Why does DW make my video card squeal?

[XanderF]

As above - when playing DW, my video card emits this rather annoying high-pitched squeal. This happens in both fullscreen and windowed mode....but ONLY when there is no 3d window on the display. Going to the 'Options' screen is the most obvious way of seeing this. On the '3d' tab, when the preview window is up...no squeal. Switch to another tab, squealing. Back to the 3d tab...no squeal.

Something about how DW is doing the 2d interface display is NOT agreeing with my system. Strangely, I have no problem with 'pure' 2d games, such as the "Icewind Dale" titles. And using DXDIAG, both my DirectDraw and Direct3d tests complete with no errors or unusual sounds coming from anywhere.

I've tried playing with all the video card settings I can think of - alternate DVI modes, FSAA or Aniso on or off, desktop at 16bit/32bit, various mipmap and v-sync settings, etc - nothing having any effect at all.

Which is odd, as I have a BUNCH of games on this system, and have been using it to play quite an assortment of titles with no problems at all (and I'm not just a 'mainstream gamer' - I'm talking "Indigo Prophecy", "Falcon 4.0 AF", "The Longest Journey", "Silent Hunter III", "Morrowind", "Icewind Dale", "Pacific Fighters", "Tribes 2", etc).

It's DW, and DW *only* that appears to cause this issue. And the sound is definitely coming from the video card itself - even turning off my speakers and monitor, it's still clear as a bell.

System as follows:
AMD Athlon64 '3200+' (Winchester)
- ATI Radeon X800XT 256mb VIVO PCI-E video card
- ATI Radeon X800XL 256mb PCI-E video card
- Dell 2005fpw 20.1" LCD (DVI, VGA)
- NuTech L921G 19" LCD (DVI, VGA)
2gb OCZ PC3200 DDR
Jetway A210GDMS-Pro motherboard (ATI XPress200/Uli M1573 chipset)
Enermax Noisetaker 420w PSU
Catalyst 5.13 video card and chipset drivers
Windows XP Home SP2
ANYWAY, interesting addenda:

- FYI: Noticed this first on the retail 1.02 DW. Installed the 1.03 Beta patch, and that made no difference. Just eliminating it as a possibility.

- Recalled the similarity between DW and SC's engines. Hmm. So, I installed "Sub Command" and patched up to 1.08e. And THAT is working fine.

SO...how about THAT? Something in the 2d engine (not the 3d engine, that's fine - just 2d) that changed between "Sub Command" and "Dangerous Waters" is what is causing this.

Addenda #2 (new system! new OS install!!):
AMD Athlon64 X2 '4200+' (dual-core Manchester)
ASUS 'Silent'-brand ATI Radeon X1600XT 256mb VIVO PCI-E video card
Sony SDM-HS75P 17" LCD (DVI)
1gb PQI Turbo PC4000 DDR
Shuttle ST20G5 chasis+mobo (ATI XPress200/Uli M1573 chipset)
Catalyst 6.4 video card and chipset drivers
Windows XP Home SP2Yes, it squeals.

Interestingly - I got the squeal to go away on all the tested cards. If I *force* 4xFSAA and 4xAniso, it stops. Of course, that's not a valid solution, as FSAA is quite 'broke' in this title - periscope view goes all funky, flashing colors on the map displays, etc.

Further, the integrated graphics on my current system (the ST20G5) - using the onboard Radeon Xpress200 - has no squeal at all regardless of settings! And let's not suggest it's a fan on the video card - the Asus 'Silent' X1600XT has no fan on it, it's a passive 'heatpipe' card.

And, of course, on any of the cards, Sub Command (so very similar 'behind the scenes' to DW) is just fine - no squeal, any settings.

[TLAM Strike]

Maybe it is squealing because its really happy you’re playing DW?

Sorry that was a totally unhelpful post and I apologize… :nope:

Maybe its your fan? Does your Vid Card have a fan on it?

[XanderF]

Maybe its your fan? Does your Vid Card have a fan on it?

It does, but that is not the problem. I'm using ATI Tool to monitor temperatures and fan speeds, and both do not vary from other applications that work fine.

