I know there are / have been lots of posts about cards buzzing / whining / squealing, and I've read them all. In my case, I just need a little bit of advice.
I had a Powercolor 4850 PCS+, which was a lovely card, but it started artifacting, so I RMA'd it. As a replacement I got an XFX 4870 1GB XXX, which I returned 2 days after receiving it because it squealed like a pig, really loud, in every menu on every game I played. It would also squeal in games where I got high FPS. It was too loud for me to tolerate, so it went back.
I decided to give the Powercolor 4890 Plus a go. As far as squealing goes, this card is much better. It only squeals in the menus of DOW2, and when using ATI Tool. I can handle that, that's enough to live with. The main issue I have is that it makes a buzzing noise when in game. It's a little like a fast ticking (probably around 140 bpm), but the noise is an electrical buzz. It does it in every game I've tried, which so far is Crysis, Far Cry 2, DOW2, Prototype, Dead Space and Guildwars.
I understand squealing, I know where it comes from, and why, and I know that it is largely unavoidable, but this buzzing I've not heard of so much. The general trend seems to be that cards will squeal in menus, where the FPS hits high numbers, but then will be fine when actually in game. This card hardly squeals at all, but then buzzes away during gaming.
I was planning on replacing the (pretty noisey) stock cooler with a Zalman VF1000. I think the buzzing would sound even worse once the stock cooler was taken away, as it currently drowns it out slightly.
I just wanted some opinions, mainly whether or not it would be worth RMAing it. I know it's fairly likely that I could end up with another card that does the same thing, or could even be worse. I know that replacing the stock cooler voids the warranty, so I had figured that the minor squealing could have been sorted by using the nail varnish trick at the same time. My worry is that this buzzing might not be curable in the same way, and then I'd be left with a warranty-less card that buzzes in game.
Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.
Ben
I had a Powercolor 4850 PCS+, which was a lovely card, but it started artifacting, so I RMA'd it. As a replacement I got an XFX 4870 1GB XXX, which I returned 2 days after receiving it because it squealed like a pig, really loud, in every menu on every game I played. It would also squeal in games where I got high FPS. It was too loud for me to tolerate, so it went back.
I decided to give the Powercolor 4890 Plus a go. As far as squealing goes, this card is much better. It only squeals in the menus of DOW2, and when using ATI Tool. I can handle that, that's enough to live with. The main issue I have is that it makes a buzzing noise when in game. It's a little like a fast ticking (probably around 140 bpm), but the noise is an electrical buzz. It does it in every game I've tried, which so far is Crysis, Far Cry 2, DOW2, Prototype, Dead Space and Guildwars.
I understand squealing, I know where it comes from, and why, and I know that it is largely unavoidable, but this buzzing I've not heard of so much. The general trend seems to be that cards will squeal in menus, where the FPS hits high numbers, but then will be fine when actually in game. This card hardly squeals at all, but then buzzes away during gaming.
I was planning on replacing the (pretty noisey) stock cooler with a Zalman VF1000. I think the buzzing would sound even worse once the stock cooler was taken away, as it currently drowns it out slightly.
I just wanted some opinions, mainly whether or not it would be worth RMAing it. I know it's fairly likely that I could end up with another card that does the same thing, or could even be worse. I know that replacing the stock cooler voids the warranty, so I had figured that the minor squealing could have been sorted by using the nail varnish trick at the same time. My worry is that this buzzing might not be curable in the same way, and then I'd be left with a warranty-less card that buzzes in game.
Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.
Ben
