7850 Coil Whine On Startup

[supergtr]

I bought an XFX 7850 Core Edition 1gb from Newegg and I just installed it today. The problem with this card is that it coil whines on startup until I log in to my profile. Do I need to RMA this card? I thought that an 450W XFX Power supply would do the trick but nothing is wrong with it. I even took out the card just to make sure and the card seems to be the problem.

 

[supergtr]

I'm RMA'ng it. It is coil whining under light load.

 

[amuffin]

There's nothing wrong with it.

 

[supergtr]

It was coil whining while I was watching 720p Youtube videos and doing light gaming. I put in my 9600gt and my system is silent now.

 

[amuffin]

Coil whine is normal.

 

[Pinhedd]

I bought an XFX 7850 Core Edition 1gb from Newegg and I just installed it today. The problem with this card is that it coil whines on startup until I log in to my profile. Do I need to RMA this card? I thought that an 450W XFX Power supply would do the trick but nothing is wrong with it. I even took out the card just to make sure and the card seems to be the problem.

Coil whine is normal.

Coil whine is normal, very audible coil whine is not. Coil whine under high loads can happen and is usually not a cause for concern but if you're hearing it while its idle something bad could happen when the current really starts flowing.

 

[supergtr]

Yeah, I'm going to get a 7770 Vapor-x which is the one I was thinking about buying in the first place. From now on, I'm going to avoid reference cards.

 

[amuffin]

That's a pretty big downgrade.

 

[supergtr]

That's a pretty big downgrade.

It's sad that my 9600gt is completely silent at idle unlike the 7850.

 

[supergtr]

Best answer selected by supergtr.

 

[Pinhedd]

Yeah, I'm going to get a 7770 Vapor-x which is the one I was thinking about buying in the first place. From now on, I'm going to avoid reference cards.

Coil whine has little to do with reference/non-reference. It's mostly related to component quality and construction quality; XFX is a solid OEM but even a few slip through their QA. Even getting knocked around hard enough during S&H could cause coil whine. Non-reference cards typically have different coolers and firmware but the VRMs don't differ by much.

If you're happy with the performance of your 7850 then I suggest that you contact XFX for an RMA, they have an amazing warranty service in North America

 

[supergtr]

I think it was the caps squealing that was driving me insane. I bought a PSU that did the same thing.

 

[amuffin]

Caps don't do that....

 

[Pinhedd]

Caps don't do that....

They can, but not to the same degree. Caps can and do vibrate depending on their construction but it's hard to make it audible to the same degree as inductors.