Question My GPU fans are making a grinding/vibrating sound. How can I fix this?

[Minutoh]

Build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/yq4Mzf

My GPU fans are making a horrible grinding noise when I increase the fan speed past a certain threshold. How can I fix this? If this can’t be fixed, I’ll have to return this to Newegg and look for another 6800 XT. I have an ASRock Phantom Gaming RX 6800 XT. Here is an example of the sound starting when my fans go to 100%: https://youtube.com/shorts/UqjJxO8DOOY?feature=share

Here’s an example of the sound that consistently happens. The fan speed is at about 60% in this video:

View: https://youtu.be/jWMSqFO-FGc


This vide has me check if any cables are stuck in the fans, and it doesn’t seem like any of them are based on that:

View: https://youtu.be/Q60sfJLoEyc


This is definitely coming from my fans since the noise only starts happening if I raise my fan speed above about 60%. I thought it was coil whine at first, but it’s definitely related to the fans, especially since there’s that loud noise that starts as soon as I raise the fan speed.

Could this be caused by improperly seating my GPU? It seems to be working apart from this fan issue and some coil whine, so I’m not sure if that could be causing it. Or is something just wrong with the fans themselves? I’m not really sure though what’s happening, so any assistance would be appreciated to troubleshoot before I have to return this and just get a new one.

In terms of my own troubleshooting, I tried to lift up my GPU to see if GPU sag was causing it to hit the case or something, but that just made a cracking sound for some reason which did not sound good. There is a case cable behind my GPU for one of my case fans; could that be causing these sounds? I don’t think it’s possible for me to move that out of the way though since it’s too short.

 

[Rokinamerica]

Most likely the bearings are bad. Didn't watch the vids, but this seems most likely from what I read.

 

[bniknafs9]

Is it a GigaByte gpu ?

 

[Minutoh]

Most likely the bearings are bad. Didn't watch the vids, but this seems most likely from what I read.

Oh okay I see. I suppose that problem would only get worse over time then. I’ll definitely RMA that then.

Is it a GigaByte gpu ?

It’s an ASRock GPU. Are Gigabyte GPUs known for having this issue?

 

[bniknafs9]

Oh okay I see. I suppose that problem would only get worse over time then. I’ll definitely RMA that then.


. Are Gigabyte GPUs known for having this issue?

yes , Asus fans look childish , but they last longer. gigabyte looks rough but it breaks down after a while . msi is the best choice .

 

[Minutoh]

yes , Asus fans look childish , but they last longer. gigabyte looks rough but it breaks down after a while . msi is the best choice .

are ASRock fans similar to Asus’ in that they look childish but last longer? I definitely think my fans look childish since there’s some weird colorful fan in the middle, but it’s good to hear they last a while. I guess I just got unlucky here if ASRock is similar to Asus here. I’ll try to look for any MSI 6800XTs if I can find them.

 

[bniknafs9]

are ASRock fans similar to Asus’ in that they look childish but last longer? I definitely think my fans look childish since there’s some weird colorful fan in the middle, but it’s good to hear they last a while. I guess I just got unlucky here if ASRock is similar to Asus here. I’ll try to look for any MSI 6800XTs if I can find them.

i personally never had an Asrock GPU nor a motherboard . But i did own two gigabyte cards and their fans break down after a while . try custom loop or closed loop water cooling for your gpu you can buy them from Amazon.

 

[Minutoh]

i personally never had an Asrock GPU nor a motherboard . But i did own two gigabyte cards and their fans break down after a while . try custom loop or closed loop water cooling for your gpu you can buy them from Amazon.

I see, I definitely won’t go with Gigabyte then. I want my GPU to last as long as possible on its own without having to deal with external things like that. I’ll avoid Gigabyte and get ASUS or MSI then.

Also, ilooked this up, and I saw some people said stuff about stopping each fan to see which one is the source of the problem. I’m worried I’ll break my fans (even more) by stopping them though or break my parts by hitting them with static electricity. Is this recommended? If it is, how could I do this without damaging anything?

 

[bniknafs9]

I see, I definitely won’t go with Gigabyte then. I want my GPU to last as long as possible on its own without having to deal with external things like that. I’ll avoid Gigabyte and get ASUS or MSI then.

Also, ilooked this up, and I saw some people said stuff about stopping each fan to see which one is the source of the problem. I’m worried I’ll break my fans (even more) by stopping them though or break my parts by hitting them with static electricity. Is this recommended? If it is, how could I do this without damaging anything?

you don't necessarily have to ditch your gigabyte gpu mate .
just buy a AIO gpu cooler from amazon . com

 

[Minutoh]

you don't necessarily have to ditch your gigabyte gpu mate .
just buy a AIO gpu cooler from amazon . com

Oh I dont have a Gigabyte GPU right now, I have an ASRock one. I meant that I’ll avoid Gigabyte in the future if I end up buying any more GPUs any time soon lol. I’ll look into an AIO cooler though to fix my current GPU.

 

[bniknafs9]

Oh I dont have a Gigabyte GPU right now, I have an ASRock one. I meant that I’ll avoid Gigabyte in the future if I end up buying any more GPUs any time soon lol. I’ll look into an AIO cooler though to fix my current GPU.

yes mate , there are some computer shops too , that take some money and install a custom loop liquid cooler for u , usually with a 120 mm fan , radiator ... it would also give you a boost hike too .

 

[bignastyid]

Oh I dont have a Gigabyte GPU right now, I have an ASRock one. I meant that I’ll avoid Gigabyte in the future if I end up buying any more GPUs any time soon lol. I’ll look into an AIO cooler though to fix my current GPU.

The card is new enough it should be under warranty. Contact ASrock for an RMA. Nothing wrong with Gigabyte cards., I have owned many over the years with little to no issues. Im guessing the other user had an issue with one once and holds a grudge.

 

[Minutoh]

yes mate , there are some computer shops too , that take some money and install a custom loop liquid cooler for u , usually with a 120 mm fan , radiator ... it would also give you a boost hike too .

I see that's definitely interesting. I'll look into that then. Thanks! It does seem like the sound went away to an extent as I explained below, but it's still there.

The card is new enough it should be under warranty. Contact ASrock for an RMA. Nothing wrong with Gigabyte cards., I have owned many over the years with little to no issues. Im guessing the other user had an issue with one once and holds a grudge.

Oh okay that makes sense. I'll go with a RMA then for sure.

However, it seems like that weird sound that happens when I ramp up the fan speed to 60% to 100% no longer happens; I'm nto sure what I did. I just moved the GPU around in the PCIE slot a bit, and it at least made the issue better. However, I'm still getting rattling sounds though they're quiet enough that I can't hear them unless I put my ear right next to the fans:

View: https://youtu.be/hpjgbSgZwjQ

Are some rattling sounds expected though if you put my ear next to it? I'm not sure what exactly the threshold is between normal GPU fan sounds like maybe some resonance and abnormal ones; I suppose rattling would definitely be abnormal though. Is resonance normal though? The resonance is pretty loud for sure. Here's a video of some fan resonance:

View: https://youtu.be/oo1Jynl2ib8
Is some fan resonance expected, or should there not be any resonance at all? As of now, this only becomes obvious past 80% which is better than before; it's definitely still annoying though. If these fans are still an issue, I'll definitely return my GPU.

edit: also, I realized I misspoke there. I meant to say the grinding sound is quiet but the resonance sound is still very loud.

also, is it possible that any of this could be caused by a structurally unsound motherboard or case, or do these grinding and resonance sounds seem like the fans for sure? I’m worried I damaged my PCIE slot when I removed my GPU to reseat it since it was stuck in there so tightly I had to push down on the tab with one hand while removing the GPU with the other. Is there a way to see what’s causing it? If it’s actually the mobo or the case and not the GPU, then there’s no point in replacing my GPU.

 

[Minutoh]

The card is new enough it should be under warranty. Contact ASrock for an RMA. Nothing wrong with Gigabyte cards., I have owned many over the years with little to no issues. Im guessing the other user had an issue with one once and holds a grudge.

I ended up returning my ASRock Phantom Gaming 6800 XT and got a Sapphire Pulse 6800 XT instead since the Pulse was a bit cheaper. I'm not hearing those grinding and rattling sounds, at least, so I guess it's luckily not my mobo. However, I am getting a high-pitched squealing sound now as shown in this videos: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19CzUe437akxT7to9oHAMsAWjoonl5Y1g/view?usp=share_link

I thought it was coil whine since it sounds like that. I do get coil whine in games, but I'm just running at idle in this video, so it shouldn't be coil whine in this case. Additionally, the sound goes away as soon as I turn off my GPU fans, so it definitely seems to be caused by the GPU fans. Frankly, maybe this isn't defective; maybe it's just the relatively cheap fans on these low to mid range 6800 XT models. If it's normal for these models and not a sign that my GPU fans are actually bad, then I'll deal with it at this point since 2 out of 2 midtier 6800XT models had weird fan noises. My fans seem to be working just fine as of now since they generally keep my GPU temp below 75 degrees C and my junction temp below 100 degrees C. I saw the junction temp go up to 100-106 degrees C for a second or two, but this was when I was OCing and I resolved this by ramping up my fan speed to 100%. However, do these sounds indicate that my fans will break very quickly or something? Will these sounds get worse over time?