Graphics Card Fan Buzzing

[Watwazat]

Hey, everyone.

I've got a Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon HD 7970 3GB GHz Edition graphics card in my PC. It can be found here (click me). The past couple of days I've noticed that when I get into a match in Battlefield 4, the card starts to make what I can only describe as a buzzing sound. Once I exit the game the sound goes away.

This card is a little less than a year old, and while I have dusted the inside of my system with compressed air a couple of times, I've never removed the card and cleaned the fans. Could this be the problem? If so, how do you properly clean the fans on a graphics card?

Should that not be the problem (whether I clean them or not), can the fans be replaced to save the card, or would it need to be replaced? It should still be under the manufacturer warranty, but I can't wait the length of time it would take for them to RMA it, as I use my PC on a daily basis. I was looking on Newegg and found a fan I think would work, but I'm not sure. It can be found here (click me).

Thanks, everyone!

 

[Borkil]

I'm pretty sure that it's not the fan but coil whine. My card whines/buzzes whenever the gpu is loaded (playing a intensive game). I used to think it was the fan also. It's annoying but as far as I know it won't hurt the card.

 

[KingFatty]

Yeah, another way to hear coil whine is at the end of Unigine Heaven, when you've quit the program and they display a closing/advertisement screen (e.g., 2D). See if you hear the same sound there, when they display that end screen.

 

[Watwazat]

I'm pretty sure that it's not the fan but coil whine. My card whines/buzzes whenever the gpu is loaded (playing a intensive game). I used to think it was the fan also. It's annoying but as far as I know it won't hurt the card.

I've never heard of coil whine before, but upon looking it up, you could be right!

Yeah, another way to hear coil whine is at the end of Unigine Heaven, when you've quit the program and they display a closing/advertisement screen (e.g., 2D). See if you hear the same sound there, when they display that end screen.

I've also never heard of Unigine before, but I looked it up, and I'll give the free version a try right now! I'll update this post (or post a new one if someone else posts before I come back to update) with the results of whether I hear any coil whine.

EDIT: I didn't hear anything. There was no buzzing, grinding, whining, etc. I read somewhere that sometimes all it takes it a system reboot and the sound the fan is making will stop; I rebooted this morning, so maybe that solved it?

 

[Watwazat]

The sound came back today while playing BF4. I took the side panel off and tried to listen for where the sound was coming from, but it's hard to tell because of all the fans. Is there a definitive way I can find out if it's my GPU?

 

[24601]

The sound came back today while playing BF4. I took the side panel off and tried to listen for where the sound was coming from, but it's hard to tell because of all the fans. Is there a definitive way I can find out if it's my GPU?

The only place that kind of sound can be coming from is from the Inductors (coils).

The only places with high current inductors in your PC are your power supply inductors, your Motherboard inductors, and your GPU inductors.

Its likely your GPU inductors from the information you've presented so far and no, an RMA is not going to fix it since it was a direct design consideration for that particular model of Vapor-X 7970.

 

[Watwazat]

The only place that kind of sound can be coming from is from the Inductors (coils).

The only places with high current inductors in your PC are your power supply inductors, your Motherboard inductors, and your GPU inductors.

Its likely your GPU inductors from the information you've presented so far and no, an RMA is not going to fix it since it was a direct design consideration for that particular model of Vapor-X 7970.

How come the sound just recently started then? I've gamed with the PC every day since I built it, and it never did this until recently...

I just tried this: I went into the Test Range on BF4 and started blowing things up with the MBT Law and was able to hear the GPU slowly ramp up in speed. All of a sudden, the sound started again; it's more like a rattling sound than a buzzing I suppose. I carefully stopped the fans with my fingers and the sound stopped, but once I let them go to start spinning again, the sound didn't come back...

Does that mean one or both of the fans are going, or is it something else, like needing to be cleaned or tightened (can they even be tightened?)?

 

[Watwazat]

This video that I found on YouTube is the sound that I hear. It isn't coil whine (I watched videos of that too). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTkqRbeHlWA

 

[blastingcap]

RMA it if you can. Sapphire fans suck, and the only way you can teach them a lesson is to stop buying them. Freaking cheap-o fans. I have sworn off all non-reference Sapphire cards after 3 out of the last 5 Sapphire non-reference cards I bought developed fan problems. The only other fan that MIGHT have had a problem was a MSI 7790 big fan but I was running it with no space for the next card over, so it's not entirely their fault. The Sapphire 7-series fans? ALL their fault. Cheap ass Sapphire.

