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Strange buzzing under load noise from video card

Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 10:30 pm
by vargis14
Ok i have A 2600k overclocked in a p67-ud4-b3 MB with 8 gb corsair Vengence ddr3 1600 mem. Sporting 2 EVGA SuperClocked GTX 560 TI's setup in SLI with the latest Beta drivers. "I installed the beta drivers after i noticed the noise"

So here is my problem. I just Noticed it tonight, i know it ever made the noise before.

When i load a 720p HD video in MPC-HC and the window is not maximized and i move the MPC-HC window with the 720p video paused I am hearing a quiet almost inaudible transistor type buzzing noised coming from the video card plus it is loading the card around 25% at game clockspeeds/not video playback clocks or idle clockspeeds, Its not cards since i disabled SLI after i noticed the noise. I have moved HD video windows around before and never noticed the noise before. Now I have to note that the cards have been running stock for a while since i have not played a game on the rig in a good while. But i have converted Blu ray images to MKVs many times utilizing CUDA and never noticed any noise plus it only loads the second/slave card about 35-40%.

Now the first thing i am going to do is swap the cards top and bottom and take the rig outside and blow it all out with the Air compressor, cards and all but i am going to mark the top primary card so i can keep track of it.

So hear is my Question:
Has anyone else noticed a slight but clearly audible electronic buzzing type transistor perhaps ionizer buzz type noise from a slightly loaded or heavy loaded video card ?? If so, do you know the cause and the fix besides replacing the card.
I have to get the turkey stuffing ready and do not have time to play with it right now but was curious if anyone has come across a similar problem that might help me as i mess with it on Thanksgiving :)

Thank you all ahead of time and Happy Thanksgiving
I cannot wait to have that tryptophan running through my system and making me pass out:)

Re: Strange buzzing under load noise from video card

Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 10:42 pm
by Mentawl
A buzzing noise is pretty normal with most modern graphics cards, I've found :-/. At least it's happened with a 5870, 560Ti, 7850 and 670 that I've personally worked with. It's just the voltage regulation circuitry on the cards, so I'm not sure even replacing the cards will help really.

Re: Strange buzzing under load noise from video card

Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 12:26 am
by vargis14
Thanks for the reply. Since it never made a sound before i am hoping moving the noisy card to the slave positon the noise will once again be nice and Quiet.

Re: Strange buzzing under load noise from video card

Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 7:59 am
by Chrispy_
I tend to find that the whining/buzzing from graphics cards depends a lot on the resolution and screen refresh rate, and sometimes even whether the screen is running a 3D application or not.
I assume this means it's the actual display engine circuitry that makes these noises and if that correlates with your experience, relegating it to a slave should make it quiet.

Something like 1-in-3 graphics cards I've come across exhibit noise like this and I can't recall any failures being related to 'noisy' cards, so I think you'll be okay :)

Re: Strange buzzing under load noise from video card

Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 8:42 am
by morphine
Once again, you should be okay.

Almost every time this nothing more than a buzzing electrical component, usually a capacitor. Last card I had that did this was my 8800GTX, and the buzzing increased either with the refresh rate or plain ol' FPS. Hot-gluing said capacitor (if you can pinpoint it) fixes the issue. No, it won't hurt it.

If it really is very noticeable, then you might consider RMA'ing the card.

Re: Strange buzzing under load noise from video card

Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 10:45 am
by just brew it!
Unfortunately it is fairly common for video cards and motherboards to have this issue.

Fortunately it is generally harmless (if somewhat annoying); it isn't a sign that your card is about to explode. It is just one of the inductors resonating at some sub-multiple of the switching frequency of the voltage regulator circuitry when under load.

As morphine notes, a bit of hot glue can fix this. (Though I've never noticed the capacitors resonating, in every case I have seen it has been the inductors. But I suppose capacitors could vibrate too in response to changing electrical field...)