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I'm having a lot of trouble with GPU coil whine (electronic buzzz).

Tested on:

  • 4 GPUs GTX 770, GTX 970, GTX 1070, GTX 1070 Ti.
  • 3 PSU HX620W, RM750i, EVGA 600W
  • 3 mobos, Asrock and Gigabyte

I'm getting a lot of GPU coil whine when the GPU is under load. Buzzzzzz buzz buz buz buzzzzzz.

Buzz sample in youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtXAuIJchps

The video title says how to reduce coil whine, but he just gives some software solutions (eg: enable v-sync), not good enough. No technical info.

Who is to Blame? GPU manufacturers or bad energy supply by the PSU? The buzz comes (almost) certainly from the GPU.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ It’s almost certainly the PSU. The gpu likely doesn’t have any coils that would create much noise. \$\endgroup\$
    – C_Elegans
    Mar 31, 2018 at 2:05
  • \$\begingroup\$ Where is the sound emitting from in each case? \$\endgroup\$
    – Tony Stewart EE75
    Mar 31, 2018 at 4:21
  • \$\begingroup\$ All from GPU. Its a common problem (see edit). Or mobo? Its not the PSU. \$\endgroup\$
    – Pedro77
    Mar 31, 2018 at 14:02
  • \$\begingroup\$ I'm looking for some GPU electric diagram, I don't know why or if it needs to regulate the voltage or something that causes the buzz. \$\endgroup\$
    – Pedro77
    Mar 31, 2018 at 14:07

1 Answer 1

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More useful info is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7HsXHqtxrI

A few things to consider

  1. The actual source of the sound is always something that moves. That's typically not a chip but some other component. Inductors and fans are the primary sources.
  2. For graphics card, it's typically the inductor in the power path. The amount of noise changes with the amount of current and with the duty cycle and with the amount of high frequency noise of the switching power supply.
  3. Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot you can do. Unless you have detailed knowledge of the modulation scheme of the power supply, you can't really change anything on the electrical side. You may be able to dab some hot-melt on the offending coils, but you'd have to make sure that you have identified the offender correctly. The hot melt glue is also a thermal insulator so the coil will get hotter which may impact performance (resistance goes up) or you may actually fry the coil.
  4. You may have to get some passive insulation between you and the PC. Make sure there is no line of sight between your ears and the PC. Closed headphones work well, even better with active noise cancellation. You could build a little dog house for the PC, provided there is still plenty of ventilation. This type of thing works decently well for very high pitched noises, not so much for lower frequencies
  5. In general this just bad design on the manufacturers part. You may want to leave a bad review to warn off other people and maybe draw some attention of the manufacturer.
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    \$\begingroup\$ Ceramic caps can whine too. And AFAIK most coils on modern mid-high end GPUs are shielded, so you'd have no access to the winding itself. \$\endgroup\$
    – Wesley Lee
    Mar 31, 2018 at 15:06

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