970/980 Coil Whine

A pair of Asus Strix GTX970's in SLI. No coil whine so far. I only installed them yesterday and haven't done extensive tests but quick runs through FurMark and Unigine Valley did not produce any coil whine.
 
waderunner said:
Way to persist :) Smart move to get the Premier trial. How many cards did you actually go through? 6 to get 2 without coil whine?

Did you stick to the same brand, or did you try changing brands? Which model did you end up with?
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I returned 2 EVGA SC blower cards that had coil whine and 2 Gigabyte G1 cards which had buzzing noises, and finally kept MSI 4g cards which were perfect. I switched brands from the EVGA cause they were reaching 90c temps while they didn't on Gigabyte/MSI cards. I only switched from Gigabyte to MSI cause they were in stock.
 
I returned 2 EVGA SC blower cards that had coil whine and 2 Gigabyte G1 cards which had buzzing noises, and finally kept MSI 4g cards which were perfect.
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So, with NewEgg Premier, they accepted returns of one brand for replacement with another? I believe most of the 970's currently have the 'replacement only' warranty,which only provides replacement with the exact same make / model. So if Premier gives you a different deal, that's nice.
 
Koizumi said:
I returned 2 EVGA SC blower cards that had coil whine and 2 Gigabyte G1 cards which had buzzing noises, and finally kept MSI 4g cards which were perfect. I switched brands from the EVGA cause they were reaching 90c temps while they didn't on Gigabyte/MSI cards. I only switched from Gigabyte to MSI cause they were in stock.
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:eek:

Didn't think that was possible with Maxwell. gg EVGA
 
waderunner said:
So, with NewEgg Premier, they accepted returns of one brand for replacement with another? I believe most of the 970's currently have the 'replacement only' warranty,which only provides replacement with the exact same make / model. So if Premier gives you a different deal, that's nice.
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They gave refunds on the cards which I was then able to buy anything I wanted, but you can choose replacement over refund if you want to.
 
waderunner said:
So, with NewEgg Premier, they accepted returns of one brand for replacement with another? I believe most of the 970's currently have the 'replacement only' warranty,which only provides replacement with the exact same make / model. So if Premier gives you a different deal, that's nice.
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Yes, you can get a replacement (if they're in stock) or just refunded so you can buy something else! :)
 
Mine definitely has coil whine issues.

On my old card, I only noticed whine at extreme frame rates (like menus and really old games with vsync off), but the 970 will do it under any kind of load. It's an ASUS Strix.
 
Update: New PSU and the coil whine is gone. I can still hear an audible but faint 'buzz' when I get in the 2000 fps range on OCCT or Furmark but all games and benchmarks are quiet. I am glad I didn't have to RMA this card as it is a overclock beast (1600core stable, 8.2ghz mem stable). Apparently the Rev1.0 overclock much higher than the Rev1.1 so I was dreading moving forward.
 
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I can't understand how loud is the coil whine that all of you are complaining.
Do you hear it with closed case without putting your hears on the cards?
 
sblantipodi said:
I can't understand how loud is the coil whine that all of you are complaining.
Do you hear it with closed case without putting your hears on the cards?
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I recently got an Asus 970 and the sound characteristic of the whine is not a constant. Changing resolution, fullscreen/windowed, antialiasing, post fx, etc. All of these change how the whine sounds. And in most cases, whine is an incorrect word to describe this problem.

For me, I can hear a high pitched sound clear across the room with the case closed, but only when I run furmark, and only with specific settings.

Under normal gaming use (and even other stress tests and benchmarks), I don't hear anything unless I stick my ear close to the card. And then what I hear is a kind of low pitched puttering/hissing sound.
 
duncann said:
I recently got an Asus 970 and the sound characteristic of the whine is not a constant. Changing resolution, fullscreen/windowed, antialiasing, post fx, etc. All of these change how the whine sounds. And in most cases, whine is an incorrect word to describe this problem.

For me, I can hear a high pitched sound clear across the room with the case closed, but only when I run furmark, and only with specific settings.

Under normal gaming use (and even other stress tests and benchmarks), I don't hear anything unless I stick my ear close to the card. And then what I hear is a kind of low pitched puttering/hissing sound.
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so what is the problem? most of you are complaining about a non problem.
 
sblantipodi said:
so what is the problem? most of you are complaining about a non problem.
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For me personally, I don't see much of a problem, and am going to just keep the card.

For someone with a computer with only 1 or 2 really quiet fans, I could see how this might be a problem.

