5080 & 5090 Coil Whine Thread

[SeeNoWeevil]

I knew I would trigger some people with my comment, but I fully stand by it. You also claim the Aorus 5090 has loud fans (vs other 5090 models), That's simply not the case.
Case in point:

You need to accept some electronic noise, it's more or less a given with these cards. Use an undervolt if you want less electronic noise. If your Aorus' fans are loud, you need more airflow in your PC case.

I've returned a couple of graphics cards over the last 8 years or so, but not many in a row. When I got a noisy Astral, I checked this thread (among others), and saw that Gigabyte had few complaints, so my second purchase - an Aorus worked out well. Of course you can be unlucky, but 4 bad cards in a row from "good" brands is a lot.

Maybe the issue is with the motherboard. Try the card in a friend's computer, and see how to works there.

Anyways, hope you'll sort out your coil whine issues, but let's drop the straw men.

I personally don't think it's a good idea to keep sending back the *same* model in hope you get one with low coil whine which is possibly how people end up returning multiple cards.

 

[GoRedwings19]

I personally don't think it's a good idea to keep sending back the *same* model in hope you get one with low coil whine which is possibly how people end up returning multiple cards.

I had a sketch fan connector on mine sometimes the fans would spin up on the rad sometimes it wouldn't.

But you do raise a good point. But some of these cards are absolute howlers and while is is not strictly a fault some of these vids you see make them impossible to live with.

Some of them have little coil whine and while I would have no problem with it, it turns out quite a lot of people at least in this thread find it unacceptable.

It's a toughie conundrum. Ofc manufacturers could have sorted it out in the first place. Would I swap it out for minimal coil whine? Nah I am far too lazy for that but neither am I judge people who are highly suceptible to it either.

 

[Devious]

Noticed a lot of gigabytes the non aorus versions being available hopefully some of the owners will be able to comment on the coil whine situation of those cards.

Just ordered another 5090 LC hopefully it won't be as bad as my first one. Fingers crossed.

I installed a Gigabyte Gaming OC yesterday and thankfully it also has no coil whine like my previous FE and Palit 5090's.

 

[GoRedwings19]

Well for the first time ever I have got an aorus master. At first I thought it had coil whine but hear me out. So I did a quick run of steel nomad very little coil whine like you could barely hear it. I thought I got a good one. Then I did monster hunter world on the menu screens and it was squealing like a pig.

That can’t be right. Max power draw steel nomad whisper quiet and then less than 450w monster world menu screen loud AF. I was kinda disappointed but I ran the benchmark and there was barely any coil whine. So I investigated further. One of the advantages of having a test bench is you can stick you ear right up to the 12vhpwr connector as that where coil whine will come from the most.

And guess what there was no actual coil whine coming from the card but I could still hear it. Turns out it is my power supply that is squealing and who makes it? The king of coil whine makers….Asus. It not that old like I think it is one and a half years old it one of those Thor 2 power supplies.

In a way and I am going to say tentatively that this card has no coil whine. I have a spare Corsair shift x power supply somewhere I have never used and I am gonna hot wire that in to the test bench so it will supply the gpu only. I mean it more than possible it still could have coil whine but if it does it is on the very very quiet side.

Further testing needed.

 

[T445]

I've tried three different 5080s now. Two were from Zotac and one was from Gigabyte. All had horrendous coil whine even at what I would consider to be relatively modest framerates. The noise is definitely coming from the cards and I've tried with different mobos and PSU's and the problem presisted in each case. My old Zotac 3080 Ti has no coil whine in my setup. I suppose I've just been unlucky with the three cards I've ordered. I'm at the point now where I would have gone back to my previous card if I hadn't already promised to gift it to somebody who is excited about it.

I'm tired of playing the GPU lottery and all of the stress and inconvenience of returns etc. Has anybody had any luck with noise dampening cases to drown out coil whine? When it comes to fan noise, I've always been a believer in high airflow cases over noise dampening ones because if there is good enough airflow then the fans don't need to spin much at all and there is no noise to dampen in the first place. This doesn't help with coil whine though and for the first time I'm thinking of going down the sound dampening route. Higher frequency sounds should in theory be relatively easy to block. Would appreciate any thoughts that anybody might have on this subject. Cheers.

