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Can a PSU cause a GPU to coil whine.

Grassy

Grassy

Grassy

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Joined
2 Nov 2013
Posts
102
Recently got a gtx 970 g1 and noticed very loud buzzing when under load.
Tried my old xfx 6870 and had similar buzzing but slightly different and not as loud.

I'm almost certain all the buzzing is coming from the GPUs however I was wondering if a PSU could cause the GPU to produce coil whine while the PSU is producing none?

Thanks
 
Grassy said:
I was wondering if a PSU could cause the GPU to produce coil whine while the PSU is producing none?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I cant believe the amount of people moaning about coil whine with their GPU and it could be the PSU. Even Gibbo in the 970 owners thread suggests checking the PSU for a quality one. Yes its possible but in my case it was a little different.

I've added this tale to several threads but I am going to do this last time. I had a GTX 770 and at first it was okay but slowly I could hear coil whine getting louder and louder until I could hear it through headphones. I thought 95% it was the GPU someone suggested using the bog roll method of detection which is you get an empty loo roll and use it like an earphone to listen to where the coil whine is coming from. To my shock the GPU was silent apart from the fans. I then followed the noise and it was coming from my Antec Truepower 750. A PSU I thought was reliable. I then did some research and settled on the Seasonic in my sig and hey presto, no coil whine with the 770 (and no coil whine with the MSI 970)
 
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I used to have an Antec TruePower 750W.
That ran my 5870 fine.
When I got a 780 there was a TON of noise.
I'd seen threads about coil whine and assumed that's what it was.
Tried a different 780, same problem.
I bought a Corsair RM 850W.
And now it's pretty much silent.

I'd really like GPU and PSU people to get together and solve this, it's not good to spent to your budget on a GPU then find you need an expensive PSU too.
 
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The PSU is one of the biggest causes of graphics cards whining or buzzing. PSU's with weak or poorly regulated 12v rails will cause GPU issues.

It can also be your PSU Whining or Buzzing as well as your Graphics card. It's worth getting a piece of tubing and have a listen to both the PSU and GPU to determine which is buzzing you might be lucky and find it's both. Having a decent brand well reviewed PSU also does not guarantee it's still not causing the whine or buzzing but will certainly help.

More wattage does not mean better PSU and running with far more than you need could also make things worse. Aiming to be in the PSU sweet spot is best. You want to be running at the PSU's best efficiency for your load. Stressing a weak PSU is also going to cause issues so choosing the best PSU for your requirements is top priority in building a system.
 
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Had a OCZ1000 which was fine with one card but caused another to really whine. Replaced the PSU and the coil whine went. Logically you would think that it would be the new card based on that but in my case it was the PSU.
 
I had a Corsair CX750 PSU and replaced it with a SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 850W PSU.

The coil whine on my MSI 970 dissapeared but for some others it doesn't seem to have made any difference.
 
My motherboard made my 780 whine. I ended up getting rid of the 780 because I couldn't put up with it. (I use F@H, and the whining was keeping me awake. :p)
 
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