Strange noise when running the game

[Pichu]

Hello everyone! I haven't played this game in several months and this week I noticed that when running the game, and when I have the window in the foreground, there is a noise on the cabinet. It doesn't appear to be the cooler, it looks like disk or memories and, when this happens, it is very common that during noise peaks the game image freezes, generating stuttering.

This is the only game that does this to me, not even others that stress my video card and cpu more. Even with stress tests I don't hear that noise. To mitigate problems, I updated the bios, changed the installation folder to other SSDs, some were nvme and some were not, but with all the same problem. I also updated all the drivers, video, mother, SATA, etc. I even reinstalled Windows 11 with a clean install and nothing. I don't know what else it could be. Any ideas?

I forgot to mention that this happens even with minimal video options. Using nvidia experience, lowering all graphic options to the minimum possible.

[wtiger27]

It might be GPU coil whine. If it is, don't worry about it. But having other programs running in the background while you are playing the game, can put more load on the system. Depending on what they are.

However GPU coil whine should have no impact at all on causing your game to freeze or stutter. I get some coil whine, but it does not cause any stuttering or game freezes. I play at max graphic settings, using DLSS, 1440p, 60 fps capped, on a I7 11700kf and RTX 3060ti OC.

Game plays very smooth and is very stable.

[Pichu]

Originally posted by wtiger27:

It might be GPU coil whine. If it is, don't worry about it. But having other programs running in the background while you are playing the game, can put more load on the system. Depending on what they are.

However GPU coil whine should have no impact at all on causing your game to freeze or stutter. I get some coil whine, but it does not cause any stuttering or game freezes. I play at max graphic settings, using DLSS, 1440p, 60 fps capped, on a I7 11700kf and RTX 3060ti OC.

Game plays very smooth and is very stable.

I have practically no programs in the background and I have disabled several services to optimize although I don't think that is the problem. I have a Core i7 12800k computer, 64gb ddr5 5600mhz corsair and rtx 4070 msi. My power supply is 750w approved. The game feels fluid and stable as you say, but sometimes when loading or changing characters, opening inventory or executing some action, freezes occur, they will be from half a second to at most 2 or 3 seconds in the worst cases, but very annoying and always when I hear that noise or it gets louder. I have tried caping at 60fps but it burns my eyes... it is horrible to play at 60fps.

Thanks anyway for the response!

[wtiger27]

Originally posted by Pichu:

Originally posted by wtiger27:

It might be GPU coil whine. If it is, don't worry about it. But having other programs running in the background while you are playing the game, can put more load on the system. Depending on what they are.

However GPU coil whine should have no impact at all on causing your game to freeze or stutter. I get some coil whine, but it does not cause any stuttering or game freezes. I play at max graphic settings, using DLSS, 1440p, 60 fps capped, on a I7 11700kf and RTX 3060ti OC.

Game plays very smooth and is very stable.

I have practically no programs in the background and I have disabled several services to optimize although I don't think that is the problem. I have a Core i7 12800k computer, 64gb ddr5 5600mhz corsair and rtx 4070 msi. My power supply is 750w approved. The game feels fluid and stable as you say, but sometimes when loading or changing characters, opening inventory or executing some action, freezes occur, they will be from half a second to at most 2 or 3 seconds in the worst cases, but very annoying and always when I hear that noise or it gets louder. I have tried caping at 60fps but it burns my eyes... it is horrible to play at 60fps.

Thanks anyway for the response!

I hope you get it figured out. But I can not understand why a turn based game like BG3 would be a issue at 60 fps. If it was a competitive pvp shooter or a soul caliber type combat animation, then ok.

But we all have different perceptions, so best to play at the frame rate you enjoy the most.

One last thought, are you using Vulcan or DirectX? I use Vulcan. Have since the game launched.

[Pichu]

Originally posted by wtiger27:

Originally posted by Pichu:

I have practically no programs in the background and I have disabled several services to optimize although I don't think that is the problem. I have a Core i7 12800k computer, 64gb ddr5 5600mhz corsair and rtx 4070 msi. My power supply is 750w approved. The game feels fluid and stable as you say, but sometimes when loading or changing characters, opening inventory or executing some action, freezes occur, they will be from half a second to at most 2 or 3 seconds in the worst cases, but very annoying and always when I hear that noise or it gets louder. I have tried caping at 60fps but it burns my eyes... it is horrible to play at 60fps.

Thanks anyway for the response!

I hope you get it figured out. But I can not understand why a turn based game like BG3 would be a issue at 60 fps. If it was a competitive pvp shooter or a soul caliber type combat animation, then ok.

