PowerColor Hellhound RX 7900 XTX spectral white - noise

[JordanStyp]

I just got this today and I installed it. It works fine but I was wondering if anyone else was experiencing the small noise under a heavy load? I put it under heavy stress (heaven benchmark) and it starting making an annoying noise. The noise is kind of hard to explain but I've slightly read about it and was wondering if anyone has an fixes for this?? Or if anyone here is experiencing this?? The noise isn't loud but it's loud enough I can hear it while sitting in my gaming chair.

 

[Dreamerbydesign]

It is most likely coil whine. Common on higher end cards that draw lots of power. Also could be your PSU. If you can game and run benches without issue, then it is fine. If you run into issues with the card, I'd RMA it. But the noise alone is usually just coil whine and not something a RMA will likely help. If you got the same model card back and kept the same system, youre going to likely have the issue.

 

[nxcess]

It will probably reduce over time once it breaks in. Mine certainly did. It still have some but it's not as loud.

 

[chameleoneel]

I've had coil whine on the last few cards I have owned.

EVGA RTX 2060 (still have as my emergency backup. Coil whine was really bad. Card also has issues unless I use Afterburner to power limite to 80% or less. I flashed it with the bios of a different model EVGA 2060 and the coil whine is not quite as bad. But the power limite issue still persists)

EVGA RTX 2080 (loud coil whine. artifacted and died within 2 days. returned)

Sapphire RX 6700 XT Pulse (had major problems on arrival. Never ran even remotely smooth. Had whine anytime it processed a frame. returned for refund)

Gigabyte RX 6600 XT Gaming OC (coil whine is definitely present. More than I would like, but not terrible. I bought it open box. Card is otherwise rock solid. I used it for about 1 year and then used it in a build for some kids).

AMD RX 6700 XT (Coil whine was pretty bad. Otherwise, a good card. Eventually sold it.)

MSI RTX 4070 Ti Ventus 3x (fan bearings made a friction sound, which sounded like a gas leak. coil whine was also pretty loud. I returned it).

Gigabyte RTX 4070 Windforce (Coil whine is present, but pretty low in volume. Otherwise a rock solid card. Currently using).

I also tried an open box Gigabyte Gaming OC 7900 XTX, and it had some coil whine. The whine was interestingly lower in tone and throatier than usual. So, not so bad I guess. I returned the card because it didn't fit into my case (I built the PC outside the case, to test the card.)

Of all these cards, the Gigabyte RTX 4070 and Gaming OC 7900 XTX have had the lowest volume/least annoying.

I have also moved a few times and gone through various hardware, including power supplies. So, there is no common denominator, such as a poor quality power supply or potentially bad wiring in a house, etc.

 

[learners permit]

The resolution to this problem was to repin a PCI-E power cable from an old corsair modular psu so we could add a second cable from the psu to the card. I was very surprised to see only two 8 pin connectors on a 7900XTX. I had one in my old cable drawer we repinned to match his uniquely pinned cooler master 850 watt psu.The cooler master 1050 and 1200 watt PCI-E cables I had on hand did not match his 850 watt power supply's unique output pin arrangement on the psu end of the PCI-E cables. Adding the second power cable coming from the psu greatly reduced the severity of noise from the cards power stages until it was near inaudible. Your welcome fucker.

 

[Rvenger]

I am going to say, if the noise bothers you to return it. I have had 3 hellhound 7900 XT and a spectral white 7900 XTX. I returned one Hellhound 7900 XT due to insane coil whine. It was so insane it was buzzing on idle. Also I sold another one on these forums (Spectral white XTX model) personally to me it didn't have loud coil whine and it sounded average to me (every card has coil whine) but the person who I sold it to messaged me explaining the insane amount of coil whine the card has. I am thinking it can have something to do with the power supply and if you are running cable extensions. Make sure to run two separate lines to the 8pins and make sure not to daisy chain them. I have seen that this can solve the issue. By looking at your picture, you appear to be daisy chaining. Change it to 2 separate direct 8 pin connectors without extensions and report back. The noise will likely not be gone but should be much improved, which is the goal.

What I did find interesting is that years ago, Powercolor had a history of gluing around inductors and it seems that the past few generations they have stopped doing that which may be why Powercolor is so hit or miss these days on the noise side.

 

[JordanStyp]

I am going to say, if the noise bothers you to return it. I have had 3 hellhound 7900 XT and a spectral white 7900 XTX. I returned one Hellhound 7900 XT due to insane coil whine. It was so insane it was buzzing on idle. Also I sold another one on these forums (Spectral white XTX model) personally to me it didn't have loud coil whine and it sounded average to me (every card has coil whine) but the person who I sold it to messaged me explaining the insane amount of coil whine the card has. I am thinking it can have something to do with the power supply and if you are running cable extensions. Make sure to run two separate lines to the 8pins and make sure not to daisy chain them. I have seen that this can solve the issue. By looking at your picture, you appear to be daisy chaining. Change it to 2 separate direct 8 pin connectors without extensions and report back. The noise will likely not be gone but should be much improved, which is the goal.

What I did find interesting is that years ago, Powercolor had a history of gluing around inductors and it seems that the past few generations they have stopped doing that which may be why Powercolor is so hit or miss these days on the noise side.

Thank you! Separate cables worked!!

 

[Sumanji]

Agree that coil whine is very subjective... I often complain about noises that my wife claims to not be able to hear

 

[learners permit]

My wife calls that selective hearing.