 

[Personality+]

I've tried three different 5080s now. Two were from Zotac and one was from Gigabyte. All had horrendous coil whine even at what I would consider to be relatively modest framerates. The noise is definitely coming from the cards and I've tried with different mobos and PSU's and the problem presisted in each case. My old Zotac 3080 Ti has no coil whine in my setup. I suppose I've just been unlucky with the three cards I've ordered. I'm at the point now where I would have gone back to my previous card if I hadn't already promised to gift it to somebody who is excited about it.

I'm tired of playing the GPU lottery and all of the stress and inconvenience of returns etc. Has anybody had any luck with noise dampening cases to drown out coil whine? When it comes to fan noise, I've always been a believer in high airflow cases over noise dampening ones because if there is good enough airflow then the fans don't need to spin much at all and there is no noise to dampen in the first place. This doesn't help with coil whine though and for the first time I'm thinking of going down the sound dampening route. Higher frequency sounds should in theory be relatively easy to block. Would appreciate any thoughts that anybody might have on this subject. Cheers.

5080FE was good for me (only 5080 I've tried so far mind) but was as close to perfect as I could hope for, especially undervolted.

 

[GoRedwings19]

I've tried three different 5080s now. Two were from Zotac and one was from Gigabyte. All had horrendous coil whine even at what I would consider to be relatively modest framerates. The noise is definitely coming from the cards and I've tried with different mobos and PSU's and the problem presisted in each case. My old Zotac 3080 Ti has no coil whine in my setup. I suppose I've just been unlucky with the three cards I've ordered. I'm at the point now where I would have gone back to my previous card if I hadn't already promised to gift it to somebody who is excited about it.

I'm tired of playing the GPU lottery and all of the stress and inconvenience of returns etc. Has anybody had any luck with noise dampening cases to drown out coil whine? When it comes to fan noise, I've always been a believer in high airflow cases over noise dampening ones because if there is good enough airflow then the fans don't need to spin much at all and there is no noise to dampen in the first place. This doesn't help with coil whine though and for the first time I'm thinking of going down the sound dampening route. Higher frequency sounds should in theory be relatively easy to block. Would appreciate any thoughts that anybody might have on this subject. Cheers.

First off hi and welcome to the forums even if it is under unpleasant coil whine. The problem of using sound proofing to block out coil whine it only works if you use high density material and if you literally fill the inside of your case up with it. This unfortunately turns it into a hot box so to speak. Which means yours fans would have to work harder and would make more noise.

Now you could try undervolting it using the Curve editor like in afterburner. A lot of users here do it.There is also a thread here where people discuss what cards they got if they got coil whine with it or if they use the curve editor to limit it. I am not saying it will solve your coil whine issue completely but it could lessen the amount to a more tolerable level to you. If you are highly suceptible to it then your option are more limited if practically non existant. Even the cards listed in the coil whine thread which don't tend to exhibit coil whine is no guarantee you will get one the same.

I would say try the members mart looking for the cards and seeing if you could get one from there as I generally find people are quite honest about coil whine when they are selling the cards. But I remeber you don't get members mart access until a certain amount of time or post which by then could drive you up the wall.

You could use headphones but I don't like using headphones at my PC especially during the summer months. Sorry I couldn't help any more but that's all I could come up with. I have a very high tolerance to coil whine unless it is of extreme coil whine I am stubborn enough or stupid enough to continue with the GPU lottery.

 

[SeeNoWeevil]

I've tried three different 5080s now. Two were from Zotac and one was from Gigabyte. All had horrendous coil whine even at what I would consider to be relatively modest framerates. The noise is definitely coming from the cards and I've tried with different mobos and PSU's and the problem presisted in each case. My old Zotac 3080 Ti has no coil whine in my setup. I suppose I've just been unlucky with the three cards I've ordered. I'm at the point now where I would have gone back to my previous card if I hadn't already promised to gift it to somebody who is excited about it.

I'm tired of playing the GPU lottery and all of the stress and inconvenience of returns etc. Has anybody had any luck with noise dampening cases to drown out coil whine? When it comes to fan noise, I've always been a believer in high airflow cases over noise dampening ones because if there is good enough airflow then the fans don't need to spin much at all and there is no noise to dampen in the first place. This doesn't help with coil whine though and for the first time I'm thinking of going down the sound dampening route. Higher frequency sounds should in theory be relatively easy to block. Would appreciate any thoughts that anybody might have on this subject. Cheers.

