Noise from speakers only in FFXIV

[Halcyon]

I have some small interference issue that creates a hiss from my speakers. If I turn them about to about half volume I can't even hear it so it doesn't bother me. But when I start FFXIV there is a sort of small buzz on top of that. Moving the jack from the back panel to the front panel seems to have made the buzz quiet enough that I can't hear it unless I lean way forward, but I'd rather solve it if I can in case it's a more complex issue. Trying to fix it also made me notice that my GPU gets noisier just from tabbing into FF, I tried other games and can't find anything else that does it. Just to be clear, it's not related to the actual in-game noise from FF, this sound happens even if the master volume is muted.

I found this information googling and it seems very possible to be related but I don't know how to test or solve it.

Due to the close proximity of the PCI-E power and data traces to the audio traces EMI can transfer between them. As the GPU sends/receives data this EMI can be heard as a buzz over the speakers.

I think I tried everything software related like disabling digital audio device, changing sound quality, turning off all extra options, changing from 5.1 to stereo. I moved the jack already of course but I can't move my GPU, it is right next to the PSU but it doesn't fit in the first slots. I also tried messing with the in-game graphics to see if that affected the sound like some other posts I googled but it didn't seem to.

I don't know what else to try, unless fixing the interference would also fix this? It's only FF so I don't see how but then again EMI seems to be really tricky.

[VoltaAsura]

Without more information, it seems as if your PSU is being stressed and probably causing the buzzing sound you are hearing, but I could be wrong.

I will say that tabbing in and out of FFXIV would cause your GPU to get "noisier" I guess, so that would be normal depending on the card you have and settings you use. The FFXIV client doesn't use your GPU much while you are tabbed out, so the load drops considerably on your GPU, and vice versa.


I would also recommend you moving your GPU to the top most slot in your motherboard if you can. You may be limiting your card a bit and may not know it. This may(?) have something to do with your problem?

[Halcyon]

What more information would be helpful? It isn't gradual or inconsistent it is only FF, and it happens immediately when I start or tab in. No other apps, no other games, even if I run them while FF is still open. As I mentioned already my GPU won't fit in the first slots.

[Raist]

EMI can be a tricky bugger. Any number of things can contribute. Have you absolutely ruled out your speakers? One way to test is to try with some headphones. If it is isolated to the speakers you may be able to remedy it somewhat with repositioning or better cabling or routing of existing cables.

Could also simply be a bad grounding of the output jack itself....or the speaker's power supply/cord could have issues. Just so many potential points of ingress it is hard to know just where to start sometimes.

If it indeed is an internal source/ingress point, you basically may have to start ganking parts until you find the culprit. Trying a different graphics card (could simply be the GPU fan and not the card), try a drop in sound card instead of onboard chipset (or a different drop-in card), swap CPU fan, swap/disable each case fan in turn, swap PSU....did I mention it can be a real pain to track down?

Hopefully it is an external source like the monitor or failing CFL ballast near by that is monkeying with your speaker shielding (or they may not even be shielded for that matter). External issues are much easier to remedy.

[Halcyon]

That is a lot of stuff and I appreciate the input... the thing is why does it ONLY happen in FFXIV? That can't be external can it? Or do you believe if I solve the general interference issue the FFXIV issue will also go away? I am getting a different graphics card, so I should be able to rule that out this week. Assuming something like the PSU or CPU fan is the issue does that mean those things are faulty or just that the wires are giving off the EMI?

[Raist]

Could simply be wearing out. Fans may only throttle up when the components are under heavy loads...and this game can really hammer things on some systems.

Same can apply to the PSU as well. Under light loads it may not be generating much of a field dealing with a 180w or so load....by then you hit it with 280+ and things get a bit messy.

Depends on just how the interference is ocurring too. If it is because of a bad ground loop, it may be a slight hum of sorts when things are idle--sort of like an old tube guitar amp when you have it cranked up with distortion and such before you start playing. It will be very susceptible to things like motor noise, so when fans ramp up you start to hear the whine of the motor. You can simulate it with power tools near that amplifier. Another example is alternator whine on a car stereo. Without proper dampening circuits the amp will pickup and enhance the pulses from he generator/DC motor.

[Halcyon]

If it was from heavy load wouldn't it do the same thing on other games? I'm pretty sure Marvel Heroes, Wildstar, Skyrim out of the many games I tried equal or exceed what it takes to run FFXIV. Wildstar at the very least would have to be equal.

[Raist]

Depends on the system. This game is quite poorly optimized compared to most other games out there. It hammered the piss out of my old C2D CPU. Kept the ATI cards pretty busy as well. Throttles my 2012 laptop pretty high on the utilizations as well (i7-3630 and nvidia GTX-670Mx). It's an Asus ROG-G75VX. I've run other stuff on this laptop and not had the fans kick up to the point that I hear them over the music like XIV does.

Note also the OP stated the noise is there normally...but it ramps up when XIV is in play. There is a systemic/environmental problem already, but when the system comes under fire from XIV it gets worse.

[Halcyon]

Yeah but it's a different sound, not just a louder version of the same sound. Both sounds exist at the same time.