Acer Predator G9-593 buzzing noise coming from speakers under full load (With Video)

touchnova

I just heard back from Acer regarding my laptop with this same issue - the motherboard needed to be replaced.  For those who want to unplug a speaker and call it good...the speaker is merely a symptom of the bigger issue.  If you have the ability to send your device in for repairs, I'd recommend doing so.  The have a 7-10 day policy for repairs to be completed, and of course shipping time to/from.  In my case the motherboard was not in stock and wasn't scheduled to be in for what they felt was an acceptable period of time, so the offered me a brand new laptop.  Knowing that, "choose your own adventure"...

Phoenix1966

Add me to the roster of replaced motherboards. I got mine back yesterday and it is now quiet when under the same high load that would have produced the crackle before the replacement.

Rares95

If you got your motherboard replaced, can you guys answer some questions for folks that haven't yet, just so we know what to expect?  

Where was the service center? (Germany etc) 

Did they replace anything else? (Fans etc) 

Did they wipe the device drives? (ssds/hdds) 

The time the process took? 

touchnova

Rares95 - Both Phoenix and I are in the US, so our repair center is in the state of Texas.  If you're in another country, I believe you can find the the location that applies to you online.  As well, you can use Acer's online chat service to inquire.  In the US they pay for shipping to/from the repair center, but you have to ask the service rep when you establish your Case ID for them to provide the shipping label...do not forget this....ask for it as they will not offer it.  I assume shipping is covered in EU also, but not 100% sure.  Once they receive the device, repair usually begins in a few days and they have a 7-10 day policy in which they have to finalize the fix, so the process happens pretty quickly.  In both of our cases (Phoenix and I have communicated via PM) only the motherboard was replaced and BIOS updated.  For me, they did not erase hard drives, which I believe to be the same for Phoenix as well.  Being said, do not leave this to chance - back up all of your data and wipe anything personal/professional that could be accessed (user/pass info, financials, client information if that applies to you).  If it's of concern in the slightest, back up and wipe that content.  While being without the device was a bit of a pain, getting it back in top performing order was very nice. I hope this information helps, don't hesitate to ask other questions that come to mind.

Phoenix1966

As lithics mentioned, we're both in the US, so ours went to Texas. From door-to-door, I sent mine out via FedEx (with a paid shipping label from Acer. If shipping is covered under your warranty, make sure you mention it to support. They do not seem to and people are being sent the standard shipping instructions with the onus of shipping & insurance on the customer. It happened to lithics and this person as well.) on February 13th in the afternoon and received mine back on March 6th. Beyond speaking to the initial, first level support person, I never heard from Acer, just got the automated responses when the laptop was received, when work began and when shipped. The motherboard was in stock, so they had the laptop repaired in three business days.

When it came back, they had not wiped the drives or reset Windows. There was a note explaining what work had been done (new motherboard and BIOS update to 1.13). Since I had backed everything up and forgot to deactivate a few program licenses (and was expecting to have to start from scratch), I reset Windows (I had been having a Windows update issue for a few months) and reloaded everything. Under the same CPU/GPU loads as before, the laptop does not make any unexpected noises.

TL;DR Took three weeks to repair from door to door in the US. Replaced motherboard, updated BIOS. They did not wipe drives or reset Windows. No crackling noise post repair.

SkaiCloud

orudie said:

This is the connector I disconnected which I mentioned earlier and the noise is gone. I thought this was the speakers connection, but it is something else. I am not sure what it is, but ever since there are no issues and I do some heavy gaming every night and no more noise. The battery is charging, and everything works as it should. I will keep watching this forum thread, and maybe someone can identify what it is. I am just so glad not to hear the stupid buzzing noise every time I turn on a game.

I did this an it fix the issue that everyone here describe. That wire appears to be the wire for the right side speaker as I only have sound coming out of my left side speaker. Since I use a USB headphone I can careless weather or not the speaker is working as long as I get that loud annoying buzzing to go away. Looks like this will be the last Acer I'll ever buy because I've own plenty of gaming laptop and I've never run into issue like these. Good Luck everyone! I'm not going to waste my time sending it in.

seyf

I have made some experiments with the cable that you are unplugging. The cable is responsible for both left and right speakers. The sound that you are hearing is coming from subwoofer which also produces high frequencies up until 2000Hz or something.

How do I know that?

As I was also having the same problem, I decided to kill the right speaker only, and I cut its cable right near the speaker instead of unplugging the wire in the picture. Guess what happened? The weird buzzing sound transferred to left speaker after a while, however it was very low volume. (Probably it was there all the time, but as the buzzing volume in the right speaker was higher, I probably did not notice it before. Then I unplugged the cable as described, and the left speaker was mute too.

Then I did a frequency test with the subwoofer, and it produces audible (but terrible) sound until 2000Hz. The voice that is coming is a mix of both left and right channels, so you will keep hearing both channels from the subwoofer.

Rares95

Left buzzing is always there, yes. But only becomes louder when the laptop gets really hot and the right speaker is really loud already.

Phoenix1966

Two month update post repair:

I'm still using my laptop for 3D rendering in the same fashion as before the repair. The sound has not returned and under heavy load, the machine is running almost 10 degrees Celsius cooler than before the repair. 

touchnova

Update on my laptop post repair as well:  I use my laptop daily in what I would consider a "well above average" manner.  Video production/rendering, graphic/web design, print layout, coding, browsing...all at the same time, 12+ hours/day, often much longer...with a minimized video or music playing for background noise.  My laptop has performed 'as new' since the day I received it back from the Acer repair center, and I have zero complaints.  Temps are running, on average, 7-10°C cooler than prior to the motherboard being replaced.

Message to those facing this same issue:  Send Your Computer In For Repair.  Yes, there are situations where some are unable to part with their device for the 3-ish weeks required to complete the process.  But if you care about your investment...and we all know laptops of this quality are not cheap, then do not settle for cutting a wire or unplugging a connector.  You are obviously not fixing the issue, and as others have reported - the noise doesn't even really go away.  Closing a door does not make the wind stop blowing outside your house.  Likewise, simply limiting the volume of the coil whine and electrical discharge your laptop produces does not fix a faulty motherboard, the primary component of your device.  If you have the option to have your device repaired (for free, no less)...do not settle.  Send it in.

bjymoon

I sent mine in to TX with, I assume, the same problem which has been getting worse over the past few months. They contacted me as a followup that they can't identify the issue, so now I'm worried. I think it might have been initially framed as a speaker problem instead of what is described here. Any tips on how to convey the information about the problem right?

I've been without a computer for 2 and a half weeks and it is driving me crazy. Hopefully it gets fixed properly. 

Phoenix1966

I would ask them to run some sort of stress or benchmark test on the laptop. CrystalDiskMark would trigger the crackling on mine in less than half an hour.

touchnova

Seems strange to me that they would not be able to identify the issue...have you spoken directly to a representative in Texas?  Acer's initial level of phone support was rather underwhelming, but the personnel I spoke with in Texas were top notch.  For myself and several others, the issue had absolutely nothing to do with the speakers...that was simply a symptom of the real problem, which was a faulty motherboard.  I would go so far as to say that the speakers are actually the culprit in exactly 0% of cases where "noise" is the "issue" in any of such threads here on the Acer forums.  Did you document the issue (maybe with video) prior to sending it in?  Did you do any testing on when the noise began/ceased based upon workload?  For me, it was very clear that the noise was directly related to the amount of strain being put on the CPU and/or GPU, and that it was coil whine/electrical discharge that the speakers simply picked up and amplified.  I downloaded Heaven benchmarking software and could replicate the faulty scenario within about 4-6 minutes, and could get it to cease "on command" by cancelling the stress test and waiting about 1-2 minutes...indicating that it was specific to workload.  I know you're not in the position to test for such things since the computer is not in your possession, but if you have any similar information that you can share with Acer, I have a feeling it will help.  Otherwise, I would try and speak with someone directly and describe as best possible exactly what your experience was, when and how it started and convey to them that there are quite a few of us in the community who have had this problem resulting from a faulty motherboard....something, quite honestly, they should already know based upon model history and repair records.  If these videos can be of help to you at all, these are two that I made prior to sending mine in...one short as a general "WTF?", and the second as a more thorough documentation of the ability to reproduce the coil whine/electrical discharge.

Short: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_iyRQ830oI

Long: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l14DSzdY_wQ

Please keep us updated with the progress of your case, and best of luck moving forward.

asad814

 said:

Seems strange to me that they would not be able to identify the issue...have you spoken directly to a representative in Texas?  Acer's initial level of phone support was rather underwhelming, but the personnel I spoke with in Texas were top notch.  For myself and several others, the issue had absolutely nothing to do with the speakers...that was simply a symptom of the real problem, which was a faulty motherboard.  I would go so far as to say that the speakers are actually the culprit in exactly 0% of cases where "noise" is the "issue" in any of such threads here on the Acer forums.  Did you document the issue (maybe with video) prior to sending it in?  Did you do any testing on when the noise began/ceased based upon workload?  For me, it was very clear that the noise was directly related to the amount of strain being put on the CPU and/or GPU, and that it was coil whine/electrical discharge that the speakers simply picked up and amplified.  I downloaded Heaven benchmarking software and could replicate the faulty scenario within about 4-6 minutes, and could get it to cease "on command" by cancelling the stress test and waiting about 1-2 minutes...indicating that it was specific to workload.  I know you're not in the position to test for such things since the computer is not in your possession, but if you have any similar information that you can share with Acer, I have a feeling it will help.  Otherwise, I would try and speak with someone directly and describe as best possible exactly what your experience was, when and how it started and convey to them that there are quite a few of us in the community who have had this problem resulting from a faulty motherboard....something, quite honestly, they should already know based upon model history and repair records.  If these videos can be of help to you at all, these are two that I made prior to sending mine in...one short as a general "WTF?", and the second as a more thorough documentation of the ability to reproduce the coil whine/electrical discharge.

Short: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_iyRQ830oI

Long: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l14DSzdY_wQ

Please keep us updated with the progress of your case, and best of luck moving forward.

after how long you face this issue??? and when you first heard that crackling sound???

touchnova

asad814 said:

after how long you face this issue??? and when you first heard that crackling sound???

The sound first started happening after approximately 10.5 months of ownership, and I allowed it to annoy me for about 2 more weeks until I sent the device in for repair.  Since the laptop was returned to me about 3.5 months ago, I have not had any issues and it is working perfectly.

bjymoon

Thank you. I missed a call from the service center, and when calling back got connected to the customer service. Maybe the initial call was from TX. But I did send an email detailing that when I put strain on possibly the Graphics card, the sound would start up, and that it had been getting worse in terms of frequency, and the trigger threshold seemed to be getting lower. I did send in a sound recording, but I doubt it helped because it was of low quality. I have also let them know that a number of people on the forum indicated that it is a motherboard problem. (In their defense, mine is a different model G5-793)

Hopefully the information would be enough, but if they contact me again, I'll make sure to let them know. Thanks for the advice guys.

asad814: in my case I think it started after around 10 months, but it could have been because I haven't been putting enough strain on it till then. I still dealt with it for a few more months, but the problem started to spread in terms of more programs (that were working fine before) and in terms of less time till the sound started up.

floyd

My G9-793 recently developed this issue as well, how did you guys go about explaining this issue with Acer? I initially thought it was because the laptop was overheating, but the sound is completely reproducible when you benchmark the SSD. Won't crackle when benchmarking the HDD however.

touchnova

floyd, I would just call Acer's tech support number and explain exactly what you're experiencing in detail.  If you have the ability to document the symptoms via video prior to sending the device in, do so.  Note that the first tier of Acer's support is a bit mediocre...they're clearly used to dealing with calls in volume and sometimes don't ask the questions they should or record information properly (this was my experience at least).  Example, the first tech support I spoke with who created my Case ID listed the issue as being a possible hard drive malfunction, even though what I described to him had nothing to do with the hard drive.  As well, BE SURE TO REQUEST A SHIPPING LABEL when you call in and get your Case ID created, as they will not offer this.  The warranty on most Acer products does not include shipping/insurance to and from the repair center, but this service IS included for Predator products.  If you don't ask, they will not provide you one...I found out the hard way and it took months to be reimbursed. Being said, tier 2 of support from the repair center I dealt with was awesome.  But when you call in the first time, just explain the scenario you're facing in detail and you could even let them know that you're familiar with others on their official forum who have/are experiencing the same issue.  For myself and others, a faulty motherboard was at fault and had to be replaced.  I went so far as to clear off the desktop of my laptop completely except for a video file I made documenting the noise issue, named it "ACER WATCH THIS", as well as confirmed by phone with a tech that I was doing so in order for them to log it in my call records.  If you opt to send in the device, you'll need to remove the login password (if you're using a non-Microsoft associated account to log into your OS), or reset the password to something simple like "12345" prior to shipment.  If you leave an easy password in place, attach a post-it note to the screen with this password written down for the repair tech.  Not doing so will only delay your repair time.  And definitely, definitely back up your hard drive data and remove anything personal/professional that you do not want others to have access to.  In my case, they did not replace the hard drive(s), so no data was lost...but they state in the warranty manual that backing up prior to sending is very important.  Good luck, keep us posted and feel free to ask any other questions you might have.

floyd

Thank you Touchnova, I sincerely appreciate the time you took to reply. Looks like I'll be sending it in. The noise has become unbearable.

bjymoon

Just to update you guys, I've got my computer back 6/7, and it has been fine. They replaced the MB like others. It is really hard to say yet since it has been less than a week that I had it back. 
Thanks for all the help and advice!