Soldato
- Joined
- 1 Sep 2003
- Posts
- 7,260
- Location
- Redcar
Everyone's favourite thread is back for another generation! The idea is to gain a wider understanding of coil whine and hopefully let buyers make a more informed purchase decision. This time around we will apply some of the learnings from last gen and try to make the testing less open to interpretation. You never know perhaps the issue is now fully resolved and this thread can die a joyous death without going to 40+ pages!
So as you get your new 5080/5090 next week please report back on the AIB partner and model and how bad/annoying/none existent your card coil whine is.
Here is the FAQ;
What is Coil Whine?
Coil whine is a high-pitched buzzing or whining sound that occurs when an electrical current passes through electromagnetic coils. It's caused by the coils vibrating at specific frequencies.
How do I test my card?
Make sure your PSU is within spec of the card. If your PC isn't silent already, turn your fans down until it becomes inaudible. Load up a heavy work load game at Native 4k, DO NOT use DLSS. Make sure the framerate is uncapped. Good heavy workload games from the previous gen are Red Dead Redemption 2 and Cyberpunk 2033.
Can you give me an example of coil whine?
Absolutely, these are two of my early 4090 cards here and here.
Is it my PSU not the card?
There are always outliers, but generally speaking with the 40 series, as long as your PSU is within spec replacing the PSU will do very little/nothing.
Can I use hot glue to silence the coils on the card?
We had a few members try it, again generally speaking this did not do anything and voided the warranty on the card. This is not recommended.
Is it riskier buying a day 1 card for Coil Whine?
Yes. Several manufacturer's including Asus and MSI made revisions on their 40 series cards that significantly reduced/stopped coil whine around 9 months in. From day 1 experience the less complex PCB boards such as the Zotac, Inno3D faired a lot better due to using cheaper capacitor's (and less of them). Gigabyte also did well from launch, likely because they used a lot more thermal pads that the other partners.
Is Coil Whine even an issue, can't you just wear head phones?
We all hear coil whine differently depending on a number of factors. Also as we get older generally we become less susceptible to it (though it isn't always the case). As for head phone point, that is often brought up in these threads; many of us have invested heavily in our silent PCs, have PCs located in public places around other people (such as the living room) or simply wish to use high end speakers and do not wish for the experience to be compromised.
Where can I read about the problems with the 40 series?
The 4080/4090 Coil Whine Thread can be located here.
So as you get your new 5080/5090 next week please report back on the AIB partner and model and how bad/annoying/none existent your card coil whine is.
Here is the FAQ;
What is Coil Whine?
Coil whine is a high-pitched buzzing or whining sound that occurs when an electrical current passes through electromagnetic coils. It's caused by the coils vibrating at specific frequencies.
How do I test my card?
Make sure your PSU is within spec of the card. If your PC isn't silent already, turn your fans down until it becomes inaudible. Load up a heavy work load game at Native 4k, DO NOT use DLSS. Make sure the framerate is uncapped. Good heavy workload games from the previous gen are Red Dead Redemption 2 and Cyberpunk 2033.
Can you give me an example of coil whine?
Absolutely, these are two of my early 4090 cards here and here.
Is it my PSU not the card?
There are always outliers, but generally speaking with the 40 series, as long as your PSU is within spec replacing the PSU will do very little/nothing.
Can I use hot glue to silence the coils on the card?
We had a few members try it, again generally speaking this did not do anything and voided the warranty on the card. This is not recommended.
Is it riskier buying a day 1 card for Coil Whine?
Yes. Several manufacturer's including Asus and MSI made revisions on their 40 series cards that significantly reduced/stopped coil whine around 9 months in. From day 1 experience the less complex PCB boards such as the Zotac, Inno3D faired a lot better due to using cheaper capacitor's (and less of them). Gigabyte also did well from launch, likely because they used a lot more thermal pads that the other partners.
Is Coil Whine even an issue, can't you just wear head phones?
We all hear coil whine differently depending on a number of factors. Also as we get older generally we become less susceptible to it (though it isn't always the case). As for head phone point, that is often brought up in these threads; many of us have invested heavily in our silent PCs, have PCs located in public places around other people (such as the living room) or simply wish to use high end speakers and do not wish for the experience to be compromised.
Where can I read about the problems with the 40 series?
The 4080/4090 Coil Whine Thread can be located here.
Last edited:
