460 annoying fan noise

[Emultra]

When my MSI GTX 460 Hawk's fan speed goes over 55% (manually tested), there's a grinding/rapid rattling noise. Obviously there's also more noise in general but that's to be expected. The harsh "RRRRR" stuff is annoying though, and it didn't appear right away.

This forces me to manually set the speed to 55% at most, which is limiting in new games and for overclocking. Is this grounds for RMA?

 

[ronnn]

Likely is, but maybe the new card will have the same type of fan. Personally I would just get an aftermarket cooling solution.

 

[Idontcare]

Is this grounds for RMA?

Depends on what grounds you are seeking the RMA.

If you are seeking an RMA on the grounds of the product being defective then the answer is likely to be "no". They don't guarantee a noise-level during operation.

If you are seeking an RMA on the grounds that you are not fully satisfied with the product and wish to return it, possibly being required to pay a restocking fee, then the answer is likely to be "yes". Provided you bought it from a retailer that accepts returns.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Well you should probably see exactly what's causing the noise. If it's the fans, you could try stopping each one with your finger to check.

 

[Rifter]

my msi hawk is fairly quiet even up to 100%. sounds like the fan is hitting a wire or somehting causing the soiund, in which case you might be able to take the hatsink off and fix it yourself, or RMA it.

 

[Emultra]

Well you should probably see exactly what's causing the noise. If it's the fans, you could try stopping each one with your finger to check.

I'm using MSI's Afterburner program with manual fan controls. As soon as I set it to above 55% (e.g. 60) they start going machine gun.

 

[Idontcare]

It may be some weird resonance vibration thing.

I have that accelero xtreme 3rd party hsf which is nice and quiet up to 80% fanspeed, but the quiet part only happens because I set a book on top of my computer case.

I don't know why or where the noise comes from but if I take the book off of my computer case then the noise levels jump by about 3x, unless I turn down the fanspeed with afterburner.

I recommend turning your fans up, get that machine gun noise going, open your case and go looking for the source of the noise. Stop the fans with your hand, confirm it is them. Grab the v-card on the edge and see if you can dampen or mitigate the noise that way (just to identify the source).

 

[imaheadcase]

Why do you need fan to go higher than that? Overclocking to max settings on GTX 460 is only a %50 fan increase..

875core on mine at %50 manually set with my EVGA card with no problems in games. Thats pretty much around what others have. 850-900core.

 

[Emultra]

Why do you need fan to go higher than that? Overclocking to max settings on GTX 460 is only a %50 fan increase..

875core on mine at %50 manually set with my EVGA card with no problems in games. Thats pretty much around what others have. 850-900core.

Depends on temps, I guess. What is the highest long term safe temp for it to run? It got up to 58C in Crysis, I think.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

The highest safe temp is the one that doesn't cause the card to crash. Though it's probably good to keep it below 85C. Which should be no problem with the Hawk's cooler.

I just got my Hawk today and thus far no weird noises all the way up to 100% - just the normal sound of more air being moved. Running stock clocks with default Kombustor settings, max temp is 76C with fan locked at 40%. That's pretty awesome. At 45% - max of 73C. Auto - 74% w/ max temp: 63C.

Other info - idle 31C, ambient temp 72.5F.

 

[Slugbait]

I don't know why or where the noise comes from but if I take the book off of my computer case then the noise levels jump by about 3x, unless I turn down the fanspeed with afterburner.

Shot in the dark...your case is super-light when empty, and constructed with thin, flimsy sheet metal?

 

[happy medium]

Your gtx460 should not sound like that, mine dosen't. If it is your fan rma and tell them the fan sounds like crap and if you can get a new one.

Edit: I had mine @ 1010 core at 1.175 volts ( I think) for a bit @ 80c and it didn't explode.

 

[betasub]

Other info - idle 31C, ambient temp 72.5F.

For those of us who want to compare idle to ambient on the same scale, that ambient is about 22.5C.

 

[Idontcare]

Shot in the dark...your case is super-light when empty, and constructed with thin, flimsy sheet metal?

Its an ABS Black Pearl.

The construction quality is not what I would characterize as flimsy.

It is aluminum, so weight is low but the case is huge, there is no "one hand" lift on it even when it was empty.

But obviously something is not tight, for all I know its a screw I did not tighten down.

The book does its job though, remember the parable is that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" (a temporary solution to a larger issue), it is not "the squeaky wheel gets dissembled and packed with new bearings that have tighter spec tolerances".

 

[Slugbait]

But obviously something is not tight, for all I know its a screw I did not tighten down.

Or a screw came lose. Possibly the mobo: the vibration of the higher fan speed would shake the card if it's not properly anchored. But since a book on top of the case reduces the noise, that indicates to me that the vibration from the fan is shaking the mobo, and the loose mobo in turn is rattling on the mobo tray.

Other possibility is the top I/O panel is loose. Do you have some sort of fan cage or mount for the top exhaust holes? That might be it...

Nice organization of you case, BTW.