi all, I've posted this on the Steam forums too in case someone else is experiencing the same thing:

My copy arrived in the mail today so I've installed it and given it a quick play, but I noticed a worrying thing (that doesn't occur with any other game I've played, although I don't have a lot that really stresses my system): whenever the game engine is running (i.e. not in the main menu or cutscenes) a loud buzzing is coming from my tower.

I THINK it's from the video card, but it's hard to tell. I checked the temperature and it's only running at about 45 Celcius, although I was only playing for 5-10 minutes.

My system is:

Windows XP Pro
Core 2 Duo E8500
4GB RAM
Radeon HD 4850 1GB (Not overclocked)

It's above min. spec, although obviously not a beast.

As soon as I alt-tab or exit out of the game the buzzing stops, and promptly returns if I go back to it.

I've tried it with all settings set to low/off, and it still makes the same sound. However, if I set the resolution to 800x600 it becomes quieter (although still there).

I'm guessing it's got something to do with the video card trying to draw extra power, but I'm not really sure.

Does anyone have any clever ideas what might be causing it? I appreciate any help!

[LordWeasel]

It's most likely the capacitors on your graphics card that are vibrating at a certain frequency, creating resonance, and you hear that sound. I get in when I hit an extreme number of frames per second. For example in the main menu of Oblivion, I get well over 600fps and my GTX480 was literally screaming.

A PSU can also make a similar sound, and when it is constant no matter what you are doing, it can be a sign that the capacitors are dying, but my PSU has been doing it to a lesser extent (I can hear it if I lean in closely behind my computer) for almost 2 years now, and it's still working perfectly.

It can be very scary, and annoying, but it shouldn't damage your graphics card. I got rid of it by using an fps limiter. Or simply turning on vsync (effectively limiting fps to 60) worked as well.

If it doesn't help, you could probably get it exchanged rather easily if you still have your warranty. Since no card is exactly the same, it's very unlikely your new card would behave in the same manner. I used to work as a computer tech at a local chain, and we happily exchanged hardware that made that buzzing sound. While they're technically not faulty, they're not really supposed to make that sound either.

[INSTG8R]

Yep I think Lord Weasel nailed it. When a GFX card is allowed to run "uncapped" meaning no V-synch will really make your gfx card work really hard and usually results in the caps "screaming"