Asus DirectCU II cooler noise problem

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Mobius One

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Apr 20, 2014
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The specific card I'm experiencing this with is a GTX 770, with Asus DCII cooling as stated in the title. I'm not just looking for possible troubleshooting tips but also user experiences with the aforementioned cooling solution regarding this issue.

The problem is as follows: Any time the fan speed exceeds about 75% (about 2400RPM), a fairly high-pitched, inconsistent "hum" starts to emanate from them.
Now, I know I am pretty sensitive to such noise, but it is not just barely audible and is bothersome. For me, anyways.
Here is a recording of the sound in question: https://soundcloud.com/mobius2/gtx-770-whine

It does not matter whether I turn the RPM up manually (via MSI Afterburner) or play a taxing game. Temps usually stay below 75°C during gaming, though it can momentarily raise to just below 80. Idles around 30°C with ambient temperature of about 23°C.

And here's the kicker: I already RMA'd the initial GPU because of a similar sound and other issues. I just got this on last Thursday (21.8), brand new. I have to note, though, that this isn't quite same as the noise on the initial card, but rather one that's of a higher pitch.
Occurs with or without the side panels and case fans. Neither graphics cards had any obvious external damage, and neither had any clear problem with the fans.

Rest of the (meaningful) components:
Case: NZXT H440, stock fans, no additional ones
CPU & cooler: i5-4670k cooled with Noctua NH-U14S, included fan
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero
PSU: Superflower 550W Golden King Platinum (80 Plus Platinum)

I guess that it could be a normal noise caused by the fan motor and that I'm just too sensitive to noise like that. Otherwise I don't get how this is such a "quiet card", as so many sources claim. It would be without the sound present in the recording. Or it might be my hearing. In which case damnit.

Thank you for reading this lengthy post. Input to the matter is appreciated.
 
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Jay Lavistria

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Aug 2, 2013
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It could just be that he has coilwhine when the GPU is working so hard that the fans are above 70%.
Manually edit the RPM to 80% and tell me if it whines.
If it does, the fans the issue.
If it doesnt, then the board is the issue.
It's not too uncommon for an RMA to return back another (somewhat) faulty card.
 
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Slobodan-888

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Jul 17, 2014
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I don't think that it is faulty.

Due to nature of the switching regulators, electromagnetic field is creating and collapsing in the coil at the high frequency. Because of that, coil vibrates (produces noise). If the switching frequency is higher than around 20 KHz, then you will not be able to hear it (but the noise is still there). If it is at a lower frequency, say 10 KHz, you could hear it (high pitched noise). The switching frequency is probably higher than that, but there are still other harmonics (frequencies) present, so if any of those frequencies match the resonant frequency of the coil, the coil will vibrate and produce noise. Especially at higher loads, because higher current trough the coil will produce stronger magnetic field, meaning stronger vibration/noise.

I have told you how you can try to decrease or even completely remove the noise.
 
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Mobius One

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Apr 20, 2014
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Well, as I said in the original post:
It does not matter whether I turn the RPM up manually (via MSI Afterburner) or play a taxing game.
Click to expand...
The very sound recording I linked was taken when the card was just idling on the desktop with the fan speed manually raised to 90% with MSI Afterburner. I should've mentioned that, really...
 
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Guest

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I have the same problem. The GPU starts to make an inconsistent hum noise when the fan speeds go over 52%. I got this card 3 days ago.

Maybe it has something to do with one of the GPU corners sagging a bit -> fan imbalance?
 
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Slobodan-888

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It has nothing to do with fan. Fan speed simply increases when GPU load increases. And it it the GPU load that causes coil noise to increase also. With more load, you have higher current flowing through the coils, meaning stronger magnetic field, meaning strong vibrations of the coil (louder noise).
 
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Guest

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If it has nothing to do with the fan, then why does the noise occur when i manually set the fan speed to 60%+? (Gpu load 0%)
 
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Guest

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The noise is a constant rhythmic hum when the FANS go over certain rpm.

Im currently on mobile so i cant go mess with the gpu. Im just trying to find if this is a common problem with asus gtx 770 or is it just my card and if theres something else that can be done other than rma.
 
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Mobius One

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Apr 20, 2014
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So, I decided to test this with my 770. For some reason it didn't cross my mind to try it with the card I RMA'd a few weeks back.

Using my finger(s) and gently pressing on the middle to stop the fan(s), the noise ceased as soon as the RPM went below what was likely around 1600 and was nonexistent once they were fully stopped. Releasing the fans caused them to quickly ramp up to full before dropping back to what I had set them to, 80% or ~2600 RPM.

Stopping one fan individually while leaving the other to spin was kind of inconclusive due to the fact that the other fan instantly starts to ramp up to full speed. And by "full speed" I mean what seems to be slightly above the max speed by simply setting it to 100%, which is around 3200, while doing this MSI Afterburner recorded a momentary peak of 3360 RPM each time they ramped up.

Probably notable also is that the fan speed will vary a bit, no matter the speed, by about 60 RPM, with seemingly higher variance at higher speeds (up to 100 RPM?). While I am not sure that this isn't somewhat common, I don't think the speed should vary by as much if the temperature is stable and there's no other input.

Also, while the card sags a bit at the other end, I can't think of how that could cause the noise. And I'm fairly certain that I tried supporting the already RMA'd card there to no avail.
 
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