Recently Upgraded My GPU, Now I Have Very Loud Coil Whine (Specs in OP)

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Mono313

Mono313

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Nov 28, 2013
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My specs - http://i.imgur.com/8FVYNFx.png
My mobo - http://au.msi.com/product/mb/P67AC43.html
My PSU - http://www.coolermaster.com/powersupply/gx-series/gx-750w/

I had a GTX 570 and recently upgraded to a GTX 780Ti. The coil whine only happens in game menus and cutscenes, when playing the game it is silent... no annoying noise at all. If I use EVGA Precision X to limit the frames to 60 or 120, it's fixed. But I really don't want to have to do that.

I RMA'd the 780Ti, they tested it on their end, and the guy said they didn't get any coil whine.

So, my question is, could it be my current specs? Does my computer need more upgrading to run the 780Ti well? Keep it mind, I never got coil whine with my GTX 570.

Any help is very much appreciated.
 
Solution
nukemaster
Strange things that happen :)

Gremlin in the pc.

I leave thermal past on for years on end. While it may look dry, many pastes can stay on for the life of the hardware.

Closest thing I can say I have heard from a fan was undervolting an old Athlon xp to such a low voltage it would not start(I would guess 2-3 volts). When started by hand it tuned very slow but made a strange sound(hard to explain, almost like a camera flash charging over and over but not that loud and much faster.)

As long as the sound is gone, great :)

If it comes back, I would be interested to see how any future trouble shooting goes.
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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Nov 23, 2004
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Coil whine is very system dependent even swapping a power supply may help is some cases.

If you are 100% sure it is the card, I would test it on some friends systems if you can to see if it sounds better or not.

I have never seen a perfect fix for it(unlike cpu VRM coil whine that can be fixed with some power settings changes[sometimes at a cost of power saving ability.]), but some users have claimed that placing a 2200uf(the best quality cap you can get I would guess) capacitor across the 12 volt lines(12 volt + ground -) on the pci-e power cables can reduce or even remove this noise. Capacitors do your as a power filter so it could work.

Silverstone and some others(forget who else right now) have sold power supplies with this 2200uf cap as well.

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=240

I have not personally tested this as shipping for just a few caps is kind of expensive. This is something I keep thinking about doing, but It will not happen until I need to make another order at digikey or similar.

All i can really tell you is the noise, no matter how annoying does not cause damage or anything like that.
 
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Zombified7x60

Zombified7x60

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I'm actually getting the same exact while you are explaining, but it's coming from my PSU. I've been trying to figure it out as it only makes the loud whine when the computer is under load. When it's idle and just looking at the desktop there's no noise at all. :/
 
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Mono313

Mono313

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@Nuke - I'm glad it doesn't cause damage to anything, thanks for the heads up and a reply.

As for the card itself, the GTX 780Ti, the shop tested it on their end and it was perfectly fine. Get this, the card I had in my PC before, the GTX 570, is now making the coil whine noise. The sound seems to be coming from behind the card itself and it's randomly happened to my GTX 570 since I got my new GTX 780Ti. Could it be indeed the mobo? I doubt it's the 570 as the whine sound coming from the same area it come from when I had the the GTX 780Ti installed.

Could it be indeed the PSU, but instead of the sound coming from that itself, it's sending it to the mobo area/behind the GPU?

Also, I can get this new PSU from a good mate for $100. Is this a good PSU? http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=15244

Appreciate all the help!
 
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Mono313

Mono313

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That's a shame, but at least you know it's the PSU. Well, at least it seems like the PSU from what you said.

Yeah, the whine for me only happens at loading screens, game menus or cutscenes. Apart from those, all is good. The sound is extremely really loud also... especially with the GTX 780Ti. The 570 I can stand with the sound.
 
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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The power supply may well cause the issue.

In a high number of my cards that did it the noise could actually get into the power supply as well.

Simply put switching power supplies are very fast and this on/off(the thing that makes them very efficient) causes the coils to vibrate(this can happen to any coil be in on the video card, motherboard or in the power supply). The coils are a part of the power filtering system to make the switching power smoother for your components.

The reason you hear it at different loads is because the power system is not always working as hard(it may well be vibrating outside of the human hearing range at times as well).
 
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Mono313

Mono313

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Nov 28, 2013
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Ah, I see. The information you have provided me has been very helpful, thank you!

Can the CPU fan/thermal paste area cause that high pitched noise also? Because, I think I may have just fixed the issue and I can't believe it. I removed the CPU fan and cleaned it all out properly for the first time in a very long time... I also removed the old paste and re-applied new stuff and my GTX 570 is perfectly fine, I hear no high pitched noise at all in menus or cutscenes. Whoa.

I'll be sure to test it more out in the morning. I played a few games that would usually have a lot of whine (Crysis + Crysis 2) and I got none what-so-ever just now. This is indeed possible, right? The CPU fan/thermal paste area to cause a high pitched sound? I only have one of those stock intel fans. I'll most definitely upgrade that in two weeks or so. I still do plan to upgrade the PSU at some point also. Do you think the above PSU I mentioned is a steal/worth it for that price compared to my current PSU?

I can't wait to get my GTX 780Ti back from the PC place here on Friday. I'll be sure to test that out ASAP and update this thread.

Again, thank you Nuke. I'm pretty glad that I now know more about coil whine because of you.
 
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Mono313

Mono313

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This is so strange. I still hear nothing, no high pitched noise at all this morning. All I did was remove the CPU fan, put new thermal paste on it, and installed the fan again. The old paste that was on there looked really bad. In the three or so years I have had this PC I never removed and re-applied it before... keep that in mind.

I don't know. It seems strange to me also that this would be the issue of the noise. I am absolutely certain the noise was coil whine, as when I moved the mouse in menus the high pitched noise would change to a low pitched noise or high pitched, ect.
 
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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Nov 23, 2004
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Strange things that happen :)

Gremlin in the pc.

I leave thermal past on for years on end. While it may look dry, many pastes can stay on for the life of the hardware.

Closest thing I can say I have heard from a fan was undervolting an old Athlon xp to such a low voltage it would not start(I would guess 2-3 volts). When started by hand it tuned very slow but made a strange sound(hard to explain, almost like a camera flash charging over and over but not that loud and much faster.)

As long as the sound is gone, great :)

If it comes back, I would be interested to see how any future trouble shooting goes.
 
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Solution
Mono313

Mono313

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Nov 28, 2013
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Yeah, I'm very happy it is gone.

I'll be sure to stick around on here as much as I can and not just pop in when I have issues of my own, it wouldn't hurt to spread the little knowledge I do have to others in need.

Appreciate the help, buddy. I'll still get that PSU and see how things go from there.
 
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