Should my GPU fans be making high-pitched squealing sounds that sound like coil whine?

[Deleted member 452482]

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 was hearing grinding and rattling noises with the ASRock fans. However, I am getting a high-pitched squealing sound now as shown in this video: https://www.mediafire.com/file/fh96rbmgitn4znn/Video%282%29.mov/file

I thought it was coil whine since it sounds like that. I am getting coil whine, but I'm just running at idle in this video, so it shouldn't be coil whine. 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?

 

[Colif]

I can't hear anything on the video

I wonder if they use same fan design in the pulse as they do nitro

I can't see reference to it on the Pulse website https://www.sapphiretech.com/en/consumer/pulse-radeon-rx-6800-xt-16g-gddr6#Specification so it might not.

87MM FDC10H12D9-C RX6800 Replacement Graphics Card GPU Fan For Sapphire PULSE AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT Graphics Card Cooling Fan

Application: For Sapphire PULSE AMD Radeon™ RX 6800 For Sapphire PULSE AMD Radeon™ RX 6800 XT Specification: Model: FDC10H12D9-C Voltage: DC 12V Current: 0.35AMP Fan Dimension (L x W x H): approx. 87mm x 87mm x 12mm Power Connector: 4-Pin Header Brand Name: inrobert Origin: CN(Origin) Compatible...

gpu-fan.com

Coil whine meant to just show up at high resolutions. If it stops when fans do, its more likely just a bad fan. If its under warranty you could contact Sapphire and see what they suggest.

I looked at buying one of those cards last year but ended up with a 7900xt instead.

 

[Deleted member 452482]

I can't hear anything on the video

I wonder if they use same fan design in the pulse as they do nitro

I can't see reference to it on the Pulse website https://www.sapphiretech.com/en/consumer/pulse-radeon-rx-6800-xt-16g-gddr6#Specification so it might not.

87MM FDC10H12D9-C RX6800 Replacement Graphics Card GPU Fan For Sapphire PULSE AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT Graphics Card Cooling Fan

Application: For Sapphire PULSE AMD Radeon™ RX 6800 For Sapphire PULSE AMD Radeon™ RX 6800 XT Specification: Model: FDC10H12D9-C Voltage: DC 12V Current: 0.35AMP Fan Dimension (L x W x H): approx. 87mm x 87mm x 12mm Power Connector: 4-Pin Header Brand Name: inrobert Origin: CN(Origin) Compatible...

gpu-fan.com

Coil whine meant to just show up at high resolutions. If it stops when fans do, its more likely just a bad fan. If its under warranty you could contact Sapphire and see what they suggest.

I looked at buying one of those cards last year but ended up with a 7900xt instead.

My bad, that's actually the wrong video. I thought I heard some very quiet fan grinding sounds in that video, but is that actually normal then? If so, that's good to hear. Maybe that's just some normal fan sounds although I'm not hearing any grinding sounds or any similar sounds at any RPM from my CPU and case fans. Do GPU fans sound different?

This is the actual video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19CzUe437akxT7to9oHAMsAWjoonl5Y1g/view?usp=sharing

It's pretty faint, but I hope you can hear that high-pitched squealing noise. At this point, if this is a fan issue, it has to be a problem with my motherboard's PCIE slot or my case, I guess... I think it's very unlikely I got 2 GPUs in a row with fan issues, though maybe I did just get unlucky. There are some cables that are on top of the GPU or behind the GPU, but I don't see any cables that are actually caught in the fans. Could those cables cause weird sounds? I don't see how they would affect anything since they're both very small case fan cables, but maybe they are somehow causing issues. Also, can coil whine be affected by GPU fans at all, or are they completely different things?

As for the fans, it seems that Pulse GPUs do not have that Quick Connect option. Honestly, maybe I should go for a Nitro+ at this point or a high-end 6800XT model; maybe their more expensive fans will not make weird sounds or something, I dunno. Do low-end GPU models in general typically have fans that make squealing noises or grinding noises, or am I just extremely unlucky?

 

[Colif]

i would take side panel off and maybe put phone (assuming that is what you using to record video) closer to fan that is causing noise. Use a rolled up peice of paper and listen down it to isolate the source of the noise.

I do hear something that shouldn't be there but I can't tell what it is.

I don't think PCIe slots can cause noise. Cases can't make noise either.

what are specs of the PC? how many case fans? where are they?

