GTX 970 Coil Whine - Please share your experience

[MorganX]

If you have a GTX 970, please share your experience with coil whine. Some say it is only if you have V-sync off and FPS go over 100, which even some menu screens do with these cards without V-Sync.

 

Others say no matter what their FPS they have noticeable whine.

 

If you have a 970 with no coil whine whatsoever, can you please indicate the vendor and model of the board that you have?

[Setnom]

No coil whine. MSI GTX 970 rev. 1.1.

[Raa]

Can people share if they have 980 experiences as well please?

[MorganX]

No coil whine. MSI GTX 970 rev. 1.1.

 

Most likely that's the card I will get. I'm actually waiting for the Limited Gold Edition http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/andrzej/kitguru-picks-up-an-msi-gold-edition-gtx970-at-beat-it-2014/.

 

Hopefully they release in US and hopefully all coil whine issues worked out by then.

[dead.cell]

I bought this one for $329.99 on Amazon before demand drove the price up.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NI647NE

 

No coil whine that I can tell, as I can hear my hard drive at about the same decibel as my fans. Using a 400R Corsair case, CX750M psu, Hyper N520 heatsink. That's about all I can give as far as anything that has mechanical parts in my rig.

[DudeBro]

Got a Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming Rev 1.1 from Tigerdirect last week. Got it for $350 with the $30 off masterpass and no tax in CA was probably the best deal at the time. I was constantly checking the site for it and it went out of stock like within an hour of being available!

 

Rev 1.1 of the card supposedly fixes the coil whine and that's true for me. Pretty silent compared to my case fans and no whine. It's binned and has the highest potential for overclock with higher stock TDP/power limit. Downsides is Gigabytes card is pretty big though at nearly 12" long, doesn't have the 0% silent mode fans, and it usually goes for $370. Much more expensive than every other brand.

 

I'm sure every new batch of 970 should have the coil whine fixed since its been widely reported. So you should have a good chance with any brand.

[MorganX]

Ordered: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-127-837

 

Paid too much to have what I want when I want it, lol. Fingers crossed no whine.

[theyarecomingforyou]

I have two GALAX GTX 970 EXOC cards in SLI and neither has any coil whine.

 

Best of luck with yours.

[MorganX]

I have two GALAX GTX 970 EXOC cards in SLI and neither has any coil whine.

 

Best of luck with yours.

 

Thanks, I'm excited. SLI, 970s? You're set for Triple Screens on Ultra Settings! I'm hoping to go WQHD with the 970, just for Grid Autosport, we'll see.  I don't game over 60Hz so it should be able to handle that on a single monitor.

[dead.cell]

Thanks, I'm excited. SLI, 970s? You're set for Triple Screens on Ultra Settings! I'm hoping to go WQHD with the 970, just for Grid Autosport, we'll see.  I don't game over 60Hz so it should be able to handle that on a single monitor.

See, I'm thinking on trying a 144Hz monitor instead. I'd like to actually see what I'm getting out of it, and there's a decent $200 monitor on sale in that department.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009642

[MorganX]

See, I'm thinking on trying a 144Hz monitor instead. I'd like to actually see what I'm getting out of it, and there's a decent $200 monitor on sale in that department.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009642

 

That's a good deal. I have 2 x 1080p 27s so I'm not sure what I want to do. I'm leaning towards WQHD in the center for triple setup, 34" 21:9 1440p, or just stay as is and see how monitors shake out. Right now, unless I go WQHD or triple monitor, I'm set until the new Battlefront comes out a year from now. I do think 144Hz is better than the G-sync premium. The cost of G-sync is ridiculous.

[theyarecomingforyou]

Thanks, I'm excited. SLI, 970s? You're set for Triple Screens on Ultra Settings! I'm hoping to go WQHD with the 970, just for Grid Autosport, we'll see.  I don't game over 60Hz so it should be able to handle that on a single monitor.

I game at 2560x1600, which is extremely demanding. Even with them both overclocked there are a few games where I get framerate drops. That said, virtually everything I throw at it runs amazingly. It's a major improvement from the GTX 680 SLI setup I had before.

[compl3x]

I game at 2560x1600, which is extremely demanding.

 

Which monitor are you using?

 

Are there any good monitors at that res, with low response/input lag?

[MorganX]

Which monitor are you using?

 

Are there any good monitors at that res, with low response/input lag?

 

 

This question wasn't for me, but all the one's I've seen are 30", not cheap, and about 5ms response & 60Hz. I'm also considering 32" 1440.

[theyarecomingforyou]

Which monitor are you using?

 

Are there any good monitors at that res, with low response/input lag?

I'm using the Hazro HZ30Wie, which has low input lag and very good responsiveness (especially given the panel type). It set me back ?700 at the time but now it's dropped to ?500.

[MorganX]

I'm using the Hazro HZ30Wie, which has low input lag and very good responsiveness (especially given the panel type). It set me back ?700 at the time but now it's dropped to ?500.

 

tftcentral is a great and informative site. 2K & 4K are killing 1440p. Looks like the thing for me to do is wait for more 34" 1440p monitors to drop the price down by 30%. 2k & 4k may be good for movies and some games, but for general computing even 1440p is no good at less than 30". Of course excepting video and graphic design. But even with those you have to use the OS quite a bit. A curved 34" 1440p @ $750 is what I'll be waiting for.

[compl3x]

I'm using the Hazro HZ30Wie, which has low input lag and very good responsiveness (especially given the panel type). It set me back ?700 at the time but now it's dropped to ?500.