 

[Watwazat]

RMA it if you can. Sapphire fans suck, and the only way you can teach them a lesson is to stop buying them. Freaking cheap-o fans. I have sworn off all non-reference Sapphire cards after 3 out of the last 5 Sapphire non-reference cards I bought developed fan problems. The only other fan that MIGHT have had a problem was a MSI 7790 big fan but I was running it with no space for the next card over, so it's not entirely their fault. The Sapphire 7-series fans? ALL their fault. Cheap ass Sapphire.

For me, RMA isn't an option. I don't have a backup card, and Sapphire's estimated RMA time is 4 to 8 weeks. I can't go that long without using my PC.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

Seconded on Sapphire fans sucking. I was using a Sapphire 7950 for mining last year and it developed fan noise after less than a month of duty.

If you can't RMA, you'll have to replace the cooler or just deal with the noise. The fan may keep going indefinitely, or it may quit at any time.

I'm not sure if the cooler you linked fits the 79x0 series. The GPU chip on those boards has a unique orientation that isn't compatible with a lot of aftermarket coolers.

This one should work for sure, although it's pricier:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186064

 

[Watwazat]

Seconded on Sapphire fans sucking. I was using a Sapphire 7950 for mining last year and it developed fan noise after less than a month of duty.

If you can't RMA, you'll have to replace the cooler or just deal with the noise. The fan may keep going indefinitely, or it may quit at any time.

I'm not sure if the cooler you linked fits the 79x0 series. The GPU chip on those boards has a unique orientation that isn't compatible with a lot of aftermarket coolers.

This one should work for sure, although it's pricier:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186064

I e-mailed Arctic to get a confirmation as to which of their coolers would fir mt particular card, and the guy who replied listed on the Accelero Xtreme 280(X) as being compatible with my card, but then went on to say it would only work if my card used a standard PCB with a width of 98mm. He also gave me some info about how to see if the card was made before or after February of 2013 by using a ruler, but I didn't fully understand it.

Why the guy couldn't give me a definitive answer as to which cooler(s) of theirs would work, I have no idea. It's pissing me off though; it's his job to know these things.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

I e-mailed Arctic to get a confirmation as to which of their coolers would fir mt particular card, and the guy who replied listed on the Accelero Xtreme 280(X) as being compatible with my card, but then went on to say it would only work if my card used a standard PCB with a width of 98mm. He also gave me some info about how to see if the card was made before or after February of 2013 by using a ruler, but I didn't fully understand it.

Why the guy couldn't give me a definitive answer as to which cooler(s) of theirs would work, I have no idea. It's pissing me off though; it's his job to know these things.

There's also this one, which is probably the nicest thing going. You have to buy fans as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835242030

 

[bononos]

How come the sound just recently started then? I've gamed with the PC every day since I built it, and it never did this until recently...

I just tried this: I went into the Test Range on BF4 and started blowing things up with the MBT Law and was able to hear the GPU slowly ramp up in speed. All of a sudden, the sound started again; it's more like a rattling sound than a buzzing I suppose. I carefully stopped the fans with my fingers and the sound stopped, but once I let them go to start spinning again, the sound didn't come back...

Does that mean one or both of the fans are going, or is it something else, like needing to be cleaned or tightened (can they even be tightened?)?

You could try oiling the fans if the card is past the warranty period. And if the fan has a rubber stopper that can open to allow oiling. Use a small drop or 2 of sewing machine oil and leave it for a long while until you see the oil has made its way into the bearings/spindle. It saved me from having to get a new fan.

 

[Watwazat]

There's also this one, which is probably the nicest thing going. You have to buy fans as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835242030

That thing is huge! I don't think it would fit in my case. Plus, I have no idea how to use it, what fans to buy, etc.

You could try oiling the fans if the card is past the warranty period. And if the fan has a rubber stopper that can open to allow oiling. Use a small drop or 2 of sewing machine oil and leave it for a long while until you see the oil has made its way into the bearings/spindle. It saved me from having to get a new fan.

Honestly, I don't have the first clue about how to do that. I know a lot about computers and was able to put my own together, but something like that exceeds my capabilities.