HD 4890 noise issues

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I built a new PC yesterday, and installed my HD Radeon 4890. Unfortunately the fan makes an unbearable noise. I know the 4890 is supposed to be quite loud but the noise of my fan isn`t a smooth noise, it`s more like a rattling noise or a loud drill... as if there is something loose in there or the fan is spinning too fast. I'm waiting until I resolve this before installing the OS. Since I'm only in the bios it seems to me that the fan shouldn't be spinning so fast... So I'm staring at a bios screen and slowly but surely going deaf :)

Has anyone experienced similar problems? If it was just a case of a loud fan I wouldn`t mind so much, but as it is it`s impossible to concentrate on anything.


Could it be that the fan is simply spinning too fast? Xfx are supposed to overclock their gpus, so could it be that reducing the fan speed by a microfraction could quieten it?

Any feedback appreciated.

 
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Wusy thanks for the post.

The card is slotted into the PC-e slot and held tight with a lever-clip, similar to what holds the RAM modules in place. At the back of the case, the card's exhaust grill is screwed into the case. I have checked the noise, and it's definitely coming from the fan...
 

sven878

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Perhaps you have a soundcard or something mounted right next to the gpu and the prongs on the back of the soundcard scratch the side of the fan when it spins
 
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I wish... unfortunately the 4890 doesn't have anything in its proximity... it's the only card mounted... and no cables either.

I might have to buy a gpu heatsink/fan... thus killing 2 birds with one stone... :)
 

sven878

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Oh only now i realized that you are in the bios. A little hint: Every GPU will rev the living hell out of the fan when ur in the bios. Install the OS install the Drivers and then write back. The Drivers optimize you settings.
 
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Ok thanks guys I guess I should have just proceeded with OS installation before. I hope it's as easy as that :)
 
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OS and drivers installed. No difference.

BUT: after tinkering with the GPU fan control settings in the Catalyst Control Centre I realise that the drill noise only happens when the fan speed is set to under 45%. Over that the noise turns into a hair drier type noise, smooth and blowy. It's actually louder than the drill, but way more bearable.

Can anyone explain this?

What is the maximum healthy temperature of a graphics card?

Thanks...
 
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Hmm I found this on another forum site:

"Originally Posted by Angst! View Post:
I have two XFX 4890's, one is dead silent with the fan on auto and idling, the other has the same defect I have seen around the forums regarding a rattling noise reminiscent of a bicycle wheel being spun.


Reply:
That rattling noise (it's the plastic fan wheel rubbing up against plastic) is typical of defective ATI fans."

 
I find it sad my old 9800GX2 is quieter then my new 4890...

If they need fans that loud to keep the thing cool, I suspect the 5000 series will be a dud, as ATI will have no way to clock the cards higher while keeping them cool.
 

balthalzar

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fabjam i have this problem but once at 27% fan speed it stops should i rma or not? aslong as it doesn't cause any problems im fine i always run at 50% fan speed or so
 
Gamer, what fan speed do you run your 4890 at?

At 35% fan speed i can barely hear my fan over my case fans at low. At 30% i can't hear it at all but idle temps go slightly too high for my liking, prefer it closer to 50 than 60C.
Default. Even when I had my GX2 fan set to 100%, the fan wasn't that loud...

And for the record, while my GX2 would hit 78C at idle, it never got any higher then 85C at load within my PC. (I've already seen my 4890 hitting 87C in limited stress testing...). I have serious questions about how far the 5000 series can go without cooling issues, thats all.
 

sven878

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just crank the fan constantly and get some acoustic dampening for your case. Fans, whether mounted on a gpu, cpu, case..etc have little ball bearings inside. should those bearings be damaged or not installed properly it will cause the fan to rotate violently. I've had 6 nvidia cards with big fans, none had this defect. It seems once again ATI has a lesson to learn.
 
Only everything exept the GPU is currently liquid cooled, and my two outtake fans + PSU are near silent. And yes, I know ATI sacrificed fan speed; then why exactly is the fan so LOUD?