 

 

Heh. Cool. Wayyyyy too much for me to fork out for a new monitor, though. I'll just have to accept my 60fps/1080p gaming  :laugh:

[theyarecomingforyou]

tftcentral is a great and informative site. 2K & 4K are killing 1440p. Looks like the thing for me to do is wait for more 34" 1440p monitors to drop the price down by 30%. 2k & 4k may be good for movies and some games, but for general computing even 1440p is no good at less than 30". Of course excepting video and graphic design. But even with those you have to use the OS quite a bit. A curved 34" 1440p @ $750 is what I'll be waiting for.

Yeah, I used TFTCentral to decide which monitor to get, as IPS monitors have higher latency and so I had to make sure I got one suitable for gaming (good responsiveness, minimal input lag). I'm very happy with it, as it's great for gaming without being too demanding (4K simply isn't attainable at the moment) and brilliant for desktop usage.

 

Heh. Cool. Wayyyyy too much for me to fork out for a new monitor, though. I'll just have to accept my 60fps/1080p gaming  :laugh:

It's rather excessive but I knew that at the time. :D In terms of cost/performance 1080p is definitely where it's at currently, though if you have the budget then gaming at 1600p with a 30" monitor is an awesome experience. There are still games that push my GTX 970 SLI setup. I have a 42" HDTV hooked up to my PC for casual gaming.

[compl3x]

 

It's rather excessive but I knew that at the time. :D In terms of cost/performance 1080p is definitely where it's at currently, though if you have the budget then gaming at 1600p with a 30" monitor is an awesome experience. There are still games that push my GTX 970 SLI setup. I have a 42" HDTV hooked up to my PC for casual gaming.

 

I have a big screen hooked up for the same reason. Steam's big screen mode is convenient for that very purpose.

[MorganX]

Bought the MSI 970 Gaming Gold Edition. Must have weighed 5lbs. Has to be the most solid and best looking graphics card I've seen. Really well done, a solid brick of copper. Unfortunately those huge copper heat pipes were too big at the top for my SFF case so I had to RMA it an eat Newegg's $60 restocking fee. But I had no choice. Could have forced the case down but, why. Also, there was the mildest of whine but not coil whine, little whine from the fans, not much but with a silent case ... no.

 

Just ended up buying the Gigabyte G1 Gaming Edition 970, not as glamorous as the MSI but has a nice metal backplate and though the triple Windforce is on all the time at a minimum of 35 rpm, it's silent under general use/no load, and all you hear is air moving under load. The performance is amazing for the low noise and power consumption. 0 coil whine and inaudible fans. I got lucky monitoring Microcenter. This is a long card 12.2" and I caught an open box that had never had the static bag tape removed nor the protective films. A lott of mid and full size cases can't fit a card that long but my SFF can. Got $55 off which cancelled out my Newegg restock fee. I'm a happy camper. I'm all set for the next Battlefront in a year or so :) and 21:9 34" LG or AOC in a few weeks.

[Caleo Global Moderator]

My MSI "Gaming 4G" 970 (the red one) has some minor coil whine, but I'm not sure if it bothers me enough to deal with an RMA unless I start having some real issues.

[Aergan]

Slightly off-topic but related: My MSI GTX 770 OC 2GB has developed "coil whine" / EMI now. It's only occurring when idle as opposed to under load.

If I remove the card from my main PC and use the HD4600, no issue. Tried the card in another machine and the issue is still present.

I've contacted Ebuyer about it and they've started an RMA process

 

I have a bit of an issue in that I can't seem to get a recording of the noise (they want proof which is understandable) as my phone or PC microphone don't pick it up - anyone having any success or a method to achieve this?

[MorganX]

Slightly off-topic but related: My MSI GTX 770 OC 2GB has developed "coil whine" / EMI now. It's only occurring when idle as opposed to under load.

If I remove the card from my main PC and use the HD4600, no issue. Tried the card in another machine and the issue is still present.

I've contacted Ebuyer about it and they've started an RMA process

 

I have a bit of an issue in that I can't seem to get a recording of the noise (they want proof which is understandable) as my phone or PC microphone don't pick it up - anyone having any success or a method to achieve this?

 

Most people I've seen have it on a test bench and just stick t here phone or cam down in there. If it's not louder than the fans, if they're on, they probably won't help. Make sure you're not running a game or anything so the fans don't come on. Also make sure it's not the fan making the noise.

 

I have that same card in my HTPC. Bought it factory reconditioned, performs really well.

[+Ichigo+]

Running a MSI Gaming 4g gtx980 on 3 monitors right now (one 29" ultrawide and 2 24") with no coil wine

[LaP]

Bought the MSI 970 Gaming Gold Edition. Must have weighed 5lbs. Has to be the most solid and best looking graphics card I've seen. Really well done, a solid brick of copper. Unfortunately those huge copper heat pipes were too big at the top for my SFF case so I had to RMA it an eat Newegg's $60 restocking fee. But I had no choice. Could have forced the case down but, why. Also, there was the mildest of whine but not coil whine, little whine from the fans, not much but with a silent case ... no.

 

Just ended up buying the Gigabyte G1 Gaming Edition 970, not as glamorous as the MSI but has a nice metal backplate and though the triple Windforce is on all the time at a minimum of 35 rpm, it's silent under general use/no load, and all you hear is air moving under load. The performance is amazing for the low noise and power consumption. 0 coil whine and inaudible fans. I got lucky monitoring Microcenter. This is a long card 12.2" and I caught an open box that had never had the static bag tape removed nor the protective films. A lott of mid and full size cases can't fit a card that long but my SFF can. Got $55 off which cancelled out my Newegg restock fee. I'm a happy camper. I'm all set for the next Battlefront in a year or so  and 21:9 34" LG or AOC in a few weeks.

 

I had so much trouble installing my g1 in my Antec 9000. The card barely fit. I had to reroute some cables and change the position of one of my ssd.

 

35 rpm ?

 

The fans of my g1 works at 1600 rpm while not gaming.