GTX 970 Buzzing Round 2

[sergeantmajesco]

i previously posted regarding a buzzing noise coming from my MSI 970. I have returned the MSI (waiting on a refund that has taken 40 days and is still not done) and bought an EVGA acx 2.0 970, and a similar buzzing occurs. It is loud enough that I hear it during normal gameplay, sitting far back on my couch. Naturally I am concerned about other hardware in my computer, but the sound does not happen when i use my old 570.

The buzzing also does not occur during a stress test - it does produce a loud coil whine, but it is a distinctly different noise than the buzzing/clicking - It is low pitched and mechanical sounding.


Buzzing occurs any time i boot up a game, even during gameplay (not just menus). I run my games with vsync, 60 fps and the buzzing still happens. I notice it most in the Vanishing of Ethan Carter (probably since the game is fairly quiet). Buzzing will immediately end if i alt-tab out of a game or close it outright.

I'm going to try plugging the card into a few of my friends' computers to test different psu/mobo combos, and try messing with the fans more. At this point, I'm exhausted and just want a gpu that works as advertised. Luckily I bought this one retail at micro center, so if it continues to be loud I can just drive up and return it. Not sure if I will keep trying to find a quiet 970 or just give up.

If anyone has had a similar situation and has advice, i am all ears.

 

[Brighttail]

This is most likely what is known as "Coil whine". There have been reported problems in the 970 and 980s. SOme claim it is based on the card, others say it is the card + PSU combo. One thing you can try is in the games that you are playing, do they have a cap on the FPS allowable? IF not you can cap those at a hard number like 60,80,120 and this should help reduce the noise as the card won't be trying to render frames at the higher rate when your average would be much lower. Sadly, coil whine has been around for a very long time and there is limited things you can do about it.

 

[sergeantmajesco]

This is most likely what is known as "Coil whine". There have been reported problems in the 970 and 980s. SOme claim it is based on the card, others say it is the card + PSU combo. One thing you can try is in the games that you are playing, do they have a cap on the FPS allowable? IF not you can cap those at a hard number like 60,80,120 and this should help reduce the noise as the card won't be trying to render frames at the higher rate when your average would be much lower. Sadly, coil whine has been around for a very long time and there is limited things you can do about it.

I was wondering if it was something other than coil whine since, like I mentioned, the noise is very different - I can get plenty of traditional coil whine from benchmarking my card - the noise I have issue with is a low pitched buzzing.

I do cap my games at 60 frames with vsync, and the buzzing persists. That's why I'm so frustrated - this isn't just a noise I hear when I'm pushing my cards in an arbitrary stress test. Instead, it is present in every game I play.

I'll be able to test one or two different rigs/PSU's this weekend. I just don't want to have to play GPU return roulette in order to get a card that plays nice. Currently I'm just letting my computer sit in a game while I'm at work - I thought I remembered someone else with a similar issue doing the same thing. Long shot, but I'm not sure what else to do.