But we all have different perceptions, so best to play at the frame rate you enjoy the most.

One last thought, are you using Vulcan or DirectX? I use Vulcan. Have since the game launched.

When you start playing at 144 MHz or higher (165 in my case), then you can't go back to 60fps... the ghosting is really very visually annoying.
I have tried Vulkan and DirectX, but I must say that the problem occurs in both and in Vulkan, very pronounced fps drops are also noticeable.

[Pichu]

I also read in some forums that the launcher gave stuttering problems and I removed it using --skip-launcher in the steam execution parameters, but I didn't notice any improvement.

[Orion Invictus]

Originally posted by Pichu:

Originally posted by wtiger27:

I hope you get it figured out. But I can not understand why a turn based game like BG3 would be a issue at 60 fps. If it was a competitive pvp shooter or a soul caliber type combat animation, then ok.

But we all have different perceptions, so best to play at the frame rate you enjoy the most.

One last thought, are you using Vulcan or DirectX? I use Vulcan. Have since the game launched.

When you start playing at 144 MHz or higher (165 in my case), then you can't go back to 60fps... the ghosting is really very visually annoying.
I have tried Vulkan and DirectX, but I must say that the problem occurs in both and in Vulkan, very pronounced fps drops are also noticeable.

Hz, not MHz. There are no MHz monitors.

[Deego]

Originally posted by Pichu:

Originally posted by wtiger27:

I hope you get it figured out. But I can not understand why a turn based game like BG3 would be a issue at 60 fps. If it was a competitive pvp shooter or a soul caliber type combat animation, then ok.

But we all have different perceptions, so best to play at the frame rate you enjoy the most.

One last thought, are you using Vulcan or DirectX? I use Vulcan. Have since the game launched.

When you start playing at 144 MHz or higher (165 in my case), then you can't go back to 60fps... the ghosting is really very visually annoying.
I have tried Vulkan and DirectX, but I must say that the problem occurs in both and in Vulkan, very pronounced fps drops are also noticeable.

Your refresh rate has nothing to do with your fps. I am always on 144 or 120 mhz setting on my monitor but I usually manual lock my FPS depending the game so the system works cooler which will decrease the sudden stutter-freeze. Lock the baldur to 30 fps since you dont actually need anymore than 60 for a game like this.

[Pichu]

Originally posted by Deego:

Originally posted by Pichu:

When you start playing at 144 MHz or higher (165 in my case), then you can't go back to 60fps... the ghosting is really very visually annoying.
I have tried Vulkan and DirectX, but I must say that the problem occurs in both and in Vulkan, very pronounced fps drops are also noticeable.

Your refresh rate has nothing to do with your fps. I am always on 144 or 120 mhz setting on my monitor but I usually manual lock my FPS depending the game so the system works cooler which will decrease the sudden stutter-freeze. Lock the baldur to 30 fps since you dont actually need anymore than 60 for a game like this.

I don't agree, playing at 60fps there is a drastic drop in fluidity and, with higher refresh rate minitores, you start to see ghost images if you don't configure it correctly. There will be people who do not notice it or it does not bother them, but for others it is very annoying.
We also went off topic, the problem is with freezing. It's something that only happens in this game and nothing else. Even stressing my computer with benchmarks like 3dmark, heaven engine, passmark or any other, I can't hear the same noise or notice image freezes.

[jonnin]

noises are from mechanical parts usually. That means a fan (GPU or CPU usually, sometimes case fan but those are much more rugged) or a physical disk (this is bad news, noise means dying, almost always).

[maxspector]

running fine for several weeks, now all of a sudden JUST this game has a buzz to it once the game(not the launcher) loads. I play FO76, ESO, SWOTR and other games daily without incident so it's definitely not hardware. This crap only started when I messed with a few mods, but remains after 2 consecutive wipe/reinstall. No mods installed or enabled, but sounds like audio white noise. It is definitely something with this game only.

(i9-10850k, 64gb -RTX-3090

[Ice-Nine]

I'd have to hear the noise.

It could be coil whine (as other users pointed out). It could also simply be that your fans are dirty and create noise (but only above a certain RPM during intensive loads).

To mitigate problems, I updated the bios, changed the installation folder to other SSDs, some were nvme and some were not, but with all the same problem. I also updated all the drivers, video, mother, SATA, etc. I even reinstalled Windows 11 with a clean install and nothing. I don't know what else it could be. Any ideas?

All of these are good steps but I always recommend that ANY TIME you are trying to diagnose a problem like this, you also include the step of "clean out your case and components." Most people ignore that step.