Besides, 3d mode stresses the card MUCH more than 2d mode does, yet all that I need to get DW to stop squealing is to have any kind of 3d window up at all. Periscope, 3d preview in 'options', etc.

ANYWAY, interesting addenda:

- FYI: Noticed this first on the retail 1.02 DW. Installed the 1.03 Beta patch, and that made no difference. Just eliminating it as a possibility.

- Recalled the similarity between DW and SC's engines. Hmm. So, I installed "Sub Command" and patched up to 1.08e. And THAT is working fine.

SO...how about THAT? Something in the 2d engine (not the 3d engine, that's fine - just 2d) that changed between "Sub Command" and "Dangerous Waters" is what is causing this.

[XanderF]

Additional update - as I'm selling either of these cards (http://episteme.arstechnica.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/57909216/m/248007896731), I DID have another video card handy to test this with - a Radeon X800XL.

Swapped the cards out, and re-installed the drivers, and...

Same thing. DW makes the video card squeal in 2d mode.

[Ramius]

Just a thought, but have you tried re-setting the clocks on both of these cards first ? rather than testing them when you have overclocked them ?

[XanderF]

Just a thought, but have you tried re-setting the clocks on both of these cards first ? rather than testing them when you have overclocked them ?

Stock clocks on both - same thing.

[drEaPer]

Hhahaha, I thought I was crazy and no one would pay attention if I tell ppl that my GPU on my grafx card itself is emitting high frequency noises!!

I have it too. Though I have to add, that I also found other games that do it, and sometimes, when there are many apps and windows oppened in my windows-gui it also starts to squeal. When I press the mouse button, it stops. Its also depending on where the mouse cursor is.
The noise can be a pain, as its a very high frequency...maybe 17-18k I would guess.

I also have an AMD + ATI, but an older card, the 9800Pro patched to 9800XT.


The other day I played a game in window mode (I dont know which anymore, maybe it was even DW) and when the mouse cursor was inside the application it made a low frequency noise, and the more I moved the mouse cursor closer to the edge of the window, the more the emitted noise's frequency tuned down, until the cursor left the window and was on desktop, where the noise jumped into a high frequncy again (exactly when the mouse cursor crossed the application windowborder. )
So when moving my mouse in and out of the window it sounded really odd.

At least I am not crazy. Maybe I should sue ATI...causing me headaches and maybe sending other unwanted wavelength into my body (I sit rather close to my pc with open case) :)

At least I now know I m not alone.

[XanderF]

Well, if you could get me the other apps that cause this - I could attempt to duplicate those, too.

As I mentioned, DW squeals, SC does not. Using ALMOST the same engine, too - just different versions. Which is beaucoup odd.

EDIT: ADDENDA

Just tried tinkering with settings again and I got the squeal to go away on the X800XL. If I *force* 4xFSAA and 4xAniso, it stops.

Note that these settings did NOT fix it for the X800XT, but it appears to on the XL. Go figure.

I mean, it was clear from the get-go the problem was some weird un-anticipated interaction between the video card and application...I just wish the details of that might be clearer.

And, of course, on either card, SC is just fine.

[porphy]

I have this problem as well. It got really noticeable with the 1.03b patch. First I thought it was the hdd. It makes me uncomfortable to have the card doinfg this noise.. what is happening in there? :o
Leadtek 6800GT latest drivers.

Cheers Porphy

[Deathblow]

Maybe its your fan? Does your Vid Card have a fan on it?

I have this problem.... :shifty: :nope:
Darn those Radeons, 2 cards bought... 2 cards fried....:damn:

[Zerogreat]

Just as i am thinking how a graphic card can squeal i am getting paranoid and starting hearing strange high pitched noise too, hehe :)
No, really, i find this interesting... did you also tried another resolutions? Are you sure it is a graphic card and not the power supply? My mind accepts squealing power supply easier than squealing graphic card :)

[Zerogreat]

Maybe its your fan? Does your Vid Card have a fan on it?