I had some pretty good first-hand experience of this recently. I used to have a Fractal Define 7 Compact which is what I would call a 'closed' noise focused case. As in, the front was solid with mesh only down the side edges. I had no noticeable coil-whine from the Asus TUF 3080 inside. I then upgrade to an Asus TUF 5080 which didn't fit in the case so at the same time I bought a Fractal North. The North is basically completely open. Mesh front and side panel. The 5080 had horrible coil-whine so I returned it. When I put my old GPU back in the new case I noticed it also had pretty bad coil-whine which was now only apparent due to the new, open style case. IME open mesh fronts are one of the biggest culprits for letting coil-whine get to your ears. I honestly think the PC market overrate high air-flow cases. Yes, fans spin slower but the noise is blocked less so it kinda cancels it out plus coil-whine is much more apparent. I love my new case (I managed to find a 5080 with low whine) BUT it makes the whole coil-whine lotto a big problem that I never had with the old case.

 

[T445]

Thanks everyone. Really appreciate the replies.

5080FE was good for me (only 5080 I've tried so far mind) but was as close to perfect as I could hope for, especially undervolted.

Yeah I did wonder about the FE but they've always been out of stock whenever I've looked. I have read some reports about coil whine on them but fewer than the likes of Asus. I specifically chose Zotac and Gigabyte for the cards I've ordered because of reports of low coil whine (also because I've owned 2 Zotacs previously with no issues) but it seems this method of selection hasn't been a success for me.

First off hi and welcome to the forums even if it is under unpleasant coil whine. The problem of using sound proofing to block out coil whine it only works if you use high density material and if you literally fill the inside of your case up with it. This unfortunately turns it into a hot box so to speak. Which means yours fans would have to work harder and would make more noise.

Now you could try undervolting it using the Curve editor like in afterburner. A lot of users here do it.There is also a thread here where people discuss what cards they got if they got coil whine with it or if they use the curve editor to limit it. I am not saying it will solve your coil whine issue completely but it could lessen the amount to a more tolerable level to you. If you are highly suceptible to it then your option are more limited if practically non existant. Even the cards listed in the coil whine thread which don't tend to exhibit coil whine is no guarantee you will get one the same.

I would say try the members mart looking for the cards and seeing if you could get one from there as I generally find people are quite honest about coil whine when they are selling the cards. But I remeber you don't get members mart access until a certain amount of time or post which by then could drive you up the wall.

You could use headphones but I don't like using headphones at my PC especially during the summer months. Sorry I couldn't help any more but that's all I could come up with. I have a very high tolerance to coil whine unless it is of extreme coil whine I am stubborn enough or stupid enough to continue with the GPU lottery.

Thanks for the welcome. I'm glad to have joined.

Undervolting is something I'm planning to explore when I get a chance. I've already had good experiences undervolting CPUs for performance gains and heat loss so it will be interesting to see if it has a significant enough effect on coil whine.

Headphones are definitely not an option for me as I like to use speakers and to have an awareness of my real world surroundings when using my PC.

I will bear in mind what you've said about the members mart (if/when I'm sufficiently trusted). I didn't even know that existed.

I had some pretty good first-hand experience of this recently. I used to have a Fractal Define 7 Compact which is what I would call a 'closed' noise focused case. As in, the front was solid with mesh only down the side edges. I had no noticeable coil-whine from the Asus TUF 3080 inside. I then upgrade to an Asus TUF 5080 which didn't fit in the case so at the same time I bought a Fractal North. The North is basically completely open. Mesh front and side panel. The 5080 had horrible coil-whine so I returned it. When I put my old GPU back in the new case I noticed it also had pretty bad coil-whine which was now only apparent due to the new, open style case. IME open mesh fronts are one of the biggest culprits for letting coil-whine get to your ears. I honestly think the PC market overrate high air-flow cases. Yes, fans spin slower but the noise is blocked less so it kinda cancels it out plus coil-whine is much more apparent. I love my new case (I managed to find a 5080 with low whine) BUT it makes the whole coil-whine lotto a big problem that I never had with the old case.

