Coil whine in GTX970 (I think), need a new PSU?

Oberon · 1 Jul 2015 at 18:11

Hi there,

I've got the KFA2 GeForce GTX 970 here:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-010-GX

The T&Cs say that if I got coil whine then I could exchange it, but only if my PSU is '80 Plus Gold' rated. However my PSU is an old Antec TruePower 650W which is '80 Plus Bronze' rated. I was wondering if a new PSU would likely solve this problem and if so, if anyone could recommend a new PSU. I've looked at the "SuperFlower Leadex Platinum 650W Fully Modular "80 Plus Platinum" Power Supply" which is on offer and the brand seems to come with a lot of recommendations but I'm open to other suggestions. Thank you.

pastymuncher · 1 Jul 2015 at 19:12

A good quality psu can alledgedly cut down on coil whine and you psu is not particularly good either so is worth trying a decent replacement. 550w is more than enough for your pc. In reviews even 970 Sli was only pulling around 450w total system power so you will probably be around the 300w mark. Any of these will do the job:-

YOUR BASKET
1 x XFX XTR 750W '80 Plus Gold' Fully Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x EVGA Supernova GS 650W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £76.99
1 x EVGA Supernova G2 650W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £74.99
1 x SuperFlower Leadex Platinum 550W Fully Modular "80 Plus Platinum" Power Supply - Black £71.99
1 x Antec TruePower Classic 550w '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply £59.99

All apart from the EVGA G2 550w and the Superflower are Seasonic built units. These two are both Superflower built. Keep in mind that the Superflower Platinum, just like their Leadex series, has bright leds where you plug the cables in and can't be turned off.

Oberon · 3 Jul 2015 at 13:42

Thank you for your advice, I've decided to go with the SuperFlower Leadex 550W Platinum PSU as it is on promotion this month, is of excellent quality and there's plenty of headroom to go SLI later as you mentioned. Hopefully it will be able to effectively reduce the coil whine coming from the GTX 970 to a more tolerable level. If it's still bad after installing this PSU, I'll be able to RMA the card under the promotion rules.

pastymuncher · 3 Jul 2015 at 20:05

Can you post up if it works when you are up and running please? It's always handy to have extra info to help other people.

Oberon · 3 Jul 2015 at 23:58

I can say that this has completely resolved the problem. Never mind reducing the coil whine, it has completely gone. Now all I can hear is the gentle whirl of the fans. Chuffed with the result, I can't recommend this PSU enough.

pastymuncher · 4 Jul 2015 at 16:12

That's a excellent result. Many thanks for updating the thread.

Scottland · 6 Jul 2015 at 12:56

What's the noise like on the platinum? My beQuiet bronze is in need of replacement, but I don't want an increase in noise!

rentaspoon · 6 Jul 2015 at 15:12

Ooo interesting!

Was just about to post about this as I have the same issue, stuck between the XFX XTR, Antec Edge or Super flower Leadex (all 750w) any suggestions?

pastymuncher · 6 Jul 2015 at 16:55

What's it got to power? Post up your spec. I wouldn't go for the Antec out of those three either.

rentaspoon · 6 Jul 2015 at 22:19

pastymuncher said:
What's it got to power? Post up your spec. I wouldn't go for the Antec out of those three either.

4690k and gtx 970

pastymuncher · 7 Jul 2015 at 09:07

Same as I recommended in post #2 then.