3090 Gaming Coil Whine log

Stu999 · 21 Oct 2020 at 12:09

Thread created to track experience of coil whine on the 3090 while gaming. Please copy/paste from the OP (don’t quote) and add your experience. If you could include your username and model that would be great. I’ll update the OP periodically if people use this thread.

Bad coil whine:
RDR2 - FE / Strix OC - Stu999 / Perra_himself
Mafia: Definitive Edition - Strix OC - Perra_himself

Average coil whine:
Call of Duty: Warzone - Strix OC - Perra_himself

Minimal coil whine (e.g. only in certain circumstances):
Crysis 3 - FE - Stu999

No coil whine:
Ace Combat 7 - FE - Stu999
World of Warcraft - Strix OC - Perra_himself

Stu999 · 21 Oct 2020 at 18:15

Some of these were just a quick blast of 20 minutes or so but I will update categories if anything changes with longer game time.

Bad coil whine:
RDR2 - FE (4k/60)/ Strix OC - Stu999 / @Perra_himself
Mafia: Definitive Edition - Strix OC - Perra_himself
MS Flight Simulator 2020 - FE (4K 30 - 50 FPS) - Stu999

Average coil whine:
Call of Duty: Warzone - Strix OC - Perra_himself
Horizon: Zero Dawn - FE - 4k/60 - Stu999 (seems very 'scene' dependent).

Minimal coil whine (e.g. only in certain circumstances):
Crysis 3 - FE - 4k/60 - Stu999
GTA V - FE - 4k/60 - Stu999
Fall Guys - FE - 4k/60 - Stu999
Doom 2016 - FE - 4k/60 - Stu999

No coil whine:
Ace Combat 7 - FE - 4k/60 - Stu999
World of Warcraft - Strix OC - Perra_himself
Forza Horizon 4 - FE - 4k/60 - Stu999 (I did get coil whine running the benchmark with uncapped frame rate)

Edit - temps were very good while trying all of these games, max 65c.
Edit 2 - I'm using a Corsair RM850i PSU.

smogsy · 21 Oct 2020 at 20:54

Would add the FPS to these if I was you.

They have coil whine at 1080p 200 FPS but maybe fine at say 4-8k at 60fps

Coil whine generally linked to how many frames are being pushed. Hence uncapped menus get them more than some games

Stu999 · 21 Oct 2020 at 20:56

smogsy said:
Would add the FPS to these if I was you.

They have coil whine at 1080p 200 FPS but maybe fine at say 4-8k at 60fps

Coil whine generally linked to how many frames are being pushed. Hence uncapped menus get them more than some games

Good point. All of mine were at 4K/60.

smogsy · 21 Oct 2020 at 21:00

Maybe worth also adding psu

I got a strix 3099 on order if I get coil whine it will be going right back or I'll mod it myself to reduce it.

My rig is almost silent at 27dba so any whine I will notice..

Perra_himself · 21 Oct 2020 at 21:26

Hi everyone,
Im using a EVGA G2 850W PSU for my Asus 3090 Strix. Never had coil whine with any of my Asus cards before over the last 10 years.
Following this thread and will update while trying other games during the weekend.

chorl · 27 Oct 2020 at 07:09

smogsy said:
Would add the FPS to these if I was you.

They have coil whine at 1080p 200 FPS but maybe fine at say 4-8k at 60fps

Coil whine generally linked to how many frames are being pushed. Hence uncapped menus get them more than some games

That's my thought, I have 3090 Strix OC and ridiculous coil whine in Destiny 2 menu (in orbit). Ingame it's less noticeable, but it's definitively there. I'll try usual suspects (PSU, undevolt), and RMA if I'm not happy with results (it's a lot of money).

smogsy · 27 Oct 2020 at 07:51

chorl said:
That's my thought, I have 3090 Strix OC and ridiculous coil whine in Destiny 2 menu (in orbit). Ingame it's less noticeable, but it's definitively there. I'll try usual suspects (PSU, undevolt), and RMA if I'm not happy with results (it's a lot of money).

out of curosity if you use DRS to say double your res does it get quieter?

Davski · 27 Oct 2020 at 17:53

I've got a ASUS TUF 3090 OC paired with a Corsair HX850 and notice a terrible coil whine at high frame rates such as SOTR on the menu screen. At first I thought it was the graphics card, but thankfully after a closer investigation the whine was coming from the PSU. I'm guessing power draw is high at high frame rates and this might is the cause of the whine from the PSU. I'm wondering what size power supply you need to go to get whine free operation from a 3090 or is the PSU faulty, it's less than a year old?

smogsy · 27 Oct 2020 at 18:05

Davski said:
I've got a ASUS TUF 3090 OC paired with a Corsair HX850 and notice a terrible coil whine at high frame rates such as SOTR on the menu screen. At first I thought it was the graphics card, but thankfully after a closer investigation the whine was coming from the PSU. I'm guessing power draw is high at high frame rates and this might is the cause of the whine from the PSU. I'm wondering what size power supply you need to go to get whine free operation from a 3090 or is the PSU faulty, it's less than a year old?

well first of all

850W is bare minimum i would run for a 3090 (with 450W power limit) (leaves only 400W for rest of the pc..)
the HX units are decentish quality but not the best
High FPS almost always will produce more electrical noise, may not be audible though, but will be especially in menus with unlocked FPS

Coil whine can be a mix of GPU/PSU But can also be worsen with bad quality parts near your PC too, especially sound cards, they often alter the sound of coil whine in my experience put an old creative card in your PC & whine will worsen

What i would do (if you don't like the noise)

remove any additional PCI Cards that could be causing additional elec noise
Try reducing the power limit/turn off Overclocks of the GPU/CPU see if the PSU stops buzzing
Buy a Better PSU,i would suggest a seasonic as they make 70%+ of the market anyway and keep there best tech for 1 year +
would suggest a 1000W unit depending on your CPU. but if you got a 3090 i would hope you have 10core + cpu as 3090 are not really for gaming but for work

My thoughts are
450W for GPU
180W for CPU
30W for anything else
= 660W
that is without peak power & 100% efficiency

Stu999 · 27 Oct 2020 at 18:40

Let us know how you get on @Davski.

chorl · 27 Oct 2020 at 19:31

smogsy said:
out of curosity if you use DRS to say double your res does it get quieter?

