3070 - Card has developed an annoying rattle at idle. Likely cause and solution? (Wasn't the card, is the PSU, I'm a muppet)

[Mr Jack]

My approx. ten month old Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 GAMING OC has developed an annoying rattling noise at idle (I'm pretty sure it's the graphics card because I disabled the other fans one-by-one and it didn't stop the noise). I'm assuming the most likely cause for this is a dodgy bearing in one of the fans, is this likely to be correct? And if it is, am I right the best thing to do is to order and fit some replacement fans. The internet seems to think this is a pretty straightforward user job, has anyone else got experience of doing it, and is that about right?

I could also send the card back for repair, but I'm not keen on being without for the time it'd take to send it back and get it repaired or replaced.

 

[james.miller]

replacing most GPU fans is a piece of cake. confirm its a fan by sticking your finger on the hub to stop it spinning. if the rattle goes, that fan is toast. if you take the shroud off, that fan should have a part number on the back of it. You should find plenty of sources for replacements with a little googling. It wont be more than a couple of screws holding it in.


As for what the rattle is, if its the fan then it'll most likely be a worn bearing like you said. Just look for any liquid around the fan, on the GPU's pcb etc because may have leaked some fluid. Easy to clean off, just dont leave it on there if there is any

 

[Kelt]

10 months old, so under warranty?

RMA that sucker, that's what warranties are for.

 

[SpudMaster]

If your the first owner and the card is still under warranty then use the warranty. Carrying out the work yourself is likely to void the warranty.

 

[Mr Jack]

RMA that sucker, that's what warranties are for.

I probably should, and not sending stuff back let's manufacturer's getting away with selling sub-par product. I just don't want to go through the time and hassle. Plus I need a working card for my work, so that time without is a problem.

Carrying out the work yourself is likely to void the warranty.

A very good point. Hmm.

 

[Tetras]

Carrying out the work yourself is likely to void the warranty.

You can often change a fan without taking the shroud/heatsink off, but I don't know about this particular card.

My approx. ten month old Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 GAMING OC has developed an annoying rattling noise at idle

Just out of curiosity, why does your card run the fan at idle? Do you have high refresh monitors? According to TPU's review, it is supposed to have idle fan stop.

 

[Mr Jack]

Just out of curiosity, why does your card run the fan at idle? Do you have high refresh monitors? According to TPU's review, it is supposed to have idle fan stop.

You're right. It doesn't.

Okay, I'm an idiot - making an ass out of me and u. Where the PC sits I couldn't get my head under to look at the gpu directly but since it wasn't any of the case fans or the CPU fan making the noise I figure it was the GPU. I finally pulled it out properly to get a decent look at it and... the fans on the GPU aren't running, so it's not that making the noise - which means it must be the power supply which also shouldn't be running at idle but has a button on the back to switch the fanless mode on or off, which must have got knocked to off at some point. Switch that back to enable fanless mode and the noise is gone. Which means it's the PSU and not the GPU.

 

[Kelt]

You're right. It doesn't.

Okay, I'm an idiot - making an ass out of me and u. Where the PC sits I couldn't get my head under to look at the gpu directly but since it wasn't any of the case fans or the CPU fan making the noise I figure it was the GPU. I finally pulled it out properly to get a decent look at it and... the fans on the GPU aren't running, so it's not that making the noise - which means it must be the power supply which also shouldn't be running at idle but has a button on the back to switch the fanless mode on or off, which must have got knocked to off at some point. Switch that back to enable fanless mode and the noise is gone. Which means it's the PSU and not the GPU.

We've all been there, easy mistake to make.

 

[SpudMaster]

You're right. It doesn't.

Okay, I'm an idiot - making an ass out of me and u. Where the PC sits I couldn't get my head under to look at the gpu directly but since it wasn't any of the case fans or the CPU fan making the noise I figure it was the GPU. I finally pulled it out properly to get a decent look at it and... the fans on the GPU aren't running, so it's not that making the noise - which means it must be the power supply which also shouldn't be running at idle but has a button on the back to switch the fanless mode on or off, which must have got knocked to off at some point. Switch that back to enable fanless mode and the noise is gone. Which means it's the PSU and not the GPU.

Better to be an ass on the forum than to have returned it for RMA and find out your an ass that way

 

[Mr Jack]

Better to be an ass on the forum than to have returned it for RMA and find out your an ass that way

TBF, I've done that before too.