Only things that can make noise are fans for most part.

Sapphire are unlikely to use cheap fans, they just don't put their best on the pulse. You shouldn't have to buy top models to get good fans.

Need to make sure noise is fan.

 

[Deleted member 452482]

i would take side panel off and maybe put phone (assuming that is what you using to record video) closer to fan that is causing noise. Use a rolled up peice of paper and listen down it to isolate the source of the noise.

I do hear something that shouldn't be there but I can't tell what it is.

I don't think PCIe slots can cause noise. Cases can't make noise either.

what are specs of the PC? how many case fans? where are they?

Only things that can make noise are fans for most part.

Sapphire are unlikely to use cheap fans, they just don't put their best on the pulse. You shouldn't have to buy top models to get good fans.

Need to make sure noise is fan.

Oh okay that makes sense! I used a rolled up piece of paper, and the squealing noise appears to be coming from the leftmost fan, but there are still weird sounds coming from the other two fans. Maybe the ones from those fans are actually just normal though. I couldn't figure out how to use the rolled piece of paper and the phone camera at the same time if I'm gonna be honest, so hopefully this video is good enough. I definitely still hear a clear squealing sound from the left side of the GPU:

View: https://youtu.be/CnmQUn9oSNA

It appears to be localized to the fans, especially the left fan. Do the other 2 fans sound normal? The cable on top of the GPU doesn't seem to be causing any issues since it's coming from the left fan itself and not the top of the GPU, but I suppose it'd be best to move them out of the way. The cable behind the GPU doesn't seem to be causing any issues either, but I should probably reroute that. I definitely need to take out that 3rd PCIE connector I left behind from my 3 8-pin connector ASRock 6800 XT, but I don't think that caused these issues since I had grinding and rattling noise issues with the 6800 XT with all 3 conenctors plugged in.

I definitely misspoke with the PCIE slot and case stuff; I thought I might have damaged either or both of these and caused the GPU to vibrate them and cause these sounds. Since it's coming from the left side, I might need to reseat it or screw it in tighter or looser or something; but you're right that it's definitely the fans for sure.

Here's my build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/LWfswc

I completely turned off my case fans and CPU cooler fans which caused my Zen 4 Ryzen 5 7600 with PBO enabled to thermal throttle even though I just had Firefox open, but that's a separate issue entirely. Anyway, since those were off, it has to be either coil whine or the GPU fans. Can coil whine get worse at higher GPU fan RPMs? I don't see why that would affect coil whine, but, who knows at this point. And I see, so Sapphire Pulse fans should be pretty good. I guess I just got unlucky again then.

 

[Colif]

That GPU has dual bios, an OC one and a silent one, do you happen to know which its running in? If its the same as my GPU, the OC bios runs fans all time and the silent one turns them off. You could try swapping to see if it helps. OC might be the default.

I wouldn't suggest turning CPU fan off while PC is running. especially with no case fans running. Its not a good idea.

Coil whine mostly caused by high frame rates. I think its a fan noise.
You said it stops if you turn GPU fans off so that is enough of a clue for me.

I would send a link to that video to Sapphire support and ask them. If its a new card, they might be able to send replacement card or fans. It should be quiet. Not loud.
Some links I found added extra fans to bottom of the case to cool GPU but you couldn't do that without removing hdd cage - https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/meshify/meshify-2-compact/black-tg-dark-tint/

I have a meshify S2, i replaced its fans with noctuas 3 months ago, its much quieter now. I assume your GPU temps were in game as my gpu is currently running at 48c and junction is only 51c

 

[Deleted member 452482]

That GPU has dual bios, an OC one and a silent one, do you happen to know which its running in? If its the same as my GPU, the OC bios runs fans all time and the silent one turns them off. You could try swapping to see if it helps. OC might be the default.

I wouldn't suggest turning CPU fan off while PC is running. especially with no case fans running. Its not a good idea.

Coil whine mostly caused by high frame rates. I think its a fan noise.
You said it stops if you turn GPU fans off so that is enough of a clue for me.

