Weird buzzing sound, help me Created 18 years ago2006-05-24 20:22:27 UTC by Soup Miner

For a few months now my headphones have been giving off a silent buzzing sound of varying pitch whenever I A) Play any Steam game B) Go into 3D view in Hammer and C) Use Jed's HLMV. Just recently the buzzing has gotten louder and now its extremely noticeable. I know it can't be a problem with my headphones because the buzzing always happens in the same places(or programs) and the pitch is always the same depending on what program it is and what thing I am doing in that prgram. Different models in HLMV give off different buzzing pitches, moving my mouse in 3D view in Hammer makes the buzzing a hell of a lot louder, and just standing there, doing nothing, in Counter Strike gives off a buzz. Does anyone have any clue as to why this is happening?

Here's a clip of the sound, recording not from my headphones but from the computer, so I know its not a headphone issue. The first high pitched buzz is me opening HLMV while running Steam. When I close Steam the pitch suddenly drops a lot. the 3rd buzz in me moving my mouse in 3D mode in hammer.
http://www.ykwsoftware.com/sean/Annoying_buzz.wav

change the refresh rate of your monitor.
Keep audio cables away from RGB (monitor-screen) cables.

That didn't help. It just changed the pitch of the buzzing. Plus, I only have 2 audio cables, my headphones and my mic, which are nowhere near any of the monitor cables or any other cables for that matter.
Edit: Strike that, I changed my refresh rate back and it was no different, the buzzing is still the same. I also plugged my headphones into a jack in the front of the computer but that just made the buzzing hellishly loud.

Bad card?

Maybe, but why would it just start craping out on me now?

Carniverous dust bunnies!

Or like G_Kid said, may be dusts. Dry blowing out your ports, maybe. Or check if they are plugged in all the way.

Have you tried another set of headphones?

Maybe its a driver problem, or some other confliction where the graphics is somehow interfering with the sound.

Maybe, but why would it just start craping out on me now?

Cards die. Solder cracks, connections fail, the vibrations from the cooling fans shake the whole thing apart.

Actually, if you've got a stand-alone soundcard (as opposed to an on-board one) it might be worth removing it from its slot and re-seating it. (Obviously you want to unplug all power sources first... ;-)) Sometimes - especially if it wasn't quite seated properly initially - cards can actually vibrate out enough that they're no longer making proper contact...

Its not the headphones, I recorded that clip straight from my computer and I still hear the buzzing at the same volume even if I turn my headphone volume all the way down.
Its not some bogus graphics driver problem, I just got a new graphics card and the buzzing has been the same between this new one and the old one before it.

I'll blow off my card and re-plug it into place and tell you what happens. I can't now though, I have to go.

Sounds definitely like your card. The applications you mention all involve directx, heavy graphics use.

May i suggest that you check where your internal sound cable is (i.e. the one that goes from CD/DVD rom drive to the sound card) I get a buzzing sound because my cable goes to close to my Harddrive. Maybe your are exsperiencing the same.

razorkiller2004

Dude, that's not a buzz, it's a horrible screech. I expected a load of mains noise...

I, uh, get that too, in some instances. Only, it's coming from my headphones, and it's really very low, so I can only hear it if I turn the volume all the way up. Can't really suggest a solution.

What, you get that screeching he recorded? It's not a healthy sound. A low fuzz is perfectly common and pervasive.

WCD, have you changed any PCI stuff in the BIOS setup?

I know I've heard those sounds on my headphones too, but it's caused by having my radio plugged in to my microphone jack, and having the radio to close to my external power supply--laptop.

Maybe your mic volume is set too high, and it's feedback?

My computer had a similar noise and I later found out my mic was echoeing my voice...It was weird but the settings on my mic were different.

Yeah, well, I got the screeching. Not anymore.

That's not feedback.

I just found out that my sound card is integrated into my motherboard, so replacing it is out of the question.
I downloaded new dirvers for both video and sound but the buzzing is still there(yes, I did restart my computer).
Edit: Its much much quieter now, though. I can only hear it if I listen for it, but now that I know its there I end up listening for it every time .

so replacing it is out of the question

That's bull. Just buy a real sound card, like an Audigy 2 <3.

Also check your sound settings. Perhaps your mixer is set to record Aux and is unmuted or something. That happens to me sometimes.

That's bull. Just buy a real sound card, like an Audigy 2 <3.

Or an X-Fi <3