Don't need to. If I cap frames at 80 FPS, coil gets down (but there is always present).

It's interesting, in Destiny, max coil is in one specific menu, other menus (at same FPS) sounds lower.

Well, tomorrow comes my new PSU (CoolerMaster AV 1200 Platinum). Let's see.

Davski · 28 Oct 2020 at 18:50

smogsy said:
well first of all

850W is bare minimum i would run for a 3090 (with 450W power limit) (leaves only 400W for rest of the pc..)

the HX units are decentish quality but not the best

High FPS almost always will produce more electrical noise, may not be audible though, but will be especially in menus with unlocked FPS

Coil whine can be a mix of GPU/PSU But can also be worsen with bad quality parts near your PC too, especially sound cards, they often alter the sound of coil whine in my experience put an old creative card in your PC & whine will worsen

What i would do (if you don't like the noise)

remove any additional PCI Cards that could be causing additional elec noise

Try reducing the power limit/turn off Overclocks of the GPU/CPU see if the PSU stops buzzing

Buy a Better PSU,i would suggest a seasonic as they make 70%+ of the market anyway and keep there best tech for 1 year +

would suggest a 1000W unit depending on your CPU. but if you got a 3090 i would hope you have 10core + cpu as 3090 are not really for gaming but for work

My thoughts are
450W for GPU
180W for CPU
30W for anything else
= 660W
that is without peak power & 100% efficiency

@smogsy Thanks for the advice. Yes it looks like I'm under powered a little and from what I've read in other posts, Corsair seem to be more prone to exhibiting coil whine. I used the Be Quiet PSU calculator and that also recommended 1000w. I'll take a look for a Seasonic, possibly a 1200w to be on the safe side and maximise quiet operation. Going to lock down my FPS to help in the meantime.

Stu999 said:
Let us know how you get on @Davski.

@Stu999 will do.

smogsy · 28 Oct 2020 at 19:13

Davski said:
@smogsy Thanks for the advice. Yes it looks like I'm under powered a little and from what I've read in other posts, Corsair seem to be more prone to exhibiting coil whine. I used the Be Quiet PSU calculator and that also recommended 1000w. I'll take a look for a Seasonic, possibly a 1200w to be on the safe side and maximise quiet operation. Going to lock down my FPS to help in the meantime.

@Stu999 will do.

would go with a prime, Focus is there cheaper versions
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/pc-c...ove-800-watts?ckSuppliers=538&ckTab=0&sSort=2

if you got a 3090 you can afford it

Perra_himself · 30 Oct 2020 at 22:34

Hi everyone.
Hope you are doing well out there. Sorry I've been busy for the last couple of days so havent had a chance to test more games beside Watch Dogs Legions which performs horrible on PC no matter on Low or Ultra settings. There's a long thread on Reddit about it but that's another story.

@Daviski looking forward hearing your findings. Perhaps I'm underpowered too? I'm running a Intel 10900K along with the 3090 and 2 SSDs and 2 mechanical HDDs. Thinking about heading to the hardware store tomorrow and grab a 1000W to replace my 850W to see if that's the thing causing coil whine.

MidKnight · 31 Oct 2020 at 07:07

So quick psu question, I am about to upgrade my Corsair 850 to a 1000 and I am a complete novice at this, can I just swap out the power unit itself and use the existing cabling (that came with the 850) or would all the cabling need changing too?

smogsy · 31 Oct 2020 at 07:50

MidKnight said:
So quick psu question, I am about to upgrade my Corsair 850 to a 1000 and I am a complete novice at this, can I just swap out the power unit itself and use the existing cabling (that came with the 850) or would all the cabling need changing too?

So this is a very awkward question, Although Most brands try to keep to the same cable type within their company some models change EG Corsair CX/HX are different from memory & some high quality power supplies have high gauge wires .

i would air on the side of caution & swap them. i do not want to give you advice which could cause fire damage or loud bang

smogsy · 31 Oct 2020 at 07:52

Perra_himself said:
Hi everyone.
Hope you are doing well out there. Sorry I've been busy for the last couple of days so havent had a chance to test more games beside Watch Dogs Legions which performs horrible on PC no matter on Low or Ultra settings. There's a long thread on Reddit about it but that's another story.

@Daviski looking forward hearing your findings. Perhaps I'm underpowered too? I'm running a Intel 10900K along with the 3090 and 2 SSDs and 2 mechanical HDDs. Thinking about heading to the hardware store tomorrow and grab a 1000W to replace my 850W to see if that's the thing causing coil whine.

check out jonny guru for best reviews
https://www.jonnyguru.com/
he literally takes them apart & inspects every element & stress tests the hell out of units

Perra_himself · 31 Oct 2020 at 11:25

smogsy said:
check out jonny guru for best reviews
https://www.jonnyguru.com/
he literally takes them apart & inspects every element & stress tests the hell out of units

Thanks mate, gonna check it out now.

Perra_himself · 31 Oct 2020 at 12:41

Perhaps I will go with the brand new Dark Power Pro 12. Kind of pricey but I have 30 days free of return if it doesnt solve my issues with the coil whine.

Was looking at the SeaSonic ones too but most are out of stock until January 2021 in my country.