I would send a link to that video to Sapphire support and ask them. If its a new card, they might be able to send replacement card or fans. It should be quiet. Not loud.
Some links I found added extra fans to bottom of the case to cool GPU but you couldn't do that without removing hdd cage - https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/meshify/meshify-2-compact/black-tg-dark-tint/

I have a meshify S2, i replaced its fans with noctuas 3 months ago, its much quieter now. I assume your GPU temps were in game as my gpu is currently running at 48c and junction is only 51c

I tried to stop each fan one by one. I'm not sure if you'll be able to hear that high-pitched sound from this video. It's different from the coil whine clicking sound. I hope I didn't damage anything since I pressed down on some of them a bit too hard:

View: https://youtu.be/7Ogk20xUyfs


I still heard this issue even after I stopped each fan one by one. As soon as I turned off the fans, it went away again. Afterwards, I tried to stop 2 fans at once, and the sound got quieter. I stopped all 3 at once and then the sound went away. Is this just the sound of the fans vibrating the case or something then, or is something wrong with the fans themselves? I'm very confused about this. I'm not sure why it gets worse when more fans are on and gets better when fewer fans are on.

Did it look like I damaged the fans or anything based on how I stopped them? I don't think I touched the fan blades and only touched the center, but I might've touched the blades by accident. Is it probably okay as long as the fan blade hasn't come off yet, or is there a chance it could break later on or something?

 

[Colif]

I can't hear anything apart from fans in that last video. I don't know how safe it is to stop fans like that. The fans shouldn't be touching anything.

I would suggest going here and contacting them - https://support.sapphiretech.com/Default.asp?lang=eng

I can't hear my fans at all. But then I can't tell if they actually on. The gap between my PSU shroud and GPU isn't big enough for me to see fans or even put camera in the gap to take a photo easily.

the only noise I hear in my PC is the front intake fans

 

[Segundoh]

I can't hear anything apart from fans in that last video. I don't know how safe it is to stop fans like that. The fans shouldn't be touching anything.

I would suggest going here and contacting them - https://support.sapphiretech.com/Default.asp?lang=eng

I can't hear my fans at all. But then I can't tell if they actually on. The gap between my PSU shroud and GPU isn't big enough for me to see fans or even put camera in the gap to take a photo easily.

the only noise I hear in my PC is the front intake fans

Oh okay I see. Maybe I’m just being paranoid because of my previous 6800 XT I returned with grinding and rattling noises. The fans still seem to be working fine right now, but could they be damaged later? And I see so there isn’t enough space to see this e fans. That makes sense! Hopefully the fans are okay though.

 

[Colif]

why do you have 2 users?

I would be tempted to take PC to repair store and ask their opinion. Only as you have had similar before.

 

[Segundoh]

why do you have 2 users?

I would be tempted to take PC to repair store and ask their opinion. Only as you have had similar before.

I forgot the email and username I used for this Segundoh account, so I decided to just make a new account on my PC lol. It seems I was logged in to Segundoh on my phone though which I did not realize. I’m not currently at home, but I’ll switch back to HoneyThin when I get back home since I don’t remember that login info now lol.

Do repair shops do diagnostics and checkup stuff for free? I’d imagine they aren’t. Would you say local stores or big stores like Best Biu or Micro Center are better? I’ll be annoyed if I get a checkup and they tell me there’s nothing wrong, but I guess the peace of mind is worth it. Additionally, so you think squealing fan noises is an indication of a defective fan that will break, or is it just an annoyance like coil whine?

also, I forgot to say that I found out that the OC BIOSsetting is apparently set by default. I’ll try to switch It to Silent. I’m able to turn the fans off in Adrenalin anyway, but perhaps that’ll help.

I also just remembered I have tinnitus. I’ve had it for so long I just got used it and forgot about it. It’s very possible that the high pitched sound is Honestly just tinnitus, so I’ll have to ask my friends and family. It’s a good sign you’re not hearing anything in the video although phone audio quality is definitely poor.

 

[Colif]

I also just remembered I have tinnitus. I’ve had it for so long I just got used it and forgot about it. It’s very possible that the high pitched sound is Honestly just tinnitus, so I’ll have to ask my friends and family. It’s a good sign you’re not hearing anything in the video although phone audio quality is definitely poor.

that wouldn't help

My pc is between myself and a window so for the first 2 years I had my PC, every strange noise, I would get up and walk to window to make sure it was from outside and not my PC. I have adjusted to it now, my PC makes very little noise apart from my 2 AIO intake fans so its pretty obvious when its an external sound.
We have neighbours who have equipment that creates high pitch noises. First two years of PC life I would hear a noise, turn PC off just to realise noise is still there... turn PC back on. Mum thought it was my ears but some days the noise just isn't there. Others its everywhere. Could be my ears... lots of loud concerts in youth wouldn't have helped

 

[Segundoh]

that wouldn't help

My pc is between myself and a window so for the first 2 years I had my PC, every strange noise, I would get up and walk to window to make sure it was from outside and not my PC. I have adjusted to it now, my PC makes very little noise apart from my 2 AIO intake fans so its pretty obvious when its an external sound.
We have neighbours who have equipment that creates high pitch noises. First two years of PC life I would hear a noise, turn PC off just to realise noise is still there... turn PC back on. Mum thought it was my ears but some days the noise just isn't there. Others its everywhere. Could be my ears... lots of loud concerts in youth wouldn't have helped

Yeah, I guess it’s sometimes hard to trll if the sound is coming from somewhere else or the fans. I’ll have to turn off my PC and see if the sound still persists since it could be the fans or cool whine. That definitely sounds annoying if your neighbors are doing all that . I think my ears are bad from wearing earbuds all the time when I was younger, but at least I stopped doing that.

 

[Segundoh]

i have a noisy pc fan ,later i discovered that i must have a strong performance to play and go to 3D apps

Sorry what do you mean by that? It’s good to her that a noisy PC fan is normal.

 

[Colif]

we get a lot of spam posters here, that was one of them.

Do you hear noise with pc off?

 

[Segundoh]

we get a lot of spam posters here, that was one of them.

Do you hear noise with pc off?

I don’t hear that low RPM fan noise with the PC off, but it’s good to hear that’s actually normal. I still do hear the high pitched sound, so I suppose it is just my ears lol. I definitely should’ve checked that first before I got all scared about this and all.

 

[Segundoh]

we get a lot of spam posters here, that was one of them.

Do you hear noise with pc off?

It seems that my fan sound actually changed now. It's more of a grinding noise now. Does this still sound normal, or do these sound defective?

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/2MC_5LsKU38?feature=share

 

[Colif]

I don't hear anything wrong with the last video. Do you have anyone in real life you can ask to listen?
I asked someone else to listen to it and they can't hear anything unusual.
Perhaps you are concerned over nothing

Could be you need to set up a fan plan for the GPU as fans shouldn't be running all time, or were you playing a game when you recorded video?

Mine looks a little different to his

I find it easier to use Afterburner -

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNgCPonBWmw&t=14s

i left zero rpm mode on.

 

[Segundoh]

I don't hear anything wrong with the last video. Do you have anyone in real life you can ask to listen?
I asked someone else to listen to it and they can't hear anything unusual.
Perhaps you are concerned over nothing

Could be you need to set up a fan plan for the GPU as fans shouldn't be running all time, or were you playing a game when you recorded video?

Mine looks a little different to his

I find it easier to use Afterburner -

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNgCPonBWmw&t=14s

i left zero rpm mode on.

It’s good to hear that sounds normal to both you and someone else then! I can ask in real-life, but no one’s really experienced with PCs at all; I suppose you don’t need to be experienced to see if fans sound weird though. I was at idle, but I enabled my fans on purpose to see how it sounds without coil whine. I will try to set my fan curve to something like that then. I definitely am just worrying about nothing then. Thank you!

 

[Colif]

the fans don't cause coil whine. Its caused by the GPU running at high frequencies, not something you should hear at idle.

Coil whine is simply the vibration of the coil in an inductor as the power passes through it. On a high end graphics card, ten or more large inductors would help provide power to critical components on the card.

Coil whine is in no way harmful for your card, and does not affect performance or longevity.


https://www.evga.com/support/faq/FAQdetails.aspx?faqid=59535

Does coil whine happen because of coils in GPU fans? :: Hardware and Operating Systems

steamcommunity.com

fans aren't source, they just moving parts. Its a noise caused by parts inside GPU. Not the fans

 

[Segundoh]

the fans don't cause coil whine. Its caused by the GPU running at high frequencies, not something you should hear at idle.

Does coil whine happen because of coils in GPU fans? :: Hardware and Operating Systems

steamcommunity.com

fans aren't source, they just moving parts. Its a noise caused by parts inside GPU. Not the fans

Oh I misspoke. I meant that I didn’t want to record my fans while I was playing a game since what I’m hearing could be coil whine in that case. Is it bad that I’m hearing very quiet coil whine at idle then? It’s so quiet I can only hear it when I put my ear up next to my PC though.