 

[PurduEE]

Of all these cards, the Gigabyte RTX 4070 and Gaming OC 7900 XTX have had the lowest volume/least annoying.

I have also moved a few times and gone through various hardware, including power supplies. So, there is no common denominator, such as a poor quality power supply or potentially bad wiring in a house, etc.

Thanks for providing some first hand experiences. I had the same issue as OP with the Spectral. No solution other than locking frame rate under 120. Ended up sending it back.

 

[NeonFlak]

Once I started purchasing the higher end cards in every generation I started to hear coil whine in every card I've owned. Just always assumed it came with the insane power draw. All of my PSUs have always been tier A from "the" psu tier list and I've always used pure sine wave UPSs... It's also happened in different cities (though same power company). Once FPS and load hits a certain level, they've all experienced coil whine. The only permanent fix for me was locking a max frame rate, which has never had to be lower than the monitor in question so I've been fine with it.

 

[Hulk]

Get a new PSU.

 

[LigTasm]

I had the Spectral White 7900XTX and it was the worst coil whine I've ever heard on a video card in 25 years. Too bad, it ran great and looked good too - I also have a Powercolor Hellhound 7800XT thats perfectly quiet. I've used almost every brand of 7900XTX except Gigabyte and the only quiet ones were the Sapphire cards.

 

[sk3tch]

Get a new PSU.

I never experience coil whine - part of the reason is I use high quality Seasonic and Corsair PSUs across all of my rigs. It's a worthwhile investment, folks. Don't get tempted by off brands or "fancy" PSUs with lights and stuff. Just get the good, solid, boring PSU that will last you multiple rigs.

EDIT: wow I am old, just looked up the AX1600i that I use in a couple of my rigs and it launched in 2017, lol.

 

[LigTasm]

I never experience coil whine - part of the reason is I use high quality Seasonic and Corsair PSUs across all of my rigs. It's a worthwhile investment, folks. Don't get tempted by off brands or "fancy" PSUs with lights and stuff. Just get the good, solid, boring PSU that will last you multiple rigs.

EDIT: wow I am old, just looked up the AX1600i that I use in a couple of my rigs and it launched in 2017, lol.

Its more to do with the topology than the price. Some have more resonance with the card than others. I had an EVGA 1000W Plat that caused cards to whine like crazy but my cheap non-modular 750W was fine.

 

[pavel]

I had the Spectral White 7900XTX and it was the worst coil whine I've ever heard on a video card in 25 years. Too bad, it ran great and looked good too - I also have a Powercolor Hellhound 7800XT thats perfectly quiet. I've used almost every brand of 7900XTX except Gigabyte and the only quiet ones were the Sapphire cards.

From my reading - my conclusion is that Powercolor (and maybe Asrock*) had bad QC - meaning that there could be a wide variety between experiences - and one of the big culprits or problems was coil whine. If you used most brands - how was the MSI and Asus cards? Those are usually pretty quiet - at least, on some reviews I read - they were quiet.

I am kinda looking at used - semi-seriously - I keep comparing to a used 4080 (which I rarely find and if I do - they're overpriced - hence, I'm looking at the 7900 xtx). This is getting a bit off topic but can I say - I have to be concerned about warranty and I prefer not to get a noisy card - so, I hope to avoid coil whine. The controversial coil whine - it is said, it's luck of the draw or lottery - but, also it's claimed you need to 'tweak it' so you're not allowing unlimited 'fps' and stuff like that?
I've come across XFX, MSI, Asus and now Gigabyte cards - the few Sapphire ones that come on the used market seem to be snatched up pretty quickly - regardless of price. However, Sapphire's warranty terms is 'no transferable warranty' so if the seller doesn't have the invoice or receipt - I'm gonna pass then.

Asrock 7900 xtx series - at least, a little while ago - had complaints of paste problems - and you can read up on user reviewers of owners talking about it - on newegg - although, I think the latest reviews were becoming more positive so maybe it was just a bad batch? So, imho - it's a dual dagger of problems - both heat and noise (coil whine - fans, maybe less so?) but Powercolor seems to have a larger volume of coil whine/noise complaints compared to other AIBs? However, it's NOT every card (obviously) so it seems to be more of a QC issue?

 

[LigTasm]

However, it's NOT every card (obviously) so it seems to be more of a QC issue?

The thing is, its not an actual problem with the card. The card functions normally and does its job, it is just annoying. Some people have their case away from them, or the kind with no window and sound deadening in it and will naturally never notice even if there was a noise.

 

[learners permit]

Yea his spectral white is really loud because it only has two 8 pin power connectors. The vrms and chokes were singing soprano especially when the bone head had only one connector daisy chained into both connectors. In OP's defense it's the first high end card his woman has ever allowed him to get.

 

[JordanStyp]

The resolution to this problem was to repin a PCI-E power cable from an old corsair modular psu so we could add a second cable from the psu to the card. I was very surprised to see only two 8 pin connectors on a 7900XTX. I had one in my old cable drawer we repinned to match his uniquely pinned cooler master 850 watt psu.The cooler master 1050 and 1200 watt PCI-E cables I had on hand did not match his 850 watt power supply's unique output pin arrangement on the psu end of the PCI-E cables. Adding the second power cable coming from the psu greatly reduced the severity of noise from the cards power stages until it was near inaudible. Your welcome fucker.

Thanks Turd Appreciate you