Msi R5850 Frozr II "buzzing/fizzing" noise

[Darkst4r]

I recieved a new 5850 yesterday, installed it and played for 40 mins before the card started making a strange squeeling/fizzing/buzzing noise. To me the noise is fairly quiet but still enough to be annoying and heard above all other fans.

I have checked and it isnt either of the cards fans, the noise seems to be coming from around the center of the card.

It happens mainly when resting on a game menu but also continues during games, along with a traversing of very feint horizontal lines across the screen.

My case is well ventilated with one 140mm fan and a 120mm plus 140mm exhaust.

My PSU is less than 3 months old and is an XFX 650w xxx edition

The card barely touches 45 degrees under load and 25 degrees at idle

RMA time ?

 

[Darkst4r]

Just cap buzz ? The Msi card claims to use superior "military" grade parts and silent chokes. Doesnt explain why I got 40 mins of near silent use out of it first either. To me the noise is pretty unbearable but I dont want to have to RMA it only to have the same thing.

It sounds like an old spectrum +2 loading up a game.

 

[Darkst4r]

I thought I'd mention that the noise alternates between loud and quiet and different pitches randomly too.

Surely I shouldnt be getting the feint lines across the screen either, that cant be "normal".

 

[Darkst4r]

You need to go out more often, clubbing decreases your ability to hear at certain frequencies.

On the serious note, it's most likely the capacitors. Are you 100% sure it's the card and not the PSU?

Mate I spent the early years of my youth standing next to bass bins in muddy fields !

It's definately not the PSU, I took the 5850 out and replaced it with my 8800GTS and the noise isnt there, neither are the lines.

I could understand it if it was a constant electrical hum but its more of an angry fizzing noise, like if you shake a bottle of coke up and undo the top slowly.

 

[Darkst4r]

I'm going to RMA it. To me it's not normal or acceptable that a supposedly mid to high end card using "superior" components makes such an intermittent and loud noise. I can hear it over the volume of games.

 

[Darkst4r]

The key thing is it didnt do it for the first 40 minutes so sounds like an RMA to me

and the horizontal lines across the screen cant be normal either. The noise really is loud, louder than my V8 and other fans combined, including PSU

 

[Darkst4r]

Does it do it all the time on all games? Mine only do it at certain times on certain games.

As mentioned try enabling V-Sync to deal with the lines.

Yeah it does it all the time, louder on game menus but still loud during gameplay.

The lines aren't screen tearing type lines, Vsync on or off doesnt change anything

 

[Darkst4r]

For all those with one one the way be prepared for the 55 percent fan/hoover default setting ! Along with the fan noise, the need for having software running constantly to change it to an acceptable level and the fact mine seems to have gone kaput after 40 mins light use I'm wishing I paid extra for a different manufacturer.

 

[Darkst4r]

This is the third thread I have read regarding RMA on the Twin Frozr. Given OCuk sold so many in such a short space of time it would be interesting to know what the return rate was on the batch. I'm fortunate to have received two that are working fine together in xfire, but I was wondering...

However I am all but certain this is not something Gibbo would want to publicise!

So yours dont make the fizzbuzz noise or produce lines on the screen ?

 

[Darkst4r]

It's set to 55% on default, you can change it with a few clicks in CCC and that doesn't require any software to run.



Have you seen anyone else complaining about them? I don't have either of the issues you described even though my card is a crappy overclocker and seems to have a borked voltage controller.

I cant find any fan settings in Catalyst and it seems I'm not the only one having problems with this model.

 

[Darkst4r]

Just had a refund issued for my card after several webnotes and 2 complaint forms. The guy on the phone said my card was considered "borderline faulty" (apparantly if it works but produces a noise like a capacitor is about to explode it's not too faulty) and didnt want to send me a replacement because so many had come back with problems. Apparantly an entire batch seem to be rejects with some a lot worse than mine. Interesting that they have been banging them out with multiple discounts almost every week since Christmas and are still flogging them on the site though...

 

[Darkst4r]

Must be the military grade, silent components The same ones they use in the Challenger II main battle tank