Very interesting comments about the Fractal Define7 Compact. This is exactly what I wanted to hear and the very case I've been looking at along with the slightly larger Fractal Pop XL Silent. I've been going for the 2.5 slot slightly shorter 5080s so I think they will fit in either case. I know that having the closed design will increase temperatures and fan noise but as you say, this may well be mitigated by the sound insualtion. I've also realised from this experience that I find coil whine far more disturbing than fan noise and would be willing to trade a little bit of fan noise for coil whine if necessary. In my current high airflow setup, my fans are virtually silent and all I can hear is this maddening high pitched immersion breaking squeal which drives me insane. Particulary in quieter atmospheric games where there is no music and few sound effects to help drown out the noise.

How bad was the coil whine in your 3080 compared to your 5080? Probably hard for you to say but do you think it's likely that the case would have completed removed your ability to hear the 5080 coil whine in the same way it did for the 3080?

Definitely food for thought and I'm now tempted to keep my current Zotac Solid Core and explore case options instead.

 

[SeeNoWeevil]

Thanks everyone. Really appreciate the replies.


Yeah I did wonder about the FE but they've always been out of stock whenever I've looked. I have read some reports about coil whine on them but fewer than the likes of Asus. I specifically chose Zotac and Gigabyte for the cards I've ordered because of reports of low coil whine (also because I've owned 2 Zotacs previously with no issues) but it seems this method of selection hasn't been a success for me.


Thanks for the welcome. I'm glad to have joined.

Undervolting is something I'm planning to explore when I get a chance. I've already had good experiences undervolting CPUs for performance gains and heat loss so it will be interesting to see if it has a significant enough effect on coil whine.

Headphones are definitely not an option for me as I like to use speakers and to have an awareness of my real world surroundings when using my PC.

I will bear in mind what you've said about the members mart (if/when I'm sufficiently trusted). I didn't even know that existed.



Very interesting comments about the Fractal Define7 Compact. This is exactly what I wanted to hear and the very case I've been looking at along with the slightly larger Fractal Pop XL Silent. I've been going for the 2.5 slot slightly shorter 5080s so I think they will fit in either case. I know that having the closed design will increase temperatures and fan noise but as you say, this may well be mitigated by the sound insualtion. I've also realised from this experience that I find coil whine far more disturbing than fan noise and would be willing to trade a little bit of fan noise for coil whine if necessary. In my current high airflow setup, my fans are virtually silent and all I can hear is this maddening high pitched immersion breaking squeal which drives me insane. Particulary in quieter atmospheric games where there is no music and few sound effects to help drown out the noise.

How bad was the coil whine in your 3080 compared to your 5080? Probably hard for you to say but do you think it's likely that the case would have completed removed your ability to hear the 5080 coil whine in the same way it did for the 3080?

Definitely food for thought and I'm now tempted to keep my current Zotac Solid Core and explore case options instead.

I was in the exact same boat with the Asus 5080, while it was fine for noisy games like a driving game, quieter games made me want to rip my own ears off. Like you say, coil-whine is so much much egregious than fan noise.

The coil-whine on the old 3080 was actually quite bad which I was completely oblivious to in the old case. Admittedly was less of an issue later in its life when it stopped being able to do 100fps+ very often. I think there's a decent chance the Define Compact would have made the 5080 tolerable. Absolutely not in the North. I'm dreading my next upgrade.

 

[Rawr]

Wonder if theyre doing something different with the 5080 board then. My zotac solid 5090 has been quieter for coil whine than any of my previous gpus. Not seen many reports for loud whining on it from others either.

 

[T445]

I was in the exact same boat with the Asus 5080, while it was fine for noisy games like a driving game, quieter games made me want to rip my own ears off. Like you say, coil-whine is so much much egregious than fan noise.

The coil-whine on the old 3080 was actually quite bad which I was completely oblivious to in the old case. Admittedly was less of an issue later in its life when it stopped being able to do 100fps+ very often. I think there's a decent chance the Define Compact would have made the 5080 tolerable. Absolutely not in the North. I'm dreading my next upgrade.

Thanks. That's useful.

Shame about your North case. I was actually looking at that one myself a while back as I love the wood accents. Seems it's going to have to come off the list now though sadly.

