Irritating coil buzzing sound
Irritating coil buzzing sound
I recently assembled my computer using microcenter parts and everything has been functioning well for about a month now. Recently, I noticed a persistent buzzing noise coming from inside the machine. It resembled static shocks but only occurred during gameplay—specifically in Ghost Recon Wildlands at high settings and CS2 at high settings. The sound intensified when focusing on grass or tree patches, leading me to suspect coil whine. I’m unsure if this is related to modern graphics cards since my previous MSI GTX 1050 Ti didn’t have this issue. Are others experiencing similar problems? Is this a common occurrence? Should I consider replacing it? Here’s a summary of my specifications for anyone interested. Any insights would be helpful. GPU: ASRock Phantom Gaming RX 7900 XT CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950 X3D RAM: 64 GB RAM TX: 6800 MHz PSU: NZXT C1000 STORAGE: SK Hynix 2 TB Platinum MOBO: MSI Tomohawk X670 E COOLING: Lian Li ALC360
Coilwhine is common in premium GPUs such as your 7900 XTX. It poses no risk and doesn’t shorten the lifespan of your card. It’s mainly bothersome. The noise tends to increase with higher frame rates, and its pitch may shift too. I experienced strong coilwhine on an RTX 2080 Super from MSI, so I swapped it for a Palit 2080 Super without any issues. Generally, coilwhine isn’t a usual cause for returns, but I was fortunate.
My 7900XT makes loud noises when things update on the screen, like a chirp when you open the pause menu in a game. It’s amusing how much you can “feel” the image sometimes. Using an LLM makes it sound like a printer.
The positive side is that performance improves as time passes. My 3070 used to have serious coilwhine above around 150fps, but after about four years I barely notice it anymore—mostly when playing at 165fps. Sometimes it comes up during loading, but only occasionally. Short version: don’t discard great GPUs just because they’re old; they usually get better over time! Lol...
That's incorrect. Improvement is possible, though the likelihood is quite low. You were fortunate.
Hi everyone, thanks for your messages. It's reassuring to hear it's functioning properly again. I noticed the noise level dropped considerably after placing it back in its PCIe slot—perhaps a slight movement occurred. Appreciate the support!
Furious hands slam against the rules, demanding silence from the noise they create.
In fact, while the technical aspects are manageable, attaching the coils securely would still work fine. They operate normally even without glue, so it’s not necessary to pay extra for glue just to prevent issues. The glue required is costly, but only a small amount per card—perhaps around ten cents—makes it worthwhile. Honestly, manufacturers don’t seem concerned about coil whine at all.