I have this problem.... :shifty: :nope:
Darn those Radeons, 2 cards bought... 2 cards fried....:damn:

Yeah, i had Radeon 9000 PRO and now have 9600 PRO. On both, the ventilators have gone bye bye after few months :) On the later one one of the ventilator flaps(??) just fell off (really, i didnt helped it..much :lol: ). Good thing was both of these cards have just small ventilators and they were able to hold for some time without them without melting :lol: Then i just glued one small 12V fan to the cards heatsink (this one, being like 5 years old, still works lot better than the default one which was on the card :yep: )

[cyberslicer]

Hi !

I can confirm the high pitch noice from my Radeon X700pro video card when I installed the 1.03 beta patch.

Had to roll back to patch 1.01 and then I have no noice from the video card.

Best regards

[porphy]

Hi
Yes, thats the same thing I experienced. Before 1.03b this sound was not present. XanderF describes the problem very well. It is related to the 2d interfaces. Hit f5 and its gone. It is not a fan sound, but I have no idea why it happens or how a gfx card can squeal at all... :88) I'm not totally sure if it is the gfx card, my first thought was on the hdd. Power supply? Perhaps, I have to put my ear close again when I'm home from work.

Cheers Porphy

[LuftWolf]

I'm going to PM Jamie about this thread, this is something SCS should be aware of and take a look at. :up:

Thanks guys. ;)

[Syxx_Killer]

This is one of the weirdest computer issues I have read about. I have an Abit Radeon RX700-Pro and haven't noticed any squealing noises. I run DW with 1.03 beta patch. Then again, I might not hear any noises at all because of the other fans. The darn thing sounds like an airplane or industrial fan. :lol:

[Pirate]

Hey guys,

I have not hearing any noises either and I'm using patch 1.03b

My graphics card is Ati Radeon 9200

[Wim Libaers]

Strange, if it's not a loose fan or bad fan controller. Power supplies and CRT monitors do that sometimes, but for a graphics card it's very bizarre.

[TLAM Strike]

If it happening with two graphics cards it may not be the graphics card. Do you have access to another brand of card like from a friend or another computer you own that you can run a test with? Its possable that its a HDD or another moving part.

[Fish]

Not that it helps, but i have no problems using 103 patch.
Radeon 9800 pro AGP, 128 mb.

[porphy]

It is really hard to pinpoint the sound, but for now I don't think it's the gfx card, but the hdd. As soon I get my ear too close to other things making sound (fans) I loose direction or it drowns it out. Really annoying high pitch sound, not very loud though, but still clearly there. Sounds unhealthy and as if something eventually will break... I have a Maxtor IDE hdd 120gb. Whatever it is, the 2d interfaces triggers it.

Cheers Porphy

[XanderF]

Strange, if it's not a loose fan or bad fan controller. Power supplies and CRT monitors do that sometimes, but for a graphics card it's very bizarre.

I pulled the graphics card's out (both of them) and tried using the onboard ATI Xpress200 chipset. Game runs SLOW as hell with it, but....no squealing.

So it's definitely no other part of the system at all - not the hard drives, PSU, etc - but something on the video card that doesn't like the game's 2d interface.

[porphy]

Good test XanderF. I can't try that as I only have one gfx card and no on-board gfx. For me the sound source is very elusive when I stick my head into the box ;), but damn clear and irritating when playing... perhaps Sonalysts have an idea what is going on for us "squealers".

Cheers Porphy

[drEaPer]

This prob is rather of elecrotechnical nature than software engineering. I guess ATI is the one to blame, not SCS. Maybe SCS ist just using seldomly used instructions.
I havent been able to reproduce it yet, but I know 100% for sure that I had this squeal also on desktop, which is also a pure 2D enviroment. The noise changed with the color displayed on the screen I remember. Window closed: Black desktop backgroud visible and no noise, opening an explorer window (white background filling the screen) the noise was there. Now If I only could get this reproduced.

[Wim Libaers]

This prob is rather of elecrotechnical nature than software engineering. I guess ATI is the one to blame, not SCS. Maybe SCS ist just using seldomly used instructions.
I havent been able to reproduce it yet, but I know 100% for sure that I had this squeal also on desktop, which is also a pure 2D enviroment. The noise changed with the color displayed on the screen I remember. Window closed: Black desktop backgroud visible and no noise, opening an explorer window (white background filling the screen) the noise was there. Now If I only could get this reproduced.