Wonder if theyre doing something different with the 5080 board then. My zotac solid 5090 has been quieter for coil whine than any of my previous gpus. Not seen many reports for loud whining on it from others either.

Yeah, it's strange. Having done lots of googling on this subject over the past couple of weeks there are plenty of people saying zero coil whine on their 5080s. Particuarly the brands I ordered. I suppose some of us have just been unlucky or very unlucky in my case to get three in a row! I'm not sure if I might be particularly sensitive to coil whine but I can say that it wasn't an issue for me on any previous cards. I often remember hearing it in menus at like 500-1000 fps but never in actual games at what I would consider pretty standard framerates.

 

[Nitefly]

My ‘bad time’ saga continues. Apologies for the whinging.

I’ve now had to return (all 5090s) an MSI Suprim, an ASUS Astral and a Gigabyte Aorus Master, all due to excessive coil whine.

I couldn’t even save the latter with a new motherboard and trying 3 different PSUs… let alone the more obvious solutions of running an undervolt or power limit. I’m throwing insane amounts of money and time at this problem without hesitation and I still can’t solve it.

This is absolutely ridiculous. All I want to do is enjoy my PC but the sad truth of it is that I’d genuinely rather have no PC at all than endure a mosquito dancing in my ear like this. It makes me miserable. As mentioned about, you simply cannot enjoy any quiet or contemplative game as the simple act of ‘looking around a room’ causes unpleasant changes in pitch… just like a mosquito approaching your ear. Swapping my 3090 back in feels like a relief, like when I had surgery to remove a herniated disc in my spine.

That 3090 has some coil whine btw but it’s perfectly reasonable - that’s all I’m after.

I would pay basically anything at this point for a reasonable card. I do hope a manufacturer reads this post and has the brainwave to prioritise solving the problem - a retail card that solved this issue would be priceless and sell like hot-cakes.

I think the worst part about it, being of the ‘honourable’ (and self-conscious) sort, is that I end up feeling bad and stressed when returning the cards. It probably always appears as if I’m unduly fussy or have too high standards. No retailer has been difficult towards me, but as I mentioned to them at the time, I sympathise that it’s a **** situation for them too. (Well… aside from the retailer that shipped me the Astral without a protective box - I didn’t feel sorry on that occasion.)

The cherry on the ‘**** sundae’ is that I’ve also had to return a new PSU for making absurd clicking noises. So that was faulty as well…!

I’m now at a total loss as what to do… at some point you have to call it a day, even if you’re just really unlucky.

Bad times

 

[Clarence Boddicker]

My ‘bad time’ saga continues. Apologies for the whinging.

I’ve now had to return (all 5090s) an MSI Suprim, an ASUS Astral and a Gigabyte Aorus Master, all due to excessive coil whine.

I couldn’t even save the latter with a new motherboard and trying 3 different PSUs… let alone the more obvious solutions of running an undervolt or power limit. I’m throwing insane amounts of money and time at this problem without hesitation and I still can’t solve it.

This is absolutely ridiculous. All I want to do is enjoy my PC but the sad truth of it is that I’d genuinely rather have no PC at all than endure a mosquito dancing in my ear like this. It makes me miserable. As mentioned about, you simply cannot enjoy any quiet or contemplative game as the simple act of ‘looking around a room’ causes unpleasant changes in pitch… just like a mosquito approaching your ear. Swapping my 3090 back in feels like a relief, like when I had surgery to remove a herniated disc in my spine.

That 3090 has some coil whine btw but it’s perfectly reasonable - that’s all I’m after.

I would pay basically anything at this point for a reasonable card. I do hope a manufacturer reads this post and has the brainwave to prioritise solving the problem - a retail card that solved this issue would be priceless and sell like hot-cakes.

I think the worst part about it, being of the ‘honourable’ (and self-conscious) sort, is that I end up feeling bad and stressed when returning the cards. It probably always appears as if I’m unduly fussy or have too high standards. No retailer has been difficult towards me, but as I mentioned to them at the time, I sympathise that it’s a **** situation for them too. (Well… aside from the retailer that shipped me the Astral without a protective box - I didn’t feel sorry on that occasion.)

The cherry on the ‘**** sundae’ is that I’ve also had to return a new PSU for making absurd clicking noises. So that was faulty as well…!

