Nforce chipsets prone to chirping/hissing/coil noise?
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 2:51 pm
I don't mean for this thread to be controversial (even though the title may sound like it - just wanted to grab your attention ) but I'm just wondering what others' experiences are when it comes to choke/coil noise on various motherboards.
I have noticed that only a very VERY few motherboards on the market use what I call "block" chokes (dunno the technical term but they look like this: http://planet64bit.de/files/cebit05/msi_k8mneov.jpg - the black block inbetween the 4-pin 12v connector and the tall caps, there's another one just above the 20-pin 12v connector)
The board in that picture is actually what I'm using. It's basic, but it fills my needs, and there is little if any audible noise coming back through those blocks. With other motherboards (most notably any nforce variant, 2, 3) I notice a lot of chirping, tweeting, squealing, or whatever you want to call it coming from this area whenever the system is running at full speed (it's even worse under load).
What I am wondering is, do coil chokes inherently make more noise than "block" chokes, or is this a chipset issue? I can't recall having ever had these issues on any Via-based board, but this is my first Via board in so long that I can't honestly claim to be certain.
I've only seen one nforce board that uses "block" chokes, and that is the MSI K8N Neo4 series. Unfortunately, I have neither a 939 CPU nor a PCIE graphics card to test such a board with.
I don't mean to turn this into an nvidia vs via argument, but I would really like to know what the situation with this is. I would almost rather it be an nforce issue, because then I can easily avoid buying nvidia boards for future silent PCs (obviously if you have a lot of noise in your system already this is not a factor and will go unnoticed).
However if this is a "block" vs coil issue, or worse yet, a variable quality issue between manufacturers and even specific samples, it becomes very difficult to choose a motherboard that will not irk the shite out of one once one silences all other components in ones system.
PS - no "press it with your fingers/an eraser" suggestions needed, I've tried that on every board and it's never worked for me.
I have noticed that only a very VERY few motherboards on the market use what I call "block" chokes (dunno the technical term but they look like this: http://planet64bit.de/files/cebit05/msi_k8mneov.jpg - the black block inbetween the 4-pin 12v connector and the tall caps, there's another one just above the 20-pin 12v connector)
The board in that picture is actually what I'm using. It's basic, but it fills my needs, and there is little if any audible noise coming back through those blocks. With other motherboards (most notably any nforce variant, 2, 3) I notice a lot of chirping, tweeting, squealing, or whatever you want to call it coming from this area whenever the system is running at full speed (it's even worse under load).
What I am wondering is, do coil chokes inherently make more noise than "block" chokes, or is this a chipset issue? I can't recall having ever had these issues on any Via-based board, but this is my first Via board in so long that I can't honestly claim to be certain.
I've only seen one nforce board that uses "block" chokes, and that is the MSI K8N Neo4 series. Unfortunately, I have neither a 939 CPU nor a PCIE graphics card to test such a board with.
I don't mean to turn this into an nvidia vs via argument, but I would really like to know what the situation with this is. I would almost rather it be an nforce issue, because then I can easily avoid buying nvidia boards for future silent PCs (obviously if you have a lot of noise in your system already this is not a factor and will go unnoticed).
However if this is a "block" vs coil issue, or worse yet, a variable quality issue between manufacturers and even specific samples, it becomes very difficult to choose a motherboard that will not irk the shite out of one once one silences all other components in ones system.
PS - no "press it with your fingers/an eraser" suggestions needed, I've tried that on every board and it's never worked for me.