Strix RTX 3080 Fan vibration issues and scratches on LED bar

[Vader666]

There is already a Thread about this issue but for the Asus RTX 3090 ROG STRIX. Blake asked me to create a new one for the 3080.
I own a RTX 3080 ROG STRIX and have exactly the same issues as described in the other Thread, many other do have the same issue also.
On ~60-70% of Fan RPM the card starts to make loud noises (s. my Video on Youtube at the End of this post). When I support the card, since it's saging a bit, the sound stops but than occurs on the other side at an other fan frenquency. Moreover I noticed that there was no cover on the RGB bar and there are scratches all over it. Replacement is not possible atm since the card is not available. The issue seems to be cause by the fan shroud which appears to be not tightend enough.

[drkCrix]

Also having this issue with my 3080 Strix, seems to be the middle fan at around 1650-1700rpm, higher or lower and the rattle isn't there. I have set a custom fan curve on the middle fan for now until Asus provides us with a fix for the issues

Have also used a card stand to help with the sag. Haven't noticed any change with the ticking of the middle fan

Thanks,

Chris

[braxtonjames]

I can attest to this. My unit that I purchased from Amazon had scratches on the lightbar (as it did not have any plastic covering) and the middle fan experienced an awful rattling noise at certain RPMs.

I posted a video and description over on Reddit.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ASUS/comments/jsoyv2/strix_3080_oc_middle_fan_borked_asus_will_only/

I sent my unit in for RMA, ASUS received it this past Monday, still no updates yet. Hoping I see some traction soon...

[DominZ]

I have the same issue with my 2-weeks-old 3080 Strix OC. Left fan (the closest one to rear IO bracket) rattles at two speeds: first one starts at 64% fan speed and gets worse with every percent up to 82 (which in my case is the usual fan speed during prolonged full load e.g. longer gaming session with OC mode applied) and second one happens at exacly 50% RPM. This one is especially annoying because the rest of my PC is dead silent at idle and the card ramps up to 50% RPM when it slightly exceeds Board Power Draw limit for 0db operation (despite having a lot of temperature headroom). Of course I applied the updated VBIOS with higher 0db board power limit right after installing the card, but driving a 4K 144 Hz monitor requires a bit more power even while sitting at the desktop with no apps launched.

I ran a synthetic load and recorded the entire sequence:
1. RPM ramps up and stabilizes at ~82% (0:00 - 1:34)
2. Shaking the case a little bit to see if the rattling changes, and it does (1:35-1:56)
3. Opening the case and letting the card cool down to the point rattling almost disappears (1:57-2:17)
4. FAN#1 speed set to exacly 50%, poking the faulty fan with my finger (2:18-3:04)

Link to the vid: Asus RTX 3080 Strix OC fan rattle - Google Drive

I don't know what I should do to get it fixed at this point. The noise is very distracting, especially when playing competitive games. My previous 1080 Ti Strix OC was running flawlessly for over 3 years and I am really disappointed with its successor 😞

PS. My 3080 came with protective plastic everywhere and no scratches at all. However, during a VERY CAREFUL process of removing this plastic, it came away with some paint leaving nasty spots with bare metal exposed in two areas:

[Loranon]

My Strix 3080 oc suffers from the same issue.

For me, the rattling starts at around 64% fan speed. I carefully checked to not have missed any plastic coverings. As opposed to others here, mine came with full protective covering and no scratches bar one tiny mark on the middle fan sticker which is barely noticable. I checked the whole card carefully after I encountered the rattling for the first time and everything seems to be fine. No bent fins, fans are not loose and are, more or less, centered within their shrouds, no loose cables.

The only thing I noticed was that I could push down the shroud around the fans a little. Maybe half a mm until it either touches the finstack or the aluminum bracing beneath. Not sure if that is the issue though since it seems to be equal on all parts of the shroud. Also, the "sticker" on the middle fan seems to be not perfectly centered. However, I don't know if this thing has enough weight to throw the fan out of balance, I doubt it. Maybe others can check if theirs is uncentered as well?

For me, it seems the noise is temperature dependent as well, which explains the coming and going when keeping the fans at constant speeds which has been reported over on reddit.

For now, I largely worked around the issue by undervolting the card to 1905@831mV and using a custom fan curve so the card just never reaches 64% fan speed. It is usable for now.

Propping up the card did basically nothing for me. The only solution was to limit fan speed to below the threshold.

I love the card, its a monster, barely gets warm at all. Now we just need a solution for the fan noise issue. Please!

[CryptoMax]

I have the same issue with my STRIX 3080 O10G GAMING. Like the poster above the rattling also starts at 64% fan speed, the middle fan is the noisy one. I have scuffs on the light bar, had no plastic protection on it (the rest of the card had some covering). The sticker in the middle of the fan seems to be properly placed. I bought a GPU support like some users had recommended, but it didn't help or resolve the issue. I'll try to use the undervolting settings from @Loranon and thinker with the fan curve, hopefully this will temporarily resolve the issue, while hopefully ASUS or anyone, finds a solution.

This whole situation is very unfortunate, I was so happy to finally get a card after weeks of trying, gladly payed a premium price for a beast like that, waited a long time for the card to be shipped, only to be faced with an issue like that. 😕

[Blake1]

Dear all,
The 3080 issue has been reported.
I would need to collect below information.
If you have already send me PM, no need to do it again.

1. Full name
2. Product SN
3. Country/Region you stay

Please this is for only ROG series, 3070,3080,and 3090.
Thank you.

[Olabaf]

hello,
Sorry about my bad English, I'm French.
I have the same noise though but only when my case is hot.
If I change the power of the cold fans, there is no noise.
Is it the same for you?

[Loranon]

Olabaf wrote:
hello,
Sorry about my bad English, I'm French.
I have the same noise though but only when my case is hot.
If I change the power of the cold fans, there is no noise.
Is it the same for you?

Hey Olabaf,

it SEEMS that the noise is, at least somewhat, temperature dependent. However, we don't know exactly what the issue is.

If your issue is the same as described here is hard to tell without video evidence.

[DominZ]

Can confirm that this issue is not only dependent on fan speeds, but also on air temperature inside the chassis.
I performed more tests where I basically turned on my PC in the morning and manually applied every single fan speed value between 50 and 100% to check if there's any rattling, but none could be heard at any given speed. Then I ran a stress test to heat up the card in a closed, but well ventilated case. Rattling appeared right after passing 64% fan speed and it kept getting worse with every percent above that value. Then I opened the side panel of my case (which means giving the card more access to cold air) and the rattling stopped in like 10-20 seconds even though fans still operated in these "noisy" speeds above 64%. There must be some correlation between intake air temperature and the cause of this noise. Maybe just some metal/plastic part of the shroud expanding from heat and rubbing against the fan blades or something similar?

Note to Asus: to reproduce this issue, the card MUST be working in a semi-closed environment (typical PC case) as it does not appear in a scenario where there is free access to cold air (for example in an open-air case or on a test bench).

For now I have decided to use my PC with one side panel removed to mitigate the noise, but this is far from ideal as it collects tons of dust due to no intake air filtration.