graphics card coil whine. Annoying but is it a sign of bad card?

Tomgang · Feb 14, 2015

So after tryed two different vendors of graphics Card (EVGA and Zotac GTX 970) and both had coil whine problem. Evga so bad that i returned them. The new zotac Cards also have coil whine, but not as bad.

I now gtx 970 has a weekness when it comes to coil whine and all vendors are effected of it whit gtx 970.
So insteed of retur my zotac Cards and risk new Cards whit even more coil whine.

I want to ask is coil whine a sign of a bad Card or is it just a Annoying sound i not shut be concerned about?

I had before 2 Gainward GTX 570 and later on 2 Zotac GTX 660 Ti and even overclock to its limit. No coil whine from them in the same pc.

PSU is thermaltake toughpower 1500w and about 5 1/2 years old.

P4-630 · Feb 14, 2015

Tomgang said:
it just a Annoying sound i not shut be concerned about?

Thats it

Caring1 · Feb 14, 2015

Tomgang said:
I want to ask is coil whine a sign of a bad Card or is it just a Annoying sound i not shut be concerned about?

It's not a sign of a bad card, just lower quality components are used that cause that.

Tomgang · Feb 14, 2015

Alright think i keep these Card when. Else i think a can return and return in a never ending cirkle and maybe never find a Card that not coil whine.

FireFox · Feb 14, 2015

I have two Evga 770 and one had this coil whine problem (it's not a problem at all)
I don't want to say BS but since the cards are watercooler the problem is Gone.

Weird?
Yes it is...

Kaynar · Feb 14, 2015

Ive had several cards and psu's with coil whine of different frequencies and they never malfunctioned

Steve-007UK · Feb 14, 2015

My HD 7970 has had coil wine since i got it and 3 years later it still does it but the card is still working fine apart from having to replace a fan on it.

It only ever seems to make a noise when FPS go really high but damn it does make some noise but at the same time it's also funny, Might record the sound one day and try and make a tune out of it haha

eidairaman1 · Feb 14, 2015

My 290 initially whines when it enters 3d mode but then stops. The card is a highly recommended unit along with the psu. Both were bnib and not even 1 yo yet. So with that said even if you swapped your psu out and another batch of 970s or even a 980, there is no guarantee you wont experience coil whine. Another solution is try vsync on. Otherwise turn your speakers up, or you might void your warranty by opening the card up and putting hot glue around the coils or electronic grade silicon sealant to dampen the noise they make.

MxPhenom 216 · Feb 14, 2015

coil whine is very normal. It can be annoying but not really a sign of a bad card.

FireFox · Feb 14, 2015

Coil whine is just some melody added to the GPU

lukart · Feb 18, 2015

Most of the times is related to the power components being heated up and start to vibrate due to heavy load. Its not a bad part, even not bad quality.. but mostly design.

Tallencor · Feb 18, 2015

I thought for sure my card was whistling A Perfect Circle the other day. Got the mem to 1560 though.

alwayssts · Feb 18, 2015

Tallencor said:
I thought for sure my card was whistling A Perfect Circle the other day. Got the mem to 1560 though.

I don't know why that made me laugh, but it did. I imagined a power circuitry opus of Renholder.

eidairaman1 · Feb 18, 2015

The guy hasnt been back for 4 days

hapkiman · Feb 20, 2015

I've had three MSI 9xx series cards now, two 970's and currently a GTX Gaming 980 4G. None of them had coil whine. EVGA, PNY, Zotac, Gigabyte, and to a degree (although not as much) ASUS all seemed to be more prone to it more so than MSI (MSI early cards had it too and a problematic fan issue - but it has all been corrected now). Also, the early runs had it worse than cards being produced later. ASUS and MSI had the best quality components in their cards IMHO. With the exception of the new Classified EVGA 980 card which is very top notch. The other answer is right that it is not really a defect or malfunction, but is a indication of less than high quality components being used. I bought one of my 970's right after they came out, but I got lucky and it was fine.

I have had a card with coil whine though and it can be very mild and slightly annoying (but tolerable), or loud and so bad it makes you want to return the card.