Maybe you could make music in a graphics program with alternating colour bands :D


I have something like that on my CRT which would make an annoying noise at certain specific refresh frequencies. I've also seen old systems where the whole image would get moving waves in it it it became too bright.

[NastyHyena]

A few things that may be worth noting from me, as I also use an X800XT card.

One: I dont get a squealing from the vid-card when I play ANY games, even DW.

Two: My vid-card is liquid cooled. No on-card fan is present.

Three: ATI cards can, and will, change fan RPM's when air cooled to maintain temperature.

So, perhaps it is a combination of a junk stock fan, and the card keeping itself cool (or trying to)?

[zma]

It's not the fan, I'm afraid. I also have liquid cooling in my Geforce 6800GS, and I hear the noise.

Actually, I managed to fry a video card two weeks ago. I may have messed up installing the GPU waterblock, which resulted in overheating... shortly after I launched DW. It wasn't the GPU core or any of the memory chips that fried, however. It looked like a regulator or something like that to me. There was no warning at all when it happened, my monitor just went blank and then I smelled smoke. :damn:

I don't remember hearing a squeal from the old card back then, though.

[LuftWolf]

There was no warning at all when it happened, my monitor just went blank and then I smelled smoke.

Sorry, that's too funny the way you described it... :rotfl:

Well, I've got a little GeForce FX 5200 crammed into a laptop case, and I don't have any problems at all. :up:

[XabbaRus]

I have an ATi X300 SE in mine 128MB RAM and I am having no problems at all.

Very odd.

[XanderF]

It does sound kind of like a regulator or something cooking off...perhaps the brand of components matters?

The two ATI cards I was using are a Gigabyte model (X800XT) and Rosewill (X800XL). Neither what you'd really call "tier 1" manufacturers, and although they both follow the reference board spec layout, I can, of course, certainly not speak to the component quality they use.

Still, SC works fine, so....whatever they changed in the 2d interface between SC and DW....putting it BACK will fix this problem.

[zma]

Sorry, that's too funny the way you described it... :rotfl:

It wasn't the least bit funny when it happened, trust me! But I recovered from the trauma quite quickly. :) And as Neil Young put it, "It's better to burn out than to fade away".

My old card was a PNY, and, judging from the price of it, the components are/were probably not of the highest quality. (I now have an MSI card. What is it about the three-letter acronyms, anyway?!)

I looked around on a couple of hardware-related forums. This is what I found at [H]ard|OCP: Weird noise from my 7800 GTX 512MB (http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=991342). Quoting one of the replys:
I can hear a faint squeal from my 512s when they load data if I have my ear near them. It is extremely high pitched and nothing at all to do with the cooler. My guess would be strain on the power supply circuitry when there are massive amounts of IO on the card. Such as loading texture data at the beginning of a level. Might be a little feedback at audible frequencies generated in the electrolytics used in the PWM regulation.

If it's really loud it could be a bad cap that is exaggerating the effect and might want to consider an RMA. It's doubtful it would get any louder/worse in the relatively short time period you would own the card (short compared to how long it takes caps to age). You could try very lightly pressing on various electrolytic caps (tall silver cans) with a q-tip while you hear the noise, particularly the one by the SLI connector since it is so far away from the rest of the power supply. It also could be a poorly potted wire wound inductor, of which there is only one on the board in front of the PCI-E power connector (big black box slightly shorter than the silver cans).
I think I'll try that q-tip thing. Hopefully there'll be no fireworks. I'll have to test with a couple of other games as well, although 3Dmark05 seems to run "squeal-free".

[XanderF]

That doesn't really explain why SC wouldn't have that problem, while DW does, though.

[LuftWolf]

Sub Command is actually so different than DW, its not the best comparison to make. :-?

[MaHuJa]

In my experience there isn't all that much "2d" about the DW interfaces. At least for the "map" screens, (plenty of them on the ffg, fire control, astac, etc etc) the map itself seems to be drawn using 3d functions.