Hearing is also subjective.
 
i feel like my whole life has been a lie

turns out my gtx 460 also whines under furmark without furry and when csgo has >1000fps. it doesn't for wei though...

but regardless at least it doesn't sound like a bee like my gtx970 that i'm returning to tigerdirect today :p
 
flod said:
i feel like my whole life has been a lie

turns out my gtx 460 also whines under furmark without furry and when csgo has >1000fps.
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...and this is why manufactures don't make a big deal about it :p Imagine if one of them released an app that ran at like 9000 FPS just to check for coil whine :eek:
 
Coil whine at 1000FPS isn't a problem (turn on V-Sync)
Coil whine at 60FPS, which I and others are experiencing, is.


...So I wouldn't worry at all if it only happens at 1000fps.
 
duncann said:
Under normal gaming use (and even other stress tests and benchmarks), I don't hear anything unless I stick my ear close to the card. And then what I hear is a kind of low pitched puttering/hissing sound.
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Do you often game with your ear down close to the card? If so, I'd say you have bigger issues. ;)
 
Starrbuck said:
Do you often game with your ear down close to the card? If so, I'd say you have bigger issues. ;)
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I don't. At least I don't think I do! Sometimes you can't be too sure of anything. :eek:

But some people might have their computers on the desk right next to their head, which could be a problem, even for the low frequency puttering/hissing.
 
lol yeah i saw that one. I thought after i sent mine back i wonder how loud it would have been with furmark with the ring toggled off and no frame limit. My video was just with batman at the menu pushing 40fps...
 
I have some coil whine when in menus but it's either gone or I can't hear it when in game. Not too bad for me. I've got the GTX 970 STRIX.
 
Anyone successfully tried that burn test? stressing the card until coil whine goes away? i've seen quite a few discussion about it but no feedback.
Im curious if it really works or it's just random bs.
 
Seroman said:
Anyone successfully tried that burn test? stressing the card until coil whine goes away? i've seen quite a few discussion about it but no feedback.
Im curious if it really works or it's just random bs.
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I suppose it could do something, but there are tons of variables at work in these situations. You can easily find out about the causes of this physical phenomenon. Lots of info about it on the web. And it's not just confined to video cards. Finding a cure for it might not be so easy.

One interesting thing I've noticed with my asus 970 and z97-deluxe is the way the card was sitting in the pci-e slot. I went to turn my computer on the other day and heard an absolutely awful screeching/whining. Everything was working correctly except for the sudden sound. And it was coming from the video card. Running benchmarks, games, etc. had terrible coil whine all of a sudden that wasn't there before.

Well, the damn card is so heavy that the back end droops quite a bit, and after noticing this, I fixed it and even anchored the back end of it. Since then, the coil whine is pretty much gone, except for some extreme benchmarks, most notably furmark.

It seems that the card was falling so much under its own weight that proper contact in the pci-e slot wasn't being made (at least on one side of contacts), worsening any coil whine that was there in the first place.
 
At least a couple of us have rerouted our power lines so that they come from above the video card(s) and help support the other ends. This might be worth a try!
 
I just took some string and basically hung the back end of the fan shroud from two spots on the case.
 
My system:

PSU: corsair RM1000
MTB: Asus Z97-A
CPU: I5-4690K

First Asus Strix GTX 970. Horrible coil whine, high pitch. Returned to NEWEGG. got a full refund, place an order for a new one. (wait a month)

Just received my new Asus Strix GTX 970 yesterday. COIL WHINE again.. but not the same "level" of high pitch. But can hear it at 6 feet case closed.

What to do? return the new one? order something else?

If it's continue, I will sell all of this s***. Buy a MAC and a PS4/XBOX ONE for gaming. :)

I will try the "furmark" test...
 
Heck it is pretty obvious by now. Get another Asus after you return it for the 3rd time...............

mathieuy said:
My system:

PSU: corsair RM1000
MTB: Asus Z97-A
CPU: I5-4690K

First Asus Strix GTX 970. Horrible coil whine, high pitch. Returned to NEWEGG. got a full refund, place an order for a new one. (wait a month)

Just received my new Asus Strix GTX 970 yesterday. COIL WHINE again.. but not the same "level" of high pitch. But can hear it at 6 feet case closed.

What to do? return the new one? order something else?

If it's continue, I will sell all of this s***. Buy a MAC and a PS4/XBOX ONE for gaming. :)

I will try the "furmark" test...
Click to expand...
 
mathieuy said:
My system:

PSU: corsair RM1000
MTB: Asus Z97-A
CPU: I5-4690K

First Asus Strix GTX 970. Horrible coil whine, high pitch. Returned to NEWEGG. got a full refund, place an order for a new one. (wait a month)

Just received my new Asus Strix GTX 970 yesterday. COIL WHINE again.. but not the same "level" of high pitch. But can hear it at 6 feet case closed.

What to do? return the new one? order something else?

If it's continue, I will sell all of this s***. Buy a MAC and a PS4/XBOX ONE for gaming. :)

I will try the "furmark" test...
Click to expand...

Keep trying cards until you find one that doesn't whine :eek:

My Strix was my 3rd GTX 970 brand because an EVGA and MSI whined. The Asus doesn't whine, totally lottery on these.
 
Found something...

If I decrease the POWER TARGET % in ASUS GPU TWEAK, the coil whine become really low.
 
ocellaris said:
Keep trying cards until you find one that doesn't whine :eek:

My Strix was my 3rd GTX 970 brand because an EVGA and MSI whined. The Asus doesn't whine, totally lottery on these.
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Do you think I have to order another ASUS or try another brand?
 
mathieuy said:
My system:

PSU: corsair RM1000
MTB: Asus Z97-A
CPU: I5-4690K

First Asus Strix GTX 970. Horrible coil whine, high pitch. Returned to NEWEGG. got a full refund, place an order for a new one. (wait a month)

Just received my new Asus Strix GTX 970 yesterday. COIL WHINE again.. but not the same "level" of high pitch. But can hear it at 6 feet case closed.

What to do? return the new one? order something else?

If it's continue, I will sell all of this s***. Buy a MAC and a PS4/XBOX ONE for gaming. :)

I will try the "furmark" test...
Click to expand...

Fire up a game that will push 500+ frames in the main menu, and let your card sit there for a whole day. (I used Watch Dogs, but Crysis 2/3 work as well) Seems to burn out the whine a little bit.

Also have you actually tried gaming with your card? My Gigabyte 970s start out with a faint buzz but quickly goes away after they heat up enough, typically about 2 minutes into gaming. Only way to hear it is during quiet scenes and if I put my ear right next to my case.
 
n=1 said:
Fire up a game that will push 500+ frames in the main menu, and let your card sit there for a whole day. (I used Watch Dogs, but Crysis 2/3 work as well) Seems to burn out the whine a little bit.
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Run Furmark and press the Space Bar to hide the donut. All you get is the background which is almost nothing. That is an easy way to get 2000+ FPS.
 
naticus said:
Update: New PSU and the coil whine is gone. I can still hear an audible but faint 'buzz' when I get in the 2000 fps range on OCCT or Furmark but all games and benchmarks are quiet. I am glad I didn't have to RMA this card as it is a overclock beast (1600core stable, 8.2ghz mem stable). Apparently the Rev1.0 overclock much higher than the Rev1.1 so I was dreading moving forward.
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Can you tell us the model of your new PSU?
 
Unknown-One said:
Could be either component, really.

I will say I have had a LOT of trouble with Corsair-branded power supplies and coil whine. I've been through multiple RMAs in some instances, and STILL ended up with a unit that whines when moderate load is placed on it. It's also worth noting that allowing the power supplies to burn-in generally did help eliminate some (or all) of the whine, but it took about a week of normal usage to get to that point.

I've also had coil-whine issues with a GTX 260 and a HD 6970, but most graphics cards have been just fine.
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Do you think that the GPU make a "coil whine" noise because of the power supply? I have a RM1000. I don't want to waste another 150$ on a PSU
 
I have Seasonic X650 (3 yo and counting), MSI 970 Gaming 4G.

Either it has no coil whine or I simply cannot hear it (my case is less than 2 feet away from my ear, sometimes less than 1 foot), and I still cannot hear it.

Fired up 3D mark's low end mobile phone benchmark that started out with 700 fps, and had my ear against the case, still nothing.

I came to the conclusion that my card has no audible coil whine, if it has coil whine. But it found it distracting that I can hear the fan speed up and slowing down aroun 65~70C, that to me is much more annoying lol...
 
I think I will try with another PSU tomorrow. Just to make sure that is not the PSU who cause this coil whine to the GPU.
 
Placed an order for an MSI Gaming 970 as well. Amazon doesn't have it in stock though. Hopefully MSI has taken some steps to reduce instances of coil whine and I get one of the newer cards.
 
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