One weird trick that works for some is to: [in Win 8]
Go to >Control Panel>System and Security>Power Options - and set it from "High Performance" to "Power Saver" mode. Then save and restart.

Verified by several users it does work sometimes.

Coil whine is a resonance sound of an electrical signal frequency passing through a circuit or coil. It could be several different circuits, coils, or parts causing it (PSUs used to frequently fall victim to "coil whine" issues). And it is often related to the PSU and the quality of the power being supplied. You have a huge PSU but it is pretty old.

If the Windows Power Savings trick doesn't work, its up to you whether you can live with it. I personally hate that sound.

Animalpak · Feb 21, 2015

Knoxx29 said:
I have two Evga 770 and one had this coil whine problem (it's not a problem at all)
I don't want to say BS but since the cards are watercooler the problem is Gone.

Weird?
Yes it is...

You can hear more coil whine when you switch to a waterblock on videocards.

My 780 Ti had some light coil whine.

eidairaman1 · Feb 21, 2015

hapkiman said:
I've had three MSI 9xx series cards now, two 970's and currently a GTX Gaming 980 4G. None of them had coil whine. EVGA, PNY, Zotac, Gigabyte, and to a degree (although not as much) ASUS all seemed to be more prone to it more so than MSI (MSI early cards had it too and a problematic fan issue - but it has all been corrected now). Also, the early runs had it worse than cards being produced later. ASUS and MSI had the best quality components in their cards IMHO. With the exception of the new Classified EVGA 980 card which is very top notch. The other answer is right that it is not really a defect or malfunction, but is a indication of less than high quality components being used. I bought one of my 970's right after they came out, but I got lucky and it was fine.

I have had a card with coil whine though and it can be very mild and slightly annoying (but tolerable), or loud and so bad it makes you want to return the card.

One weird trick that works for some is to: [in Win 8]
Go to >Control Panel>System and Security>Power Options - and set it from "High Performance" to "Power Saver" mode. Then save and restart.

Verified by several users it does work sometimes.

Coil whine is a resonance sound of an electrical signal frequency passing through a circuit or coil. It could be several different circuits, coils, or parts causing it (PSUs used to frequently fall victim to "coil whine" issues). And it is often related to the PSU and the quality of the power being supplied. You have a huge PSU but it is pretty old.

If the Windows Power Savings trick doesn't work, its up to you whether you can live with it. I personally hate that sound.

Turn speakers up.

OneMoar · Feb 21, 2015

normal and has nothing todo with quality
this 7970 sounds like a cricket on crack when its cold ...

BiggieShady · Feb 21, 2015

OneMoar said:
this 7970 sounds like a cricket on crack when its cold ...

Lol, cold or warm my 970 chirps whenever the fps is insanely high (very low load without vsync)

Jeffredo · Feb 25, 2015

Totally hit or miss and doesn't have any bearing on whether the card is faulty (although it can be really, really annoying). I've gone kind of crazy buying and selling GPUs the past year. My current PNY GTX 780 has none while gaming. The XFX R9 290 had just a tiny bit - not obtrusive at all. The MSI GTX 970 had a pretty annoying amount. The Gigabyte GTX 970 had none. The HIS HD 7950 is off the scale its so bad.

Basically a crap shoot. If it really concerns you just make sure you buy from a retailer who'll let you return it without issue within 30 days.

Caring1 · Feb 25, 2015

OneMoar said:
this 7970 sounds like a cricket on crack when its cold ...

I hope you don't mind me stealing that for my Sig ... :roll:

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graphics card coil whine. Annoying but is it a sign of bad card?

Tomgang

P4-630

Caring1

Tomgang

FireFox

The Power Of Intel

Kaynar

Steve-007UK

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

MxPhenom 216

ASIC Engineer

FireFox

The Power Of Intel

lukart

Tallencor

TPU's First Patreon

alwayssts

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

hapkiman

Animalpak

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

OneMoar

There is Always Moar

BiggieShady

Jeffredo

Caring1

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