Forgive me but yet another 970 Strix strange sound problem

[Tom227]

First off, hello to everybody,

So for few days I own Asus GTX 970 Strix OC version together with Asus H170 motherboard(i5 6600 cpu) and using BeQuiet L8 500W power supply. I only launched first games today and while fans seem to work really nicely I discovered I also have this strange buzzing, sometimes hissing problem only happening while gaming or stress testing and stopping right away when exiting game or alt tabbing from it. I tried to record it but I couldnt do it properly so here is the video I found on youtube that is best showing how it sounds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57j7Pr9Ts_Q In my case I can hear it coming from top of my case which has a grill with holes on it so its the biggest place sound can come from. I hear it from around half a meter, from that distance I cant hear it very loud but from around 20-30 cm I can hear it clearly. I also think depending on how demanding game or how high I ramp up settings in game the sound becomes louder, not by much but for example louder on high than on medium.

The reason I am writing is because I really dont want to rma, return the card but ammounts of opinions about that isue is overwhelming and maybe I can get some clarification in here. Is this normal ? Some people using different brands of 970 have it, some dont, some claim getting another card solved it but in most cases rma of card, changing psu didnt help. If my system is completely stable and I can live with that noise am I safe to keep using the card ? And if its normal and possible to happen with those cards why shops and brands like Asus keep replacing cards for people ?

Also I heard rumours that this isue sometimes can dissapear in time, you know after week or two of gaming, or can be resolved by rising voltage or overclocking ?

Sorry for such a long post but I want to explain me dillemas as well as I could. Hope users and maybe some Asus rep can help me.

[Tom227]

A little update, I played Fallout 4 for a little bit and while game runs great, temperatures etc are more than fine(60-65C) I noticed that this buzzing changes its sound/frequency when Im moving my mouse. I dont know how relevant it is but I decided to write it.

[Tom227]

Help, advice anyone ?

I really hoped that this is the best place to get get best advice regarding Asus product 😞

[Bahz]

Welcome to the forum.

Sorry that no one was able to help you sooner.

Can I ask how you determined that the buzzing noise is coming from the graphics card?

The most common hardware that can create similar buzzing noise would be the power supply, have you checked to see that the source of the noise is actually coming from power supply?

[Vlada011]

I always repeat, every enthusiast should keep two graphic cards and two power supplies in house.
Then will much easier to locate and resolve problem if show up.

[Tom227]

Thanks for responding guys. Im certain that this noise is coming from GPU, apart from listening to it very carefully(also used cardboard tube to have better chance to pinpointing it) I also menaged to try another PSU with my PC(OCZ 650W) and with different PSU the noise was still there. I didnt have chance to test graphic card as powerful as 970 with my setup but my psu handled previous card which was 650ti boost without any problems including coil whine or buzz. Next week my friend buys a 970, its different brand unfortunately but I will have a chance to try it with my PC.

Also I wrote to online shop where I bought it and this is more or less what they wrote back(its translation to english but I think quite accurate):

According to out information sound examples you provided(I sent them links to youtube clips with cards doing similar buzzing to mine) are in many cases treated by manufacturers as characteristics of this type of card constructions and is not considered as faulty product. Of course in case of doubt there is possibility to RMA the card to thoroughly test it and verify in terms of reported problems.

[Bahz]

Hi Tom,

I recommend that you return the card to retailer for exchange, as it shouldn't have this buzzing noise.

Please let them know that ASUS recommended that you return for replacement.

If you still have any issues after the replacement please PM me directly and I will further assist you.

Thanks!
Bahz

[Nate152]

Hi Tom227

It sounds like you're experiencing coil whine, while it generally doesn't affect performance or hurt your gpu it can be annoying. I've never had a problem with coil whine but I've read it can be caused by the psu, a different psu may help but then again it may not.

If the noise is intolerably annoying, as Bahz suggests do an RMA.

[Tom227]

Thanks for replying,

Nate I tried another psu but no change. In few days I will be able to try another gtx 970 as I finał test and this will give me probably finał conclusions. Im only afraid that doing RMA now I will be without a card for christmass time and I wouldnt want that cause I dont have anything to replace it and this would be the time I could play more games.

[Nate152]

I understand completely, to be able to test with your friend's 970 is great. If his is better in your pc then yeah I'd wait til after the holidays and do an RMA. I haven't had to RMA an asus product yet (knock on wood) but I've read they can take anywhere from a week to two months.