That's my experience from trying to make XFire ingame chat work in DW. (3d views and such map areas are the areas on top of which the in-game is visible. Otherwise it "falls behind" the interface. The window edges on the bridge is an example. I have a screenshot of it somewhere, looks a bit like someone slapped a window sticker (sticky and printed side the same) on the outside of the windows...) My conclusions may be wrong, but this would plenty explain difference from SC.

Also, I suspect "when there are massive amounts of IO on the card. Such as loading texture data at the beginning of a level." might be a good hint - as an example, if DW creates textures to draw on areas on screen, and then transfers these textures to the card.

[XanderF]

Possibly a workable theory, but my card is PCI-Express, which should not have anything *like* data transfer problems. Indeed, the bus to a PCI-E 16x card is SO wide, that it can actually be used for a video card's access to system ram instead of needing onboard ram (in the case of ATI's Hypermemory and nVidia's Turbocache technology).

You are probably close on this, though - but if it's not the bus....what could it be?

And this is especially odd on the X800XL, as it squeals by default, but turning ON 4xFSAA and 4xAniso fixes the problem. Which *surely* would INCREASE whatever data transfer load there is?
Sub Command is actually so different than DW, its not the best comparison to make. :-?

Actually, you'd be surprised how much in common they are. For example, you can simply copy all the SC DLLs over the DW DLLs, and the game still works (although obviously many interfaces won't work, and platforms...but the functions are obviously identical between versions, or the game wouldn't launch at all).

[zma]

I poked every condensator and inductor I could reach on the video card and motherboard with a q-tip. No results.

Now that I listened carefully, I could also hear the squeal in 3DMark, but only when a new test was being loaded. I'm starting to lean towards the "massive IO" as a cause, as well. I also detected a similar and constant noise in GTR, but it was on a lower frequency, and a little quieter.

I tried forcing FSAA and AF, but the squeal remained. Next I'm going to install v101 and see if the noise goes away, as cyberslicer reported it did.

[zma]

No luck with v101, either. The GPU core temperature was a bit lower than in v103beta, but the squeal was the same.

[LuftWolf]

Actually, you'd be surprised how much in common they are. For example, you can simply copy all the SC DLLs over the DW DLLs, and the game still works (although obviously many interfaces won't work, and platforms...but the functions are obviously identical between versions, or the game wouldn't launch at all).

Ok, but that doesn't get us any closer to figuring out DW related issues... The databases are practically identical as well, but that's not at all useful information for modding DW.

My point is that it's not a useful way of approaching problems. If anything its a distraction. ;)

[XanderF]

My point is that it's not a useful way of approaching problems. If anything its a distraction. ;)

But the 'massive load' theory doesn't necessarily hold up, either - when runnin 4xAA, it fixes it on one of my cards, but not on the other (and several other people report it does not work on theirs, either).

Perhaps the game is doing rapid flipping between render targets? Or rendering to the back buffer in an unusual way?

[BigBadVuk]

LOL...i have 9800XT..and it is quiet as Kilo...LOL :rotfl:
BUT my old 4400Ti Nvidia did make noise but only in 1 game:Silent Storm.

[Syxx_Killer]

When cards make this "squeal", does it hurt the card? Is the life shortened? My card seems fine, but if it ever does do it in a game, I want to know if it will blow up. :lol:

[drEaPer]

I believe its not hurting your card. Mine is doing it for over a year now and its still working :)

I guess they are emitting frequencies all the time anyway. The difference is just, that in this special case the frequency is audible.

[Ghost Dog]

this is so wierd, now you got me all freaked out. I just bought a new card, Radeon X700 Pro and im afraid to try DW now.

My old Geforce Ti4200 was silent.

This may be a dumb question, but are you making sure your fan is clean?


so, whats the current theory?

1. Electromechanical. The sound is produced by friction/vibration of a moving part.

or

2. Electromagnetic. The sound is produced by the emmited radiation of an electronic device. (like the way a transformer hums without moving parts)

[Wim Libaers]

this is so wierd, now you got me all freaked out. I just bought a new card, Radeon X700 Pro and im afraid to try DW now.