There is 0 reason my GX2 running at 100% should be quieter then a 4890 at 50%.
 

FaBJaM

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Original poster here. Okay I'm back... albeit my account has since been deactivated because I forgot to confirm it via email. Sorry I was away from the computer for 24 hours.

I have some good news. The rattling sound is gone! I am now operating the fan speed on Auto in the CCC. Currently it's set to 23% and I'm pleased to say the barely audible, soporific hum is music to my ears.

What happened? Well I took the 4890 out of the case to inspect it through the red casing, turning the fan with my finger to figure out if there was any obstruction. There was none, yet even with my finger the fan was making a kind of rattle. For some reason I decided to gently push the wire going into and under the fan in a bit. I noticed then that the rattle had diminished when spinning the fan with my finger. I pushed the wire in just a mm more, and then by unexplained fortune the rattling was gone (I made sure just in case that the wired was not touching the fan).

I connected everything up again, switched the PC on and BEHOLD! NO MORE RATTLING!!!

My only explanation is that by pushing in the wire just a few mm, the tension inside the fan must have changed.

If anyone else has a rattling problem at low fan speeds (in my case below 40% in the CCC), you might want to try this. Though I stress in my case the wire only needed a few mm of pushing in.

FaBJam
 

mecne

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Thats great you had a simple fix @FaBJaM ..

Mine was not so easy.. well easy in the end..

My Sapphire 4890 is 4 weeks old now..
On the 3rd week It started making the "Bycycle Noise" I check everything.. on forum suggested pushin on the fan to re seat it.. no go..
Went back to the store I bought it.. up to 15 Day over the counter replacement.. past that.. up to 30 days "we will RMA it for you" But they said it would take then longer than if I did it myself.
So I Contact Sapphire for an RMA.. " It will cost approx $40- 60 to ship it back to Hong Kong for RMA.. WTH!!!

So I did some research and bought an after market VGA cooler for $39.99 and it works 150% better than the stock ever thought of working..
Runs 5 - 10 degrees cooler .. with the fans on full I can't hear it above my CPU fan..
The stock cooler sound like a fraking Jet at 100% ..

Not very good CS all around from the Store to Sapphire.. Don't think I will ever buy another Sapphire card..

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squeen

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your a legend fabjam

had the exact same problem but with a gigabyte 4890. rattling sound wouldnt go away until i reached around 42% fan speed. which was also quite loud but better than the sound it made before.

fiddled around with the fans power supply cable until it made no noise.

that was my only problem with the card, loving it now. can drop the fan speed right down for watching a movie late night etc. :p
 

Wiffinberg

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I congratulate you sir on this find as i have also had this problem, i tried your solution and started my pc with a most excellent whirr insted of click.

if i had more that two thumbs to display in an upward position they would most certainly be yours!!!
 

leckig

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I have the same exact problem. So you are saying they will want me to ship the card to hong kong? Any suggestion which aftermarket cooler would work best?
 

aaXenoStrange

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CCC is where you go to adjust fan speeds.
Also WOW sapphire... I just RMAd' my 4670 ultimate passive card (it was open box with black screening) and I only had to ship to California. I personally think you should be able to just "Buy" a card from the manufacturer and you get a refund when the RMA is approved, it sucks waiting a month and 1/2 without a proper card...

As for designing a damn graphics card... If you are going to take up 2 cad slots anyways you may as well just use a massive "Passive type" heat-sink and have a mount option for a standard 120mm fan... Take a look at my 4670 to get a good idea of how that would work out... My Mugen2 fan is right up against my 4670 and it never exceeds 43C even under unnatural 100% test loads.

If you can do it on a low end card you sure as heck can do it on a high end card and just ad a mounting option for a few diff. fans.

pc2z.png


Here is my case view if that's a bit confusing:
pc1w.png


My CPU never exceeds 63C @ 3.7ghz overclock i7 920 even drawing in some preheated GPU exhaust. If it was a higher wattage card simply slapping on a 2nd fan to that CPU heat-sink should be enough... Given the 4 mounting locations on the Mugen 2, No problem there!

>End Rant<