AMD R9 Fury X Coil Whine/Buzzing noise..

[realibrad]

You're assuming ALL people buying the Fury X already have a CLC in their system. For some, this will be their first experience with this. They'll slot it in and then scratch their heads because - it's a completely new noise. They know how fans sound, but this water cooler is annoying.

To those that have CLC they'll rip it out because they'll know from their own experience it's a bad design/faulty design. So, I still don't get the analogy you're trying to make.

You got people using tricks to make it more tolerable. Isn't that a shame, after dishing out $650? If any of the CLC's I bought made the kind of noises I heard for the Fury X they would be back in the box and I'll write them off until I get another itch. Sitting here 2 feet from my rig and all I hear is the light sound of wind. Even when I play a game with ref 980 ti fan profile, it doesn't get loud. (They made a huge sacrifice in my opinion cuz that card can throttle like the dickens!)

I am not assuming anything. You seem to be reading something I am not writing. The pumps in the R9 Fury make a noise that I personally would find annoying, so I am not defending the card. I am simply pointing out why its likely such a big problem to so many people.

Because the card is so quiet, the noise stands out in ways it otherwise would in a typical case. The 980 ti is a much louder card, but because the noise it makes is low its not considered to be a problem. People accept low frequency noises. High frequency noises are sharper. So a high frequency noise loses energy faster than a low frequency noise. So when you put a high frequency noise in a case, it dampens much faster than the typical low frequency noise.

Now, take away the ambient low frequencies and remove the side of the case and that high frequency noise will stand out. The analogy I made about the auto industry was with low frequency noises, but I was showing how making things quieter made other noises seem louder when they were not. The card by every review I have seen is very very quiet. The issue is not with how loud the card is, but the type of sound it makes stands out. Couple that with the quiet fan and it will feel much louder than it actually is.

 

[darkserith]

I am not assuming anything. You seem to be reading something I am not writing. The pumps in the R9 Fury make a noise that I personally would find annoying, so I am not defending the card. I am simply pointing out why its likely such a big problem to so many people.

Because the card is so quiet, the noise stands out in ways it otherwise would in a typical case. The 980 ti is a much louder card, but because the noise it makes is low its not considered to be a problem. People accept low frequency noises. High frequency noises are sharper. So a high frequency noise loses energy faster than a low frequency noise. So when you put a high frequency noise in a case, it dampens much faster than the typical low frequency noise.

Now, take away the ambient low frequencies and remove the side of the case and that high frequency noise will stand out. The analogy I made about the auto industry was with low frequency noises, but I was showing how making things quieter made other noises seem louder when they were not. The card by every review I have seen is very very quiet. The issue is not with how loud the card is, but the type of sound it makes stands out. Couple that with the quiet fan and it will feel much louder than it actually is.

Good point..however i want to make one thing very clear to everyone.
This high frequency noise is clearly audible even with the the side panel of the case on.

Make no mistake people, the noise with the side panel on is still extremely annoying and still produces a sharp, constant ringing noise in your ears. It's the type of noise with a lot of penetration (in this case, it penetrates the steel walls of my SilverStone RV02-E case easily, which is not a cheap case).

While the pump noise is NOT coil whine (as many people have pointed out in my youtube video, heh..), the sound it produces still has the kind of sound penetration properties that coil whine has.

The reason why a lot of videos record the sound of the Fury X with the side panel open is because for some reason (at least IHMO), this high frequenc pitch is hard to catch on camera..i think you would need some super professional audio equipment otherwise. That's why I, for example, do my recording with the case open.

If it was as simple as, close the case panel and boom i can't hear the noise, then i wouldn't have any problem whatsoever. I wouldn't go through the whole trouble of getting a third Fury X.

 

[realibrad]

Good point..however i want to make one thing very clear to everyone.
This high frequency noise is clearly audible even with the the side panel of the case on.

Make no mistake people, the noise with the side panel on is still extremely annoying and still produces a sharp, constant ringing noise in your ears. It's the type of noise with a lot of penetration (in this case, it penetrates the steel walls of my SilverStone RV02-E case easily, which is not a cheap case).