My old Geforce Ti4200 was silent.

This may be a dumb question, but are you making sure your fan is clean?


so, whats the current theory?

1. Electromechanical. The sound is produced by friction/vibration of a moving part.

or

2. Electromagnetic. The sound is produced by the emmited radiation of an electronic device. (like the way a transformer hums without moving parts)

Transformers have moving parts. The laminated core will have vibrating sheets due to the changing magnetic fields. It's like a loudspeaker, but not intentional. This is minimal at low power and with well-made transformers, can be quite loud at high power and with old or badly made transformers.

[BigBadVuk]

I agree,completly with the transformator theory(it is fact,not theory) but do u think that thay r so bad and strong on video cards that they can make actualy so strong noise that u can hear that even if your hd is working,and coolers,and fans.....? :huh:
I say we need an exsorcist here,now!...LOL :cool:

[Bill Nichols]

Now I'm glad my time in the Navy fried my ability to hear hi-frequency sounds :-j

[Jammer]

Transformers have moving parts. The laminated core will have vibrating sheets due to the changing magnetic fields. It's like a loudspeaker, but not intentional. This is minimal at low power and with well-made transformers, can be quite loud at high power and with old or badly made transformers.

First off, transformers used in computer devices are usually solid ferrite cores, which do not vibrate and hence cannot produce noise. Furthermore, the sound produced by a vibrating laminated core is more of a low-pitched humming noise, not a high-pitched squeal. What may be producing the latter is the switching-mode inverter present in his power supply. Cheap inverters can produce a high-pitched squeal when operating at high frequencies.

[TLAM Strike]

Now I'm glad my time in the Navy fried my ability to hear hi-frequency sounds :-j Yea just wait till you take a fertility test, you're gunna be pi$$ed! ;) :-j

[XanderF]

What may be producing the latter is the switching-mode inverter present in his power supply. Cheap inverters can produce a high-pitched squeel when operating at high frequencies.
Video cards also have a number of inverters on them - especially those with power supply connections. Have a whole battery of power circuits, mosfets, etc

I think it's *that* area of the video card that the squeal is coming from, but why DW and DW alone (and only when no FSAA is applied) would be causing that ridiculous squeal is a curious thing.

(FWIW, I did put the other card in and verified that 4xFSAA fixes that one, too. Must have had something funny with the drivers the last time I had it in, but it's confirmed that 4xFSAA fixes both cards I have, while both squeal with no AA on. Too bad AA doesn't work properly in DW.)

[Zerogreat]

I think it's *that* area of the video card that the squeal is coming from, but why DW and DW alone (and only when no FSAA is applied) would be causing that ridiculous squeal is a curious thing.

An unforeseen combination of factors, which happens maximally once per 10 years? :hmm:

[porphy]

Hi

I tried changing my settings for the 6800GT, but it doesn't really matter if I have no ffsa or 4x or anything else. The squel changes slightly in pitch, but it is still there.

Cheers Porphy

[Syxx_Killer]

Sorry for digging up an old thread, but when I started playing DW again the other day, I noticed a high pitched noise coming from my card. I don't recall this with a pre 1.03 patch. I hear the sound when the game first comes to the intro screen, before the intro video, and every menu. I don't get the noise during the intro video or when playing the game unless I got to a menu like Options or USNI Reference. However, in the USNI reference, if I go to the 3D view, the high pitched noise stops. My card is a 256MB PCI-Express card. It is an Abit Radeon RX700-Pro. I never heard the noise before until patch 1.03.

[GunnersMate]

Just use this as an excuse to buy a new x1900xtx or 7800gtx! :arrgh!:

[Syxx_Killer]

I sure wish I could, but right now I am unable to. This RX700 will just have to last a little while longer. I just hope the noises it is emitting isn't shortening its life. :88)

[GunnersMate]

What is the exact model of your card?

[Syxx_Killer]

It's an Abit Radeon RX700-Pro.

[HydroShok]

It's not the fan, I'm afraid. I also have liquid cooling in my Geforce 6800GS, and I hear the noise.

