Strange Static Noise

[BrassMonk]

Hello,

Recently I purchased a Recoil Series: 17.3" laptop, the laptop is I believe in good working order. There does however appear to be a strange noise coming from the laptop when I play Football Manager 2020.

I've tried three different games: Outerworlds, Civ 6 and Football Manager 2020 and the latter is the only game to produce this strange static noise, bizarrely the noise is not constant and is generated when the game is processing a match or i'm on the 'tactics screen' of the game.

I have completed a host of different tests to see if i can stop this sound for being generated. I've tried installing the game on a different drive, changing GPU settings, changing processing power, nothing worked....until I tried running the game with the power connector unplugged. This for some unknown reason to me has stopped the sound!

Does anyone know why having my laptop plugged into the mains would clause this static noise to be present while playing this one game? And if so, please could they help me understand the following?

1) Is it harmful to the laptop in anyway?
2) How can i stop it?

Thank you in advance!

Edit: Just to add - the sound comes from the laptop, roughly the centre behind the keyboard and not the powerpack it self.

 

[Oussebon]

What is the framerate of football manager at the points you get the static noise?

You can use something like FRAPs or the steam overlay or Geforce Experience overlay to display this.

If it's a very high number, does the noise go away if you cap the framerate to 60, e.g. though any other in-game settings, or Rivatuner Statistics Service?

 

[BrassMonk]

What is the framerate of football manager at the points you get the static noise?

You can use something like FRAPs or the steam overlay or Geforce Experience overlay to display this.

If it's a very high number, does the noise go away if you cap the framerate to 60, e.g. though any other in-game settings, or Rivatuner Statistics Service?

Incredible! The game was peaking at 117fps and sure enough when at this peak level the noise was present. I've lowered it to 60fps and this has fixed the majority of the static noise, the only time I can hear it is during the use of the 3D match engine....something that I don't use often so i'm happy to ignore.

Thank you so much for your help and quick response!

Out of interest, is this a common problem/issue with games/frame rates these days?

 

[Oussebon]

I'm not sure if this was your issue to be honest.

I wondered if you were having coil whine, which at least in desktops you would get quite commonly if a game is running at ultra high FPS. e.g. When I fire up Napoleon Total War, I get 2500fps+ on the logo screens, and a little bit of coil whine.

You wouldn't really expect excessive whine on reasonable framerates like 117. What if you try another game and deliberately turn all the settings down, and disable vsync / frame rate limits, to see if you get the same issue when other games run at high FPS?

Do you have a 60hz or 144hz screen on the Recoil? out of interest.

I wouldn't consider the issue resolved. I'd try to establish whether it happens under any other circumstances, and then discuss that with PC Specialist.

 

[BrassMonk]

Hi, thanks for your reply.

Just tried two games, Outerworlds and Civ 6 and followed your steps.

Both games when allowed to run higher than 60fps have the noise - not as noticeable as the Football manager instance but it's still there. When i restrict the games to be 60fps the noise disappears.

I'm taking it that this shouldn't be happening? The Recoil is 144hz screen.

 

[Oussebon]

I'd consult with PCS. If it is coil whine then it's usually benign as far as I know, but excessive whine on relatively low FPS is still not something I'd find acceptable. You have a 144hz screen - you should at least be able to run games at that kind of framerate without the thing screeching at you.

Do you get the sound under any other conditions? e.g. if you uncap the framerate in The Outer Worlds + keep vsync turned off, turn all the settings up as high as they'll go, so that the system is under heavy load but the game running with sub-60 fps due to the high settings?

 

[BrassMonk]

I'd consult with PCS. If it is coil whine then it's usually benign as far as I know, but excessive whine on relatively low FPS is still not something I'd find acceptable. You have a 144hz screen - you should at least be able to run games at that kind of framerate without the thing screeching at you.

Do you get the sound under any other conditions? e.g. if you uncap the framerate in The Outer Worlds + keep vsync turned off, turn all the settings up as high as they'll go, so that the system is under heavy load but the game running with sub-60 fps due to the high settings?

Just tried Outer Worlds with your suggestions. The laptop fans kick in when running the game regardless of the graphical settings so trying to listen out for the whine is more difficult, I can hear a slight whine but nothing like I've experienced when running Football Manager.

I agree with your opinion regarding the whine, i'll get in touch with PC specialist regarding my concern.

Thank you for your help

 

[Oussebon]

No worries, Let us know how it goes