I’m now at a total loss as what to do… at some point you have to call it a day, even if you’re just really unlucky.

Bad times

It seems like you prefer the higher end models but maybe it’s worth trying a Zotac next. I haven’t read about any coil whine problems so far with them, I thought at first that I had bad luck getting one with whine but it turns out that it’s all coming from the psu and the actual gpu has zero.

 

[sativa]

I am not sure there is an adequate answer which can placate those individuals finding coil whine unbearable.

As I understand it, coil whine is ultimately a natural phenomena - laws of physics - which is not something manufacturers can reasonably be expected to mitigate for devices operating at intense, high fps. The issue is further complicated that, for most people it is not considered a problem, and therefore, commercially there is no reason for manufacturers to find solutions or mitigate the whining.

 

[GoRedwings19]

My ‘bad time’ saga continues. Apologies for the whinging.

I’ve now had to return (all 5090s) an MSI Suprim, an ASUS Astral and a Gigabyte Aorus Master, all due to excessive coil whine.

I couldn’t even save the latter with a new motherboard and trying 3 different PSUs… let alone the more obvious solutions of running an undervolt or power limit. I’m throwing insane amounts of money and time at this problem without hesitation and I still can’t solve it.

This is absolutely ridiculous. All I want to do is enjoy my PC but the sad truth of it is that I’d genuinely rather have no PC at all than endure a mosquito dancing in my ear like this. It makes me miserable. As mentioned about, you simply cannot enjoy any quiet or contemplative game as the simple act of ‘looking around a room’ causes unpleasant changes in pitch… just like a mosquito approaching your ear. Swapping my 3090 back in feels like a relief, like when I had surgery to remove a herniated disc in my spine.

That 3090 has some coil whine btw but it’s perfectly reasonable - that’s all I’m after.

I would pay basically anything at this point for a reasonable card. I do hope a manufacturer reads this post and has the brainwave to prioritise solving the problem - a retail card that solved this issue would be priceless and sell like hot-cakes.

I think the worst part about it, being of the ‘honourable’ (and self-conscious) sort, is that I end up feeling bad and stressed when returning the cards. It probably always appears as if I’m unduly fussy or have too high standards. No retailer has been difficult towards me, but as I mentioned to them at the time, I sympathise that it’s a **** situation for them too. (Well… aside from the retailer that shipped me the Astral without a protective box - I didn’t feel sorry on that occasion.)

The cherry on the ‘**** sundae’ is that I’ve also had to return a new PSU for making absurd clicking noises. So that was faulty as well…!

I’m now at a total loss as what to do… at some point you have to call it a day, even if you’re just really unlucky.

Bad times

Sorry to hear about your ongoing issues. Now here’s something you could try it a long shot but seeming as you tried the 3 biggest and well known cards and they have all failed you.
Have you consider a palit or a zotac?

I am not saying you are guaranteed but what have you got to lose besides your sanity at this point?

 

[Nitefly]

Sorry to hear about your ongoing issues. Now here’s something you could try it a long shot but seeming as you tried the 3 biggest and well known cards and they have all failed you.
Have you consider a palit or a zotac?

I am not saying you are guaranteed but what have you got to lose besides your sanity at this point?

Thanks - yes, I think a Zotac or PNY is probably next on the agenda. Availability seems fairly good at the moment, so with a bit of luck the saga will end soon…!

 

[Vito]

Thanks - yes, I think a Zotac or PNY is probably next on the agenda. Availability seems fairly good at the moment, so with a bit of luck the saga will end soon…!

I had a Palit and there was no coil whine even on 3d mark. Looks ok horizontal. 70s disco Vertical...OCs have the OC 600w version as well...

 

[Nitefly]

I had a Palit and there was no coil whine even on 3d mark. Looks ok horizontal. 70s disco Vertical...OCs have the OC 600w version as well...

Interesting, thanks.

How come ‘had’?

 

[Vito]

Interesting, thanks.

How come ‘had’?

Was 2.5 when I bought it, then the Astral became available... . Just felt it was too expensive for what it was, comparatively. It will run a little warmer, a bit louder fans potentially, but better than coil whine?
Zotac maybe first...looks better, possibly better cooler.