While the pump noise is NOT coil whine (as many people have pointed out in my youtube video, heh..), the sound it produces still has the kind of sound penetration properties that coil whine has.

The reason why a lot of videos record the sound of the Fury X with the side panel open is because for some reason (at least IHMO), this high frequenc pitch is hard to catch on camera..i think you would need some super professional audio equipment otherwise. That's why I, for example, do my recording with the case open.

If it was as simple as, close the case panel and boom i can't hear the noise, then i wouldn't have any problem whatsoever. I wouldn't go through the whole trouble of getting a third Fury X.

I would say that the high frequency noise is not a penetrating noise. That would imply that it loses little energy and that cannot be the case. High frequency waves lose more energy going through mediums than low frequency. That is a fact of physics. It is simply that the high frequency waves shake the hairs in your ears very fast and that is more uncomfortable than the slower movement of low frequency waves. I wont get into amplitude.

But, it is incorrect to say that high frequency waves are more piercing.

 

[darkserith]

I would say that the high frequency noise is not a penetrating noise. That would imply that it loses little energy and that cannot be the case. High frequency waves lose more energy going through mediums than low frequency. That is a fact of physics. It is simply that the high frequency waves shake the hairs in your ears very fast and that is more uncomfortable than the slower movement of low frequency waves. I wont get into amplitude.

But, it is incorrect to say that high frequency waves are more piercing.

You sound like you know your stuff. I won't argue with what the point you made there. (Comp Sci major here..haha the part of my physics courses dealing with thermodynamics and waves wasn't my strong point, nor do I really know much about audio).

But, interesting point anyways. I could definitely understand your point that, it's not the penetration of mediums that makes this particular noise annoying, but rather its particular effect on the hairs in our ears that makes it so.

Maybe this explains why I can deal with the loud ass hair dryer blower like sound that my R9 280x makes (b/c this loud air blowing sound doesn't shake the hairs of my ears very fast). Yet, I absolutely cannot stand the R9 fury X, whose fan doesn't spin much and so lacks the sound of an loud blower of the R9 280x, and at the same time, the R9 Fury X makes this high freqeuency sound that is virtually non-existent on the R9 280x.

 

[realibrad]

You sound like you know your stuff. I won't argue with what the point you made there. (Comp Sci major here..haha the part of my physics courses dealing with thermodynamics and waves wasn't my strong point, nor do I really know much about audio).

But, interesting point anyways. I could definitely understand your point that, it's not the penetration of mediums that makes this particular noise annoying, but rather its particular effect on the hairs in our ears that makes it so.

Maybe this explains why I can deal with the loud ass hair dryer blower like sound that my R9 280x makes (b/c this loud air blowing sound doesn't shake the hairs of my eyes very fast). Yet, I absolutely cannot stand the R9 fury X, whose fan doesn't spin much and so lacks the sound of an loud blower of the R9 280x, and at the same time, the R9 Fury X makes this high freqeuency sound that is virtually non-existent on the R9 280x.

You pretty much have it. The type of sound that the Fury is emitting is not very loud, but is a displeasing frequency. Couple that with reduced ambient sound and its going to be very annoying.

The good news is that the properties of high frequency waves makes it easier to deal with in terms of dampening.

 

[ultimatebob]

What does the pump noise have to do with marketing? This is the most unimformed rant I've ever read.

The marketing department is the one who tried to use spin control and flat out lied about cards with the pump whine issue not making it to retail to the reviewers. They could have tried to be a bit more honest and said that just a small number of cards made it to retail, but no... they took a page from their benchmarking department and told a bold face lie that came back to haunt them.

 

[ocre]

The marketing department is the one who tried to use spin control and flat out lied about cards with the pump whine issue not making it to retail to the reviewers. They could have tried to be a bit more honest and said that just a small number of cards made it to retail, but no... they took a page from their benchmarking department and told a bold face lie that came back to haunt them.

hmmm

I tried to write a reply saying, perhaps AMD didnt think this was a big issue......but considering that they said they already knew about it and that they resolved it, that it wouldnt exist in retail samples......

