Acer TC 885 EB15 - Coil Whine

Hi,

I bought a TC885 about 3 months ago and the "Coil Whining" problem existed since day 1. I thought it was normal until the electrical noise became very obvious and kept bothering me. It's definitely noticeable. I did some research online and realized it is Coil Whine. Now obviously it's too late to return/exchange it to the vendor so I contacted Acer Support as it's under warranty. I was told I had the option to ship it in but I have to cover outgoing shipping cost. In addition to the shipping process, it may take 7-10 business days to look into the problem. I do need the device for work at this point but also urgently would like to have it fixed.

I have a couple of questions here.
1)Will Acer technicians take "Coil Whine" issue seriously? I don't want them to call me saying it's normal and won't effect anything (the whining is quite noisy) after the long shipping process which is costly as well.
2)Has anyone experienced this? Any solutions? I see some posts regarding Coil Whine for Acer laptops but fewer for desktops.

After a 2-day study, I found it can lessen the noise if I turn off the Turbo boost by decreasing "Maximum processor state" to 99% or less. But the problem is it doesn't completely get rid of "Coil Whine" and I don't want to lose any performance of my brand new device. I probably have to contact Acer support again soon.

Any thoughts and/or recommendations would be much appreciated. The Coil whining/ electrical noise is truly annoying! Thanks guys.

Although the problem is not resolved yet, a kudo to Acer support online chat team. The guy named Carlos was patient and courteous.

Base Features

Pre-loaded Operating System

Windows 10 Home 64-Bit

Operating System Language

Bilingual

Processor Type

Intel Core Ci5-9400

Processor Speed

2.9 GHz

Processor Cores

6

Processor Cache

9 MB SmartCache

RAM Size

8 GB

RAM

8 GB DDR4 2666 MHz UDIMM

Hard Disk Drive Capacity

2 TB

Solid-State Drive Capacity

128 GB

Hard Drive Speed (Revolutions Per Minute)

7200 RPM

Optical Drive

DVD+/-RW

Graphics Card

Intel UHD Graphics 630

Dedicated Graphic Card

No

Audio Output

High Definition Audio with 5.1 Channel Audio Support

Cooling System

Air Cooling

Power Supply

300 W

ENERGY STAR Qualified Yes

Accepted answers

All comments

Commodore_1995#

1) I don't know how the warranty works, if the device has a coil whine. You should check with technical support.

2) When you disconnect the dedicated offboard video card, does the coil whine noise still occur?

ttttt

I suspect replacing the power supply will solve the problem. I had similar problem with one of my old computers. Replaced it with a spare power supply solved the problem. Hope you have a spare. Note that this probably will void the warranty.

Ganggangdbl

egydiocoelho said:

1) I don't know how the warranty works, if the device has a coil whine. You should check with technical support.
2) When you disconnect the dedicated offboard video card, does the coil whine noise still occur?

Hi egydiocoelho,

Thanks for your reply
1. Called twice. Tech support suggested me to ship the device back so their technician can check it.
2. I don’t have a dedicated video card.

Ganggangdbl

ttttt said:

I suspect replacing the power supply will solve the problem. I had similar problem with one of my old computers. Replaced it with a spare power supply solved the problem. Hope you have a spare. Note that this probably will void the warranty.

Hi ttttt,

I agree with you. I want to try another psu but I don’t have a spare. Possibly have to buy a new one. Have you tried uninstalling intel graphic card driver?

Ganggangdbl

UPDATE 2020 JUN 10:

First of all, may I still edit my topic? Didn't find the edit option.
Anyways, I called Acer again and was told to ship the device for checking which I can't yet as mentioned.
Now I have a new problem with the desktop. When I use it for a while, there is a different coil whine sounds like "high pitched electronical noise" which is VERY VERY annoying. It only happens when I use certain app for a while, somewhere between 2 - 5 hours. It goes away when I close the app but sounds again if I re-open the app.
I am considering some other options:
1. Should I uninstall Intel Graphic Card UHD 630 driver? I only found the option to uninstall or disable the device (UHD 630) via Device Manager. Will I cause a black screen? Will the driver re-installed after re-boot?
2. Considering buy a new PSU with higher watts. Which brand has least chance to get a coil whine and runs quietly? In case it doesn't work, does vendor normally accept a return within 15 days for PSU? My guess is most don't if PSU is opened, even for big vendors like Bestbuy. Is that true?

After a couple of days of using a "quieter" device by decreasing the processor state, the new coil whine appears and drives me mad. It is worse than the old one. Any experience from TC-885 user? Is this just happening for my device?

Thanks guys!

By the way, it was too early to give kudo to Acer online chat team because apprently some information was misaligned with Acer Tech Support by calling. It would cost me more if I already shipped my device. Both good customer service though, just information was not acurate enough.

Commodore_1995#

Are you still on the exchange term with the seller?

ttttt

Dear Ganggangdbl,

Do you have an old computer or other computer so you can "Temporary Borrow" a PSU from that computer to try on this TC885 machine. Or if you have some computer enthusiastic friends, this kind of people may have some spare PSUs to loan you one.
If your originally intent to upgrade the PSU anyway (such as putting a dedicated graphics card for gaming), then it is a good time to get one. Having a spare PSU around is not a bad idea. If trying to get new PSU, make sure it has at least a spare 6 or 6+2 pin connector to be connected to future graphics card. What wattage needed depends on the requirements of the potential graphics card. Usually 500W will do, but 650W is pretty save for most graphics cards.

I had the experience with one device ( a SSD mobile dock) that made very noisy and annoying sound. I could not believe it could be generated from such a small, 1 inch fan of the mobile dock. It took me days to narrow down to such a device.

What made you believe you should uninstall the Intel UHD 630 driver? Even if you can download the drivers again from the Intel site, how you are going to re-install it again when you computer is "Temporary blind"? , having a black screen (or give you error message and will not boot). Using dedicated graphics card to replace the UHD 630 driver is another matter.

ttttt

Dear Ganggangdbl,

If you happen to change PSU to test, be sure to use you cell phone to take video to record which connector goes where. I presume you will not have a motherboard user manual, as Acer will not give you one.