Game causing my computer to make a weird sound

[Po]

So when I'm in game and not paused, my computer will make like this slight grinding sound.
The strange thing is that the second I hit escape and pause the game, the sound instantly stops. When I resume, the sounds immediately starts again with 0 delay.
While playing, my GPU is maxed out at 99% usage and the Cpu remains at 20%
This only happens with Starfield and not with any other game, could anyone help?

Specs:
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X ~3.7 GHz
32 GB RAM DDR4
Radeon RX 6700 XT
Game installed on an NVME M2 1TB almost empty

[Viper]

grinding is mechanical in nature. not electrical. fans or anything that is moving. Water pump on liquid cooled. Something of this nature.

[MrSoul]

Could be coil whine.
Little high pitched almost? Pitch changes as move camera around?

If so, ya, that’s coil whine. It usually peaks as gpu ramps up.
“ Coil whine is really nothing to be concerned about. It can be annoying, of course, but it isn't like a rattling engine or a squeaking wheel---the noise is a byproduct of your PC and graphics card's normal operation. Your system isn't losing any performance or longevity because of coil whine.”
https://www.howtogeek.com/297166/what-is-coil-whine-and-can-i-get-rid-of-it-on-my-pc/

I’ve noticed it with this game, among many others, but play with headphones so don’t really notice it while playing.

[ZombieHunter]

Grinding sounds like bearings on a fan. As has been said could be a water cooler about to go belly up (mine made this sound before it died) or a fan somewhere that ramps up and the bearings are going out in it. If you are air cooled you can get vibrations off of the CPU fan that vibrate the heat sink and makes a really weird sound. And as has been said it could be coil whine although that usually doesn't sound like grinding.

[Po]

Originally posted by Mr.Soul:

Could be coil whine.
Little high pitched almost? Pitch changes as move camera around?

If so, ya, that’s coil whine. It usually peaks as gpu ramps up.
“ Coil whine is really nothing to be concerned about. It can be annoying, of course, but it isn't like a rattling engine or a squeaking wheel---the noise is a byproduct of your PC and graphics card's normal operation. Your system isn't losing any performance or longevity because of coil whine.”
https://www.howtogeek.com/297166/what-is-coil-whine-and-can-i-get-rid-of-it-on-my-pc/

I’ve noticed it with this game, among many others, but play with headphones so don’t really notice it while playing.

As far a I experienced this is the issue! Thanks for pointing out! This is my first graphic card that does this sound :)

[Talkie Toaster]

Originally posted by ☣ Aesopxs ☣:

Originally posted by Mr.Soul:

Could be coil whine.
Little high pitched almost? Pitch changes as move camera around?

If so, ya, that’s coil whine. It usually peaks as gpu ramps up.
“ Coil whine is really nothing to be concerned about. It can be annoying, of course, but it isn't like a rattling engine or a squeaking wheel---the noise is a byproduct of your PC and graphics card's normal operation. Your system isn't losing any performance or longevity because of coil whine.”
https://www.howtogeek.com/297166/what-is-coil-whine-and-can-i-get-rid-of-it-on-my-pc/

I’ve noticed it with this game, among many others, but play with headphones so don’t really notice it while playing.

As far a I experienced this is the issue! Thanks for pointing out! This is my first graphic card that does this sound :)

PSU's also make coil whine, so it could be both the GPU and PSU depending on how it's being loaded.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Yeah its coil whine from your power supply. My old pc did not do it with the msi 850w power supply I had. But the new one I built I installed a red dragon 850w. It's nothing to be concerned about it just happens sometimes. Does not make the sound when I play older games but any new games that have better graphics just draws more power.

[Lithurge]

Funnily enough I have experienced coil whine with my current rig, but not with Starfield. I suspect for me it's game with uncapped/high frame rates that cause the issue. Starfield definitely doesn't have that problem.

[Incariuz]

It's coil whine, and it appears to be happening to a few people at least. I've never in my life heard coil whine, and a few days ago realized I was getting it, had to look up to be sure it was indeed coil whine, found a reddit thread from someone else having the exact same issue, in the exact same manner, where it stop the moment you hit esc, and resumes instantly when continuing to play.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AMDHelp/comments/16d4ede/is_this_coil_whine_it_only_happens_when_i_run/

For reference, almost identical specs.

Ryzen 5600
32GB DDR4
RX 6700 XT
1TB NVME
RM750x 80+ Gold PSU

[Scy]

it's your psu, get a better one

[Talkie Toaster]

Originally posted by Scy:

it's your psu, get a better one

Yeahhhh, that isn't how that works - at all.

Even the highest quality units can whine, in the same way high end video cards do.

[Scy]

Originally posted by Talkie Toaster:

Originally posted by Scy:

it's your psu, get a better one

Yeahhhh, that isn't how that works - at all.

Even the highest quality units can whine, in the same way high end video cards do.

what does it depend on ? why is mine not making the same noise ? is it RNG ?

[Rusty Shackleford]

Originally posted by Scy:

Originally posted by Talkie Toaster:

Yeahhhh, that isn't how that works - at all.

Even the highest quality units can whine, in the same way high end video cards do.

what does it depend on ? why is mine not making the same noise ? is it RNG ?

It really is RNG. Coils can be made the same one after the other. Could be just that the wire got made a bit differently cooled down faster/slower during manufacturing. It is nothing to be to concerned about. My wifes old PC made the same sound and she ran that one for over a decade. Still runs just fine.

[Incariuz]

Originally posted by Scy:

it's your psu, get a better one

It could be PSU, GPU, or MOBO, and it doesn't mean it's a bad one. I'm using a Corsair RM750x 80+ Gold for example, and also getting coil whine with Starfield.

[Talkie Toaster]

Originally posted by Scy:

Originally posted by Talkie Toaster:

Yeahhhh, that isn't how that works - at all.

Even the highest quality units can whine, in the same way high end video cards do.

what does it depend on ? why is mine not making the same noise ? is it RNG ?

It's usually due to high currents and electromagnetism induced accoustics, capacitors can also 'scream'. A lot of manufacturers just coat coils etc in hot glue to try and quieten them down.

It's not a sign of anything being bad quality or failing, but it can be annoying. I've returned both power supplies and graphics cards for excessive coil whine in the past because it was loud enough to be distracting.

[Scy]

RNG like dead pixels, I see. I said it's the psu because he said it only happens while the gpu is running at 99%.