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What is Coil Noise? Is it Bad? Etc.

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  • Future Article Ideas
  • Tom's Hardware
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April 17, 2009 7:07:53 AM

Hi guys, I just learned about coil noise from this thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/263071-33-powercolor-...

Would it be possible to see an article detailing this phenomenon, any problems it may cause, and what steps can be taken to resolve it?

More about : coil noise bad

April 17, 2009 9:04:49 AM

Thanks for the tip manic. I have experienced this as well, and, if anything, would at least make an interesting question to answer!
April 17, 2009 10:02:11 AM

Ah yes, I used to get hissing from Folding@Home. My X1950 pro would make high-pitched noises I games tool, as long as V-Sync was enabled (for some reason).
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April 20, 2009 7:54:31 AM

Let's hope the dudes in the lab put something together for the editorial team to write about :) 
Anonymous
June 11, 2009 10:57:18 PM

whenever my new graphics card comes under any sort of stress it makes a really high pitch whine which decided was probably coil noise, its a hd 4350 passive cooling so its not fans or anything, when i bought it i had no trouble but now 2 weeks later i was playing around with fan configs and it started to make this noise even after i put the fans back exacktly as they where, i was woundering if this noise will harm anything other than my ears???
June 13, 2009 9:06:56 AM

A few coils on my ASUS P5K-E (P5K Deluxe PCB) made that noise with a quad under full load. If I put my finger on it the noise dies down a bit.
Personally I don't mind it, but I can certainly see most people will. It happens when the coils (hidden in square blocks) oscillates within the hear-able frequency.
July 17, 2009 9:42:51 AM

So what does cause it? Some form of electromagnetic interaction between the video card's components?
July 20, 2009 10:04:55 PM

the frequency of the current draw @ the coil matches the tonal frequency of the sound you hear. The higher the current draw, the higher/more often the nosie will be heard.
Anonymous
July 23, 2009 9:38:55 PM

Since considerable current is flowing through the coils at a frequency of 10+kHz, the coils begin to vibrate.

Anyone having any suggestions on how to fix this? I have one idea... putting epoxy or similar on top of the coil to stop it from vibrating. Similiar solution was done in the good old days of CRTs where a coil in the high voltage part of the circuitry could be quite noisy, at 15kHz (PAL). Has anyone had any luck with this solution? I am on to my third MB from Intel (DG45FC) with the same problem....

Mute
July 24, 2009 2:51:58 AM

Some say nail polish, but be careful. Alot of times the noise changes or even goes away in time, as the components change due to heat, and react differently.
Whats causing this is the lack of what they call wax potting, or coating the components. Some arent being done correctly, or not at all, and its cheaper for the manu process
July 24, 2009 10:52:23 AM

I guess that's why I see them enclosed in a square cube and can see some of them filled with some kinda white epoxy. But not always.
Anonymous
July 24, 2009 9:44:18 PM

I was in contact with Intel support today. For the first time they admit that this is a known problem. They also claim they have a BIOS update in test phase which should solve the problem. It'll be interesting to see the result...

Mute
July 25, 2009 1:14:11 AM

Maybe a voltage adjustment of some type.
!