Question GTX 1080 Ti ZOTAC making nosie

[Eduardo Gonzalez]

Lately my GPU has been making quite some loud noises when i play some heavy games. I know its completely normal for a GPU to be loud when under load but I believe this is completely different as I never heard this much noise from the GPU before. This started ever since I swapped CPU coolers, I must've accidentally damaged the GPU somehow. I am 100% sure it's not the CPU cooler as I've tested it already. I could feel vibrations as well on my desk, coming from my PC.

I am quite confident that its the GPU fans making the noise and i'm planning on replacing them so I could fix this rather then getting a new GPU, that's if its the GPU fans that are at fault. If they are does anyone know the size of the fans? and if they sell them anywhere? I've been searching for some time online and couldn't find any.

My graphics card is the ZOTAC GTX 1080 Ti AMP!
Here's a video of what my GPU sounds like when its at 100% fan speed, you can hear the noise I mean, could be coil whine, not sure:

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0szLW00Dxc8


At first it just sounds like normal 100% fans noise but then you can start to hear some different type of noise, and that's the one I mean.

Do I have to replace the fans? or anything else?

 

[Darkbreeze]

If you want to replace the fans, assuming that's even the problem, you need to get fans or a cooler assembly that is specifically the same as what was used on it originally. It's not like a case fan where you can just get any 120mm fan to replace any other 120mm fan. They need to be the "right" fans so you need to look for fans or a cooler assembly specifically for your model of graphics card.

And to be honest, to me, that just sounds like any other graphics card running at full speed fans. I'd double check all your fan curve settings and make sure something wasn't changed somehow from what it was before. What are you using, if anything, to control the graphics card fans speed? Personally I don't hear anything unusual in your clip other than just high speed fans.

 

[Eduardo Gonzalez]

If you want to replace the fans, assuming that's even the problem, you need to get fans or a cooler assembly that is specifically the same as what was used on it originally. It's not like a case fan where you can just get any 120mm fan to replace any other 120mm fan. They need to be the "right" fans so you need to look for fans or a cooler assembly specifically for your model of graphics card.

And to be honest, to me, that just sounds like any other graphics card running at full speed fans. I'd double check all your fan curve settings and make sure something wasn't changed somehow from what it was before. What are you using, if anything, to control the graphics card fans speed? Personally I don't hear anything unusual in your clip other than just high speed fans.

Hmmmm so the vibration is normal? Its kind of weird because like I said I never heard this before it just started out of no where & I don't actually control any of my GPU fans with a software, I just let it do its thing. Also I believe that by the end of the video was when it starts to sound quite different then what it should sound like.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Maybe somebody else will hear something I don't hear in there. I'll listen again though. Being honest, changes in tone, harmonics, vibration or other sound related issues are VERY hard to hear in recorded video, unlike when you are right there next to it, unless you have made efforts to eliminate all other noises such as case and CPU cooler fans, and have very good recording equipment.

 

[Eduardo Gonzalez]

Maybe somebody else will hear something I don't hear in there. I'll listen again though. Being honest, changes in tone, harmonics, vibration or other sound related issues are VERY hard to hear in recorded video, unlike when you are right there next to it, unless you have made efforts to eliminate all other noises such as case and CPU cooler fans, and have very good recording equipment.

Give me 5 minutes, I will shut down all fans (5%) besides the GPU fan and actually open my PC this time so I can place my phone RIGHT next to the GPU and then I will send another link, if you can't hear anything then I guess its just me...

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, listened again, and still nothing jumps out at me but that's not unusual for these kind of videos or sound clips. I just hear fans running full speed. I'd try using Zotac's tweak utility, or MSI Afterburner, and manually control your fan curve to better suit your preferences. Just keep in mind that in order for ANY tweak utility settings to remain in effect, that utility has to open with Windows (Which all of them give you the option of doing) and has to remain running in the system tray for as long as you have Windows running or whatever. If you "close" the utility, the settings will no longer be in effect. That includes power, clock frequency AND fan curve settings.

The more important question however might be, why is your graphics card's fans running at full speed under normal circumstances? Might want to take a look and make sure that none of the fasteners that attach the cooler assembly to the card have become loose and that the fans are fully attached to the assembly. These are things that can introduce vibration over time as a card ages, as things sometimes just get loose. Or when working inside the case, you may have disturbed something. Double check all connections.

It seems unlikely that it would be a simple case of the fans being old and needing to be replaced if it worked fine before you replaced the CPU cooler and did not after you replaced it. Possible, but seems too coincidental to me.

 

[Eduardo Gonzalez]

So, listened again, and still nothing jumps out at me but that's not unusual for these kind of videos or sound clips. I just hear fans running full speed. I'd try using Zotac's tweak utility, or MSI Afterburner, and manually control your fan curve to better suit your preferences. Just keep in mind that in order for ANY tweak utility settings to remain in effect, that utility has to open with Windows (Which all of them give you the option of doing) and has to remain running in the system tray for as long as you have Windows running or whatever. If you "close" the utility, the settings will no longer be in effect. That includes power, clock frequency AND fan curve settings.

The more important question however might be, why is your graphics card's fans running at full speed under normal circumstances? Might want to take a look and make sure that none of the fasteners that attach the cooler assembly to the card have become loose and that the fans are fully attached to the assembly. These are things that can introduce vibration over time as a card ages, as things sometimes just get loose. Or when working inside the case, you may have disturbed something. Double check all connections.

It seems unlikely that it would be a simple case of the fans being old and needing to be replaced if it worked fine before you replaced the CPU cooler and did not after you replaced it. Possible, but seems too coincidental to me.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZVTS2XgCZc&ab_channel=eddy9k


Go towards the end again, its more clear this time.

I'm just putting the fans at 100% so I don't have to go a game for my fans to make that noise (for the video only). I normally just leave it on auto

 

[Darkbreeze]

Still couldn't say anything for certain, but if it only does it after the fans have been running full speed for a bit, and based on what LITTLE bit I DO hear there, I'd say maybe one or both of the fans are beginning to experience bearing failure. Either that, or the cooler itself has become loose from the card, but that would seem to be the kind of thing that would ALWAYS immediately be noticeable at high speed, not just once it's been running and warmed up. Given the age of the card it would not be unreasonable to believe it is a fan bearing failure.

It might also be that the fans simply need to be lubricated, which you can probably try depending on the design of the fans, before going all out on replacing them.

Keep ‘Em Spinning: How To Lubricate PC Fans - Overclockers

Wouldn't you like to be able to use a sleeve bearing fan and not have to worry about your CPU overheating? Read on to learn how to lubricate PC fans to do just that.

www.overclockers.com