You cant even dance around that. If they did know already, they lied. If they didnt know already, the lied. Either way, there seems to be real intention to deceive. I guess the ultimate goal here is to dump off the cards to people who would just let it slide. Perhaps people with loud systems, idk?

Anyway, I cant seem to come up with an innocent version here. It sucks that there was an issue, sucks more in how it is resolved.

Before i get flamed, I just want to say Nvidia is far from a saint themselves. Just we always are told how evil they are and how great pure AMD is. Of course not everyone falls for that stuff but there are people who really really feel AMD is good vs evil Nvidia/Intel.

Just, this time there isnt much wiggle room here. AMD wasnt honest about the issue. Even if they did or didnt know the extent, they handled this all wrong

 

[DarkKnightDude]

I honestly haven't heard any pumping noise from my pc at all, and I've tried some heavy games like Crysis 3 or Last Light. I guess it must affect different versions.

 

[darkserith]

I honestly haven't heard any pumping noise from my pc at all, and I've tried some heavy games like Crysis 3 or Last Light. I guess it must affect different versions.

Yeah, there is a version with a fix pump, and one without.

Your signature says you have a Sapphire Fury X. That gives me hope..cause you see I've gotten 2 bad fury X so far, both from Sapphire.

Hopefully 3rd one does the trick...

 

[ultimatebob]

hmmm

I tried to write a reply saying, perhaps AMD didnt think this was a big issue......but considering that they said they already knew about it and that they resolved it, that it wouldnt exist in retail samples......

You cant even dance around that. If they did know already, they lied. If they didnt know already, the lied. Either way, there seems to be real intention to deceive. I guess the ultimate goal here is to dump off the cards to people who would just let it slide. Perhaps people with loud systems, idk?

Anyway, I cant seem to come up with an innocent version here. It sucks that there was an issue, sucks more in how it is resolved.

Before i get flamed, I just want to say Nvidia is far from a saint themselves. Just we always are told how evil they are and how great pure AMD is. Of course not everyone falls for that stuff but there are people who really really feel AMD is good vs evil Nvidia/Intel.

Just, this time there isnt much wiggle room here. AMD wasnt honest about the issue. Even if they did or didnt know the extent, they handled this all wrong

Oh, don't get me wrong... Nvidia's marketing department is often full of crap as well. This isn't an Nvidia story, though

 

[railven]

I am not assuming anything. You seem to be reading something I am not writing. The pumps in the R9 Fury make a noise that I personally would find annoying, so I am not defending the card. I am simply pointing out why its likely such a big problem to so many people.

Because the card is so quiet, the noise stands out in ways it otherwise would in a typical case. The 980 ti is a much louder card, but because the noise it makes is low its not considered to be a problem. People accept low frequency noises. High frequency noises are sharper. So a high frequency noise loses energy faster than a low frequency noise. So when you put a high frequency noise in a case, it dampens much faster than the typical low frequency noise.

Now, take away the ambient low frequencies and remove the side of the case and that high frequency noise will stand out. The analogy I made about the auto industry was with low frequency noises, but I was showing how making things quieter made other noises seem louder when they were not. The card by every review I have seen is very very quiet. The issue is not with how loud the card is, but the type of sound it makes stands out. Couple that with the quiet fan and it will feel much louder than it actually is.

I think you're failing to realize that this noise is persistent during idle points where the GPU fan is barely audible. Most people who complained seem to focus at during resting periods because during actaul game play, I doubt the noise is louder (not even focusing other noises in the case) than sounds from the games or if the use headphones. But sitting there idly using your PC where before you'd only hear the sound of fans (if barely) you suddenly got a buzzing noise coming your case.

Just using two reviews:
TUP:

AMD's choice for a watercooling solution definitely pays off in gaming noise levels. