EVGA Hybrid 980ti loud sloshing/bubbling noises common?

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Blade-Runner

Supreme [H]ardness
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Feb 25, 2013
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I have had the Hybrid installed in my case for about a week and the entire time it has been emitting very loud water sloshing/bubbling noises at startup which quieten after about 5 minutes, but it then intermittently makes other noticeable noises which sound very much like running water. The startup noise is similar to what is captured in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZF3OfvXwq4

Changing the orientation of the reservoir and tubing did not fix the problem, and neither has shaking the reservoir or allowing the GPU to run for extended periods. I have already emailed EVGA support who have suggested returning or RMA'ing it.

I didn't expect the Hybrid to be completely silent, but relative to the Corsair H100 installed in the same case, these noises are excessively loud and distracting.

In deciding whether to get a refund or replacement, can other owners tell me whether they have experienced similar problems? I haven't found too many complaints of this across other forums, so I am hoping that a replacement will not exhibit the same problem.
 
I just installed an evga 980 ti hybrid in my pc last week.

I had the same sounds as the in the video for the first five minutes. Since then, I haven't heard these kind of sounds again.

The radiator should be positioned higher than the card itself, not sure you have it installed in your case.
 
Yes the radiator is positioned higher than the card with the tubes and pump at the top as per EVGA's recommendation. I even lowered the card to the lowest PCIE slot so that the tubing is just about vertical without any bending, but I still experience that gushing/bubbling noise.

/sigh, should have stuck to a standard HSF
 
I think I had a slight bit of noise when I got mine but it disappeared shortly after (less than an hour IIRC).
 
Yeah, I saw a lot of user reviews on Newegg complaining about noise so I went with the Classified instead.
 
If the system has been off then it's normal for air to move around in the pipes a bit but the noise should disappear quickly. My Corsair H55 + G10 does this as well but after the initial bubbling it is whisper quiet.

Pump noise is a different issue and that seems to come up with the EVGA Hybrids. It's more of an electrical noise and can be eliminated by plugging the pump into a fan controller and lowering the speed to about 70%. This doesn't have any effect on temps. My H55 also has this noise but I can't hear it thru my case so I just keep the pump at 100%.

I'd probably RMA it, seems like there might not be enough liquid in it.
 
The whole point of WC is silence, forget that, lol.
 
Yes the EVGA Hybrid kit is loud, even with custom fans. I went back to the ACX coolers after listening to that abomination lol.
 
kasakka said:
If the system has been off then it's normal for air to move around in the pipes a bit but the noise should disappear quickly. My Corsair H55 + G10 does this as well but after the initial bubbling it is whisper quiet.

Pump noise is a different issue and that seems to come up with the EVGA Hybrids. It's more of an electrical noise and can be eliminated by plugging the pump into a fan controller and lowering the speed to about 70%. This doesn't have any effect on temps. My H55 also has this noise but I can't hear it thru my case so I just keep the pump at 100%.

I'd probably RMA it, seems like there might not be enough liquid in it.
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Its definitely not pump noise which on my unit is barely audible. And how loud is the initial bubbling on your H55? I have been using an H100 for over 3 years and it has never emitted any water noises, even after having the case on its side for hours when working on it. The Hybrid on the other hand makes sloshing noises that are loud enough to make a person think it has sprung a cascading waterfall leak.

I also had a look at the newegg reviews and there are only a couple of similar complaints, with the majority of owners happy and others complaining of the loud stock fan and pump buzzing.

I am definitely sending it back to Amazon, but I am torn about whether to request a refund because I got it at such a great price compared to how much they cost locally.
 
Weird, I just received my hybrid over the weekend and don't have any water/pump noise at all. I even have the case open to listen for coilwine and not a peep. Maybe I just got lucky.
 
Blade-Runner said:
And how loud is the initial bubbling on your H55? I have been using an H100 for over 3 years and it has never emitted any water noises, even after having the case on its side for hours when working on it. The Hybrid on the other hand makes sloshing noises that are loud enough to make a person think it has sprung a cascading waterfall leak.
Click to expand...

It's audible, can't check now and it really only happens when the computer has been off for at least a night. It dies off very quickly.

I'd probably get a replacement and see if it works any better.
 
Well I am happy to report that the replacement from Amazon did not experience the same issue. There was some audible water movement when it first powered up, but apart from that its been completely silent.

The original unit actually quietened after about 2 weeks of use so I felt a bit guilty that Amazon had sent a replacement before it had improved. However, I reasoned that ultimately there was an issue that could result in further problems in the future, and it was worth trying the new unit. Apart from having the acoustics I expected, the replacement unit is running around 3 degrees cooler when idling, so I suspect that performance was impacted as a result of the loop not having enough water in it.

I must say that the level of service from Amazon is unparalleled, I can't think of any retailer in my country which would cross ship a replacement unit without any questions whilst allowing me to hold onto the original unit until the replacement arrived to save me the inconvenience of not having a working computer. A++ experience!
 
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