Dudes, Does the r9 290 have a coil whine?

[Tacticall993]

So I bought a new XFX R9 290 double d edition, and ive used it for about a week. I hear this really annoying rattling noise for like 5 minutes, then it goes away. Is this a coil whine? Thanks for spending your time on my thread mates!

 

[matt1-0-1]

I have exactly the same card and i haven't experienced this at all. It sounds more like the fan is bashing against something.

 

[Tacticall993]

I have exactly the same card and i haven't experienced this at all. It sounds more like the fan is bashing against something.

Hmm thats strange. I have nothing in front of my card with lots of room around the cards fan. It sound like a cat screaming, really annoying. I can hear it through my headsets. My cable management is great-ish xD

 

[ingtar33]

coil whine sounds like a low or high frequency buzzzzzzzzz, it can be loud or barely audible.

and yes, all electronic parts can get coil whine. the tahiti cored r9-280x/280 cards were famous for it, as is the new GTX 970... but while it has a propensity toward those current modern cards other cards can get it as well. you see coil whine is caused by an unfortunate and uncontrollable coincidence where the ceramic in the transistors are formulated in such a way they VIBRATE in harmony with the frequency of the electrical power flowing through them. this is almost entirely random, and completely uncontrollable by the gpu/psu manufacturers. certain cards run at certain frequencies and use certain transistors which makes for it to be more common among some cards then others.

now here is the thing. Coil whine can go away with time. the noise you're hearing is the ceramic of the transistor vibrating against the circuit board. over time the ceramic will wear away and the noise will go away. That said having owned a gpu with coil whine i found it was far too loud to just ignore until it went away. so i ended up selling it off and buying a new one. (yes the new owner knew the reason for the extreme price discount was coil whine prior to purchase)

a loud clatter sounds like a fan hitting something, an electrical buzzzzzzzzzzzzz is coil whine.

 

[coozie7]

No, it sounds like a fan issue.
This is potentially risky, be very careful!
Take the side panel off the system and boot up.
Use the eraser (rubber) end of a pencil to very gently stop each cooling fan in turn, you won't need much pressure, just a featherlight touch against the centre of the fan, don't touch the blades!

 

[Tacticall993]

coil whine sounds like a low or high frequency buzzzzzzzzz, it can be loud or barely audible.

and yes, all electronic parts can get coil whine. the tahiti cored r9-280x/280 cards were famous for it, as is the new GTX 970... but while it has a propensity toward those current modern cards other cards can get it as well. you see coil whine is caused by an unfortunate and uncontrollable coincidence where the ceramic in the transistors are formulated in such a way they VIBRATE in harmony with the frequency of the electrical power flowing through them. this is almost entirely random, and completely uncontrollable by the gpu/psu manufacturers. certain cards run at certain frequencies and use certain transistors which makes for it to be more common among some cards then others.

now here is the thing. Coil whine can go away with time. the noise you're hearing is the ceramic of the transistor vibrating against the circuit board. over time the ceramic will wear away and the noise will go away. That said having owned a gpu with coil whine i found it was far too loud to just ignore until it went away. so i ended up selling it off and buying a new one. (yes the new owner knew the reason for the extreme price discount was coil whine prior to purchase)

a loud clatter sounds like a fan hitting something, an electrical buzzzzzzzzzzzzz is coil whine.

Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate it. So can I just add an aftermarket fan to fix this issue? Or should I just return it and get a new one since its only 2 weeks old?

 

[Tacticall993]

No, it sounds like a fan issue.
This is potentially risky, be very careful!
Take the side panel off the system and boot up.
Use the eraser (rubber) end of a pencil to very gently stop each cooling fan in turn, you won't need much pressure, just a featherlight touch against the centre of the fan, don't touch the blades!

Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate it. But what will this do exactly? XD

 

[coozie7]

It'll tell you if it's a graphics card fan making the noise.
Sometimes, they can get knocked just a little out of line during transportation, a little gentle prod can put them back, but if the noise persists then it'll be best if you raise an RMA and get it sorted out under warranty.

 

[Tacticall993]

It'll tell you if it's a graphics card fan making the noise.
Sometimes, they can get knocked just a little out of line during transportation, a little gentle prod can put them back, but if the noise persists then it'll be best if you raise an RMA and get it sorted out under warranty.

Thanks! that helped a lot!

 

[ingtar33]

i agree. the card is new enough most retailers won't even ask a serious question if you return it with a mechanical complaint. the longer you hold it the less likely they'll be easy about an exchange they'll become. i suggest you simply exchange it.

 

[Tacticall993]

i agree. the card is new enough most retailers won't even ask a serious question if you return it with a mechanical complaint. the longer you hold it the less likely they'll be easy about an exchange they'll become. i suggest you simply exchange it.

Alright thanks, I contacted Amazon and they already sent me a new one!