New Galaxy GTX 660 w/ Noisy Cooler?

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Falling Anvil

[H]ard|Gawd
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Nov 3, 2007
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I picked up the Galaxy 660 that was on sale last week, and installed it today after receiving it. I looked over the card when it came in and it seemed ok, but when I installed it onto my rig and booted it up I immediately heard a loud clicking/buzzing noise that wasn't there before. :confused: It didn't stay there long though, by the time I was putting it through it's paces after installing the latest drivers I could hear it start to subside, and it seemed to go away when I put it under load with a game, though it seemed like it might have been there if I leaned it in close.

Wanting to fiddle around with it, I shut off the computer and did a closer inspection of the graphics card, removed it from the PCI-E slot twirled the fan around with a finger to see if there was any clicking noise, which there wasn't. I proceeded to reseat the card, and then reseated it again just in case, only to encounter the same buzzing noise again. I put it under load with another game to try it again, and the buzzing noise went away, perhaps replaced by another sound I think is fan noise even though it sounds more computer-y than fan and my temps are under 50c, and now I'm back on desktop with it intermittently buzzing after putting it under load again. I'm rather dumbfounded at how this is happening and shifting through various modes of annoying noise, it's something that I haven't experienced before. I know there is a Galaxy rep on the forums, but I'm putting this out in general to see what I should do. I also have a rebate that I intend to send in to Galaxy, so I want to make sure I don't want to start an RMA while undergoing this process.

PS. I also haven't registered this card yet, should I be doing this now?
 
A Seasonic X650. AFAIK this is a unit known for buzzing, but it didn't happen with my previous GTX 260 192, and it seemed to be coming from a bit higher up than the PSU, which is on the bottom section of my rather tall case.

Now that you mention it though, I suppose it might be something else, even if I figured it was the fan hitting some part of the cooler. On the other hand, when I tried to manually twirl the fan, I heard no noise coming out of it, so it might not be that actually.

I think I'll sit on the issue for a few days and see what happens...kind of makes me wish I had stuck to my guns and held out for a cheap HD 7870 like that Halloween Sapphire deal really, even though I know it could potentially happen with that card as well if it is PSU buzzing.
 
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You're PSU is getting taxed more by this new videocard also, than you,re GTX 260 192.. i'am pretty sure. But coil noise can happen on videocard, i had my 5850 and it did that, a lot.. ;0
 
Actually, if Anandtech Bench is right then the 660 actually draws in less power than the 260 192 in all regards, though in some areas like Metro it's only by a few watts.

Anyways, it seems like most of the noise has subsided again. Dunno if that'll keep up.
 
I just got my Galaxy GTX 660 as well and I think I have 2 problems:

1) I get this electrical noise/staticy sound that's probably similar to what you're talking about. This is with a Corsair CX430 power supply in an eGPU setup (so the CX430 isn't powering anything else). With both parts out in the open and separated, I can tell that the sound does come from BOTH the 660 and the PSU, but it's louder on the 660 and it's conceivable that the 660 is the problem and is only inducing the noise in the PSU. It only happens when the GPU is under stress, and this is irrespective of the framerate (I know that it's very common to hear a high pitched noise when framerates are excessive, but this is 30-40fps). Also, for me, it's not really a high pitch. It's almost a soft clicking kind of noise.

2) The fan seems loud, even at the minimum 30%. Anyone else have this card and feel the same, or is my fan bad? Granted this is in an open environment not a case, but I feel like this card at 30% should haven't this lawnmower-type sound to it.
 
That does sound a lot like the sound I heard when I made the installation and then again after reseating the card. I think it might have been slightly different, but given that I'm going by memory here and I'm using a fairly large aluminum case it's more than close enough. In any case, after a while, maybe a few hours with a gaming load or three in between or so it went away for the most part. There was a time a day or two later where the card reverted to that sound, but it went away when I opened a side panel and hasn't come back since. :confused:

There is still a very faint residual noise that I can sometimes hear at idle, but I think I can attribute to the fan of the cooler itself having a different pitch from what I'm used to in my reference 260 192. Overall though, it seems to have quieted down to an acceptable level.
 
Just to add another perspective, I have this card. Got it with the same NewEgg sale the other week. My card is pretty quiet. At least on par with my Sapphire HD7850 which it replaced in my HTPC. Only time I would say that it was a bit noisy, was when I manually put the fan on a very aggressive custom profile when I was testing it's OC ability.
 
jhatfie said:
Just to add another perspective, I have this card. Got it with the same NewEgg sale the other week. My card is pretty quiet. At least on par with my Sapphire HD7850 which it replaced in my HTPC. Only time I would say that it was a bit noisy, was when I manually put the fan on a very aggressive custom profile when I was testing it's OC ability.
Click to expand...

From looking around that does seem to be the general consensus -- it shouldn't be very noisy. Anyways, I'm RMAing mine and assuming that the fan is a bit messed up on mine.

Falling Anvil said:
That does sound a lot like the sound I heard when I made the installation and then again after reseating the card. I think it might have been slightly different, but given that I'm going by memory here and I'm using a fairly large aluminum case it's more than close enough. In any case, after a while, maybe a few hours with a gaming load or three in between or so it went away for the most part. There was a time a day or two later where the card reverted to that sound, but it went away when I opened a side panel and hasn't come back since. :confused:
Click to expand...

Actually the other sound that I notice (when the card is being stressed in 3D) wasn't shown in that clip -- that was just the idle noise from the fan. I get this staticy buzzing chattery electrical noise (but it's not high pitched like some whining I've heard before) during 3D load in addition to the fact that the fan on mine seems to be a reject. Again, RMAing so we'll see if the replacement has this same behavior. If it does, it's likely the combination between my power supply and the card and I'll just have to deal with it. It could be the card, though. It'll probably be over a week before the RMA completes and I get the new one.
 
Hope the best for your RMA. That's what my old 8800GTS sounded like. I was really upset that I missed that deal by 15min. I need a blower style card for my case but am afraid of the noises they make. Anxious to see if your RMA works.
 
eatkabab said:
Hope the best for your RMA. That's what my old 8800GTS sounded like. I was really upset that I missed that deal by 15min. I need a blower style card for my case but am afraid of the noises they make. Anxious to see if your RMA works.
Click to expand...

Yup we'll see, I sure hope so. Given that I was having problems with the other noise too I figured it was worth a chance with the RMA. If it was just the fan I may have not bothered even though to my ears it just doesn't seem like it should have that tone to it.
 
Just checked another forum I posted about it on and someone who got the exact same card tested his and said his is silent @ idle and definitely not like mine. Also, comparing YouTube recordings of other cards it seems like mine is not normal.
 
Sorry to hear both you guys are having noise issues with your new cards. I believe an RMA is the way to go in this case, and if you guys don't mind sending me a pm with your info I'd like to make sure it's taken care of as quickly and efficiently as possible, even if you've already started the process with our support team.
 
Galaxy will take care of it. I have dealt with the rep here before. No worries.
 
Well my issue what I specified in the OP anymore but I sent a PM to the rep nonetheless, will see what happens. :)
 
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