Actually, I managed to fry a video card two weeks ago. I may have messed up installing the GPU waterblock, which resulted in overheating... shortly after I launched DW. It wasn't the GPU core or any of the memory chips that fried, however. It looked like a regulator or something like that to me. There was no warning at all when it happened, my monitor just went blank and then I smelled smoke. :damn:

I don't remember hearing a squeal from the old card back then, though.


Glad you said this. ATI cards go off on their own with the refresh rate when you play games . There good chance of this causing your monitor to black out(maybe not in your case however, since you definitely fried the card apparently). Older CRT monitors can be permanently damaged in less than a minute running outside its specs for resolution or refresh rate. Newer monitors display a message, "frequency out of range".

You have to go into ATI's options and force it to use the desktop refresh rate. Believe or not, the card ignores whatever refresh rate settings windows has. When you run games, its just radically changes refresh rate, which is very dangerous on an older CRT monitor.

Also, CRT monitors are famous for making these high pitch noises. They are very faint, and high pitched. The pitch changes if you move up and down in a pull down menu. If you run over the max refresh rate, you should notice all sorts of funny stuff.

definitely need to force desktop refresh rate. Cut off use DDC info. Google your monitor specs and set the max resolution and refresh rate manually. Make sure you get it right, because it can damage a monitor to run it outside of specs. Also, cut off Vsync.

There's only one thing i know off that can make noise. Fans. I gotta Abit motherboard, my northbridge fan is like a symphony. I have never had success using those "cool and quiet" fan speed adjusting programs, they just crash, or don't even work. All that software if very dependent of having the lastest BIOS.

[GunnersMate]

I see that the fan has a 3 wire connector for RPM monitoring. It could be that the fan is spinning up to high to cool of that toasty GPU. Try running 3DMark 2005 and see if it happens again. Also if you have any overclocks running turn them down to spec.

[Syxx_Killer]

I found out something strange. After a bit of testing, I think the high pitched nosie only happens when my resolution is 1024x768 (changed it in the game's options, not in Windows). When I change it to 800x600 it seems fine. 800x600 is my monitor's native resolution. It is an old 15" CRT monitor (13.9" viewable). I just don't know why it only happens in DW. :doh:

[GunnersMate]

Cr@p! You're monitor is failing ! ! ! :nope: I've had that same thing now that I remember. I had an old 15" HP monitor and that was the first sympton. Soon you wont be able to use 10x7 and it'll start to go all dark forcing you to increase brightness as much as you can :dead: Best find a B&M for a new monitor.

[Syxx_Killer]

I guess I am expecting it. It has been acting up for a few months now. I guess when it goes it goes. :doh: :88) Although, as I said before, the only time I hear the high pitched noise is with DW. Any other time, the screen has a few other anomalies that happen.

[GunnersMate]

I had that happen too where only one game was messed up and I spent a long time on forums, w/ phone tech support, at my B&M computer place. Drove me right batty :88) :doh:
I can find you a cheap price for a new one if you want. - Don't use Ebay or a "reconditioned" one :dead:

[XanderF]

Well, just got a new video card - Radeon X1600XT.

And....same thing. Squealing.

:damn:

[XanderF]

And I just put a big-time update into the original post, going through all the testing I've done.

[Zerogreat]

Some time ago my mainboard somehow died and i needed a replacement. So i bought the first one suitable for my computer. It was ASUS A7V600-F (the old was A7V333-X or 300-X ? i cant remember right now) .. well it is a very crappy MB, because later i found, that this -F variant is something that should not be sold, its only for siemens built computers and asus has no support for it :doh:

It does some strange things like rebooting when i connect my phone via USB cable (had to buy bluetooth), but more important for this thread is, that i hear strange noises from the computer at certain occasions...

Sometims it is strange high pitched noise, sometimes it sounds like cd drive trying to read a damaged cd... but it does not comes from cd drives.. maybe it is the mainboard, maybe my graphics card (Radeon 9600 PRO), but it began after i installed the new MB.

It also happens just in certain situations... :88)

[porphy]

I still have this issue as well. When I first got DW everything was fine, so its not there in vanilla DW, but with the subsequent patches "squeeling" showed up and has not gone away. Changing settings for graphic card will not affect this. I have a Leadtek 6800GT. No sounds in other games. I rarely play DW now because the sound is disturbing and somehow I doubt it's any god for the card doing this for hours. I still have some faint hope for 1.04, but not much as it doesn't seem to affect that many people.

Cheers Porphy

[Jamie]

Hey guys,

I actually emailed nVidia about this months ago to see if I could get some more info about it... but had no success :(
(i.e. either my email was never read or the tech guy at nVidia thought I was NUTS! :-j )

I'm assuming we're doing something different in the rendering of 2D/3D data to the back buffer of the video card and was hoping they could give me some advice on how to approach it differently...

I'll try again and see if I can get a response this time. ;)

[porphy]

Thanks for the effort Jamie. :up: I hope they respond this time. We aren't that many that get the squeeling (so it seems) but its really disturbing, even if it sounds nuts. :88)

Cheers Porphy

[XanderF]

Thanks for the effort Jamie. :up: I hope they respond this time. We aren't that many that get the squeeling (so it seems) but its really disturbing, even if it sounds nuts. :88)

Cheers Porphy

And perhaps the manufacturer matters.

It *has* happened on many ATI cards. IIRC, the Powercolor X1600XT actually did not squeal, but the Asus X1600XT definitely does. Both the X800XL (Rosewill) and X800XT (Gigabyte) I had squealed, as well. However, the motherboard chipsets (ATI Xpress200 in an ST20G5 system and ATI Xpress200 on a Jetway A210GDMS-Pro motherboard) do not.

My best guess would be some power regulator on the card not liking how DW is using it, and as the power regulators used vary GREATLY by manufacturer (Asus vs Gigabyte vs Powercolor, etc), that could explain why so many people hear squealing.

EDIT: If everyone who posted here wouldn't mind posting in the other thread (http://www.subsim.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=51767), to help narrow this down - that'd be great!

[Deathblow]

Dangerous Waters actually FIXED my video card. :o Weirdest thing I've ever seen and I still can't explain it fully.

I've got a bum 9800pro that went bad about a year ago when it started blurring the screen colors. I switched it out for another 9800Pro, but that too went bad about a month ago (those 9800 are terribly unreliable), so while I got a new one I plugged the old card back in.

So for about 3 weeks I was computing with a terribly blurrly color smeared card, and was not playing DW at the time (took a break from playing the game). Lo and behold I boot up DW one day and miraculously, the blurrieness that had been there for the last 3 weeks, persisting thru all applications, internet, email, MS software, etc suddenly and instantly disappears whenever I boot the game! :o :huh: :dead: :|\ :hmm: .

Best thing is, that the color blurring has never come back after than initial DW bootup :sunny: Its so weird I'm not even going to open my tower to look at the card. SCS such put this on the lable as an advertisement. "Our game can cure bad graphics cards! Magical programming" :|\ :P

[Sea Demon]

Just a quick question. How do we know it's a video card issue?

I will respect your wishes, XanderF, to not discuss on the other topic. But I will say here that the squeeling issue is very minor on my machine. It's hardly noticeable. But nevertheless, it's still there. Frankly, it doesn't bother me that much. But if there's a way to eliminate it, I'd certainly like to know.

[Zerogreat]

Just a quick question. How do we know it's a video card issue?

I think its a mainboard issue :) Because for me, it all began after replacing my MB.

[XanderF]

Just a quick question. How do we know it's a video card issue?

I will respect your wishes, XanderF, to not discuss on the other topic. But I will say here that the squeeling issue is very minor on my machine. It's hardly noticeable. But nevertheless, it's still there. Frankly, it doesn't bother me that much. But if there's a way to eliminate it, I'd certainly like to know.

Well, the primary clue would be - when you take the video card out, and use the onboard video, it goes away.

Now, I could see your question being 'is it perhaps the PCI-E slot on the mobo?'....which is certainly valid. Except there isn't really anything regarding that which *could* cause this problem, changing a video card setting makes it stop (enabling 4xAA), and the sound *sounds* like it is coming from the video card.