Weird sound coming from GPU fan(?) when running at +60%?

[PwnageEngage]

Hey guys,

I recently built my own computer. It has:
Windows 7 32 bit
Asus Extreme 3 Motherboard
AMD Fx-6300 CPU
Radeon XFX 7870 Core 2gb

Anyway, whenever I play GW2 (highest settings) i start to hear a weird noise after awhile. It sounds exactly like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y2icubnqBE
*noise starts at around 30 seconds*

When I open the AMD Vision Control Center, I can manually change the fan speed. I noticed that when the fan speed is above 62% that the noise starts, and grows louder as the level of the fan goes higher.

My question is: What is this noise? Is it dangerous for my GPU? Warranty is out of the question because i am currently living in another country, and cannot afford to ship the card back to the states and wait for it to be sent back. I dont have the time or the money 🙁

 

[i8myhippo]

Although the video has low sound quality, and I'm not certain, I feel confident that the noise is coming from the fans just spinning fast. If you use a GPU monitoring program and look at the fan speed in RPM when it's making that sound, you'll see that it's spinning incredibly fast; faster than any other fan in your system.

I would bet that cleaning it might help a little bit, and maybe redirecting the air-flow throughout the case might make the fans work a little less difficult, but if it's of any help, know that the Gigabyte Windforce fans make a similar sound near 80%.

 

[pete123edgar]

Its usually happens when you run it at above 60%, its a coil whine, nothing dangerous but really annoying, if you don't like it, try setting the fan speed below 60% and play one less that highest, possibly medium. Or you could RMA it which would took over well 4weeks+++

 

[PwnageEngage]

Although the video has low sound quality, and I'm not certain, I feel confident that the noise is coming from the fans just spinning fast. If you use a GPU monitoring program and look at the fan speed in RPM when it's making that sound, you'll see that it's spinning incredibly fast; faster than any other fan in your system.

I would bet that cleaning it might help a little bit, and maybe redirecting the air-flow throughout the case might make the fans work a little less difficult, but if it's of any help, know that the Gigabyte Windforce fans make a similar sound near 80%.

Well I just did another little test. I manually put the fan to rotate at 70%. At first there was no sound, just the sound of spinning blades like a fan. Nothing unusual. Then, about 5 minutes later while playing GW2, the noise started up again. So I closed GW2, but the noise continued, probably because the fan was manually set to rotate at 70%. Once I turned off the manual fan speed, it went down to 40% and the noise stopped.

I also noticed that when GW2 was open for 5 mins, that my GPU was showing 80C heat. That was weird, but as soon as I minimized it the temp dropped to like 65-70. The drop in temperature appeared to have no effect on the noise.

Its usually happens when you run it at above 60%, its a coil whine, nothing dangerous but really annoying, if you don't like it, try setting the fan speed below 60% and play one less that highest, possibly medium. Or you could RMA it which would took over well 4weeks+++

I can't RMA as I explained in the original post. Also, I compared the noise in the video posted above with a video of 'coil whine' on youtube, and they're distinctly different. IMO from what i've seen, coil whine is a high pitched noise that comes from the gpu, whereas the sound i'm having and the sound in the video i linked is more of a buzzing sound. I WANT to say that maybe its the sound of the blades hitting something, but the sound doesnt appear until about 5 minutes after i have it running at 70%. I feel like if it was hitting something then the sound would always be there. I could be wrong, in which case i sincerely ask for anyone to please correct me so that I can fix this noise 🙁

 

[i8myhippo]

I also noticed that when GW2 was open for 5 mins, that my GPU was showing 80C heat. That was weird, but as soon as I minimized it the temp dropped to like 65-70.

This, alone, is enough to worry me. You really shouldn't be getting the temps that high. And yes, when you take the stress off, the temps will drop within a few seconds. Are you overclocked?

 

[PwnageEngage]

I also noticed that when GW2 was open for 5 mins, that my GPU was showing 80C heat. That was weird, but as soon as I minimized it the temp dropped to like 65-70.

This, alone, is enough to worry me. You really shouldn't be getting the temps that high. And yes, when you take the stress off, the temps will drop within a few seconds. Are you overclocked?

So a few things happened. I opened up my tower and checked the card. There was a plastic film still on it. I removed it thinking that maybe that was the problem. It wasn't.