 

[AllRed69]

Hey Segundoh, i read all your comment and watch your video, and yes, i hear buzzing noise coming from your GPU which not coil whine. I just got my RX 6700 XT Hellhound 3 days ago and the fan also make same noise like your GPU even on lowest RPM (35% fan : 1000RPM), i'm using MSI Afterburner or AMD Adrenaline to run the fan on lowest RPM without game running in the background (as if gaming running in the background it will cause coil whine instead). If the fan stop (my gpu have zero rpm mode while idle below 60c) the buzzing noise stop. I think this just how it work? mine too 3 fan model or maybe our ear just too sensitive and that's why we can hear it clearly.

How's your GPU now? did the fan or noise become much worse?

 

[Colif]

the default fan speed for my Red Devil 7900xt at idle is 0 so its odd the hellhound runs the fans all time. Have you tried the silent bios? It has a switch on the board. If its anything like mine there are 2 BIOS, the silent and OC. The main difference is OC runs fans all the time.

My fans run all time since i have set up a fan curve in Afterburner. I probably don't need that in winter. I have to turn Afterburner off and set Adrenalin to defaults before fans go to 0rpm

i can hear my fans when they on. Guess it does run them at about 1200.

 

[AllRed69]

the default fan speed for my Red Devil 7900xt at idle is 0 so its odd the hellhound runs the fans all time. Have you tried the silent bios? It has a switch on the board. If its anything like mine there are 2 BIOS, the silent and OC. The main difference is OC runs fans all the time.

My fans run all time since i have set up a fan curve in Afterburner. I probably don't need that in winter. I have to turn Afterburner off and set Adrenalin to defaults before fans go to 0rpm

i can hear my fans when they on. Guess it does run them at about 1200.

ah yes, maybe i'm just not good at explaining thing, but my hellhound fans go to 0 rpm too when idle (below 60c) and there's no buzzing noise because my fan not moving. And for Afterburner and Adrenaline it just to test the fan without game running in background, like i said above. With Afterburner and Adrenaline i can disable the 'Zero RPM' mode so the fan can run at lowest speed (35% : 1000RPM) even without game running in background. When the fan moving/spinning, i can hear buzzing or sound like "clik click / clk clk clk / st st st" even with my tempered glass case closed, tho i put my case beside me and the monitor so maybe that's why i can hear the noise from the case.

Not really that annoying as i can't barely hear them when i'm gaming even with speaker, and coil whine more louder than the buzzing noise from my gpu fan (both of sound have different noise type and i can distinguish them). Tho i'm just worried/concern if my gpu fan are defective and died eventually. But if that how it work then i'm fine by it. My old GPU is GTX 1070 Hall of Fame Edition from GALAX and i never hear single sound/noise coming from the fan even when gaming, and that's why i'm kinda worried with this fan noise coming from my RX 6700 XT Hellhound.

 

[Colif]

I doubt the person who made this thread will ever see your answer as it seems they deleted their user at some stage.

i don't think I get coil whine on my Red Devil. I know I can hear the fans if they are on, but I wouldn't call it a buzzing noise. my case fans are noctuas so I don't hear those unless I let them all run at same speed. Intakes are 2 Corsair ML120 which are fairly quiet as well . PSU also has a ML fan... Some days the loudest part of PC is the GPU fans.

Think I disable my MSI fan curve, as its not really necessary to have GPU at 25c all the time. Afterburner overrides the radeon settings so even though it thinks its running at defaults, I have to choose quiet and then default again to get fans to stop if Afterburner before.

I had a 2070 Super before this which didn't run its fans unless card was over 60c, it was only in the weeks preceding replacing it that I used https://github.com/Rem0o/FanControl.Releases to control its fan - it doesn't work with AMD cards.

Seems the fans are meant to be quiet

i can find results for coil whine on the card, but not noisy fans

coil whine can be reduced by controlling frame rate. Its only high frame rates that normally cause it

I have set radeon chill up so my max frame rate is 143 and my minimum is 141. My screen max is 144 but I have seen it mentioned that running 1 less just makes it less likely to cause tearing, Setting a max might also reduce coil whine and could explain why I haven't heard it.