I ran another test by not even opening GW2 and just setting the fan to 70% manually. After about 5 mins, the noise started again. The faster i the fan % is the louder the noise gets. The longer it stays at 60%, 70%, or 80% the louder the noise gets too. The temp was idle at around 30 the whole time, so i now know that the temperature has nothing to do with this noise. The only time the noise goes away is when i lower the fan % to under 60.

Can you hear the sound i'm talking about in the video though? It doesnt sound like a normal loud gpu fan.

And my card is slightly overclocked using the AMD Vision Control Center. I followed a guide that said it was only a slight overclock, nothing too drastic. Here is the picture of my settings:

http://imgur.com/TRQAS8K

 

[i8myhippo]

It's good to know that the temperature and fan noise are separate behaviors.

I definitely know what the noise is, it sounds like something is caught in the fan. It's not coil whine. My fans make the same sound at 80% or more. It could be dust or other debris somewhere in the rotating parts. It may be worth your time to buy a can of compressed air and spray it out a little bit.

Also, I bet the plastic coming off helps a bit with the temperatures!

 

[PwnageEngage]

It's good to know that the temperature and fan noise are separate behaviors.

I definitely know what the noise is, it sounds like something is caught in the fan. It's not coil whine. My fans make the same sound at 80% or more. It could be dust or other debris somewhere in the rotating parts. It may be worth your time to buy a can of compressed air and spray it out a little bit.

Also, I bet the plastic coming off helps a bit with the temperatures!

I am about to head out to buy a can of compressed air. I am also uploading a video i took with my phone so that you and anyone else who wishes to help can hear what my computer sounds like.

My question, though, is why does the fan only make this noise at higher speeds and only after a few minutes? If something is stuck there, wouldnt the sound always be there as soon as i switch the manual fan speed to 80%?

 

[PwnageEngage]

It's good to know that the temperature and fan noise are separate behaviors.

I definitely know what the noise is, it sounds like something is caught in the fan. It's not coil whine. My fans make the same sound at 80% or more. It could be dust or other debris somewhere in the rotating parts. It may be worth your time to buy a can of compressed air and spray it out a little bit.

Also, I bet the plastic coming off helps a bit with the temperatures!

Ok, i'm back. First things first. Here's a video of my computer and the sound it makes when the fan is running at 70% after a few minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A64WOIZnNYc&feature=youtu.be

*sound gradually starts at around 23 seconds and gets worse throughout the video. If you can't really tell a difference, load the video and play the first few seconds, then compare with the last 10 seconds.*

So thats the sound i'm dealing with. Now, where i live (south america) there is actually no compressed air to clean computers. Crazy right? I had to buy a 400w mini leaf blower. Apparently thats what computer technicians here use to clean out computers.

So i used it and cleaned out my computer of dust. I then started it up and sure enough, after about 5 minutes the sound started again. I just happened to tilt my case about 45degrees and the sound stopped! I stood it upright again and the sound came back.

So now i'm thinking that maybe the graphics card is slightly crooked? Or something? When I look at it I can kinda see that its slightly off near the connection to the HDMI port is on the back of the computer. Will include pics although I think the 2nd pick really shows how the card may be crooked:

http://imgur.com/blbFHEC,5Ir6CNW#0

http://imgur.com/blbFHEC,5Ir6CNW#1

So then I decided to try and lay my computer down on the desk, with the open side panel facing up, like so:

http://imgur.com/OsyHvY6

Laying down like that, the noise stops completely no matter how long I leave the fan running at 70 or even 80%. My only worry is that maybe by laying it down like that I will be throwing off the circulation of air? I don't want that either.

TLDR: I think my GPU might be crooked. Do I have to go get it fixed or could I just lay my CPU down on the table like in the picture above? Why or why not?

Thanks!!!

 

[PwnageEngage]

bump

 

[cyb34]

Sorry to ressurect this thread but I'm having the exact same issue.
If I change the position of the case, the annoying sound from the GPU disappears.

This might be due to:
1. Airflow pressure or bad airflow inside the case.
2. GPU not seated / fixed properly and starts to vibrate at high fan speeds.
3. Cables / wires / elements touching and start to vibrate.

Leave the case open and check the components inside for vibrations, touch / press to find the cause.

@OP: your GPU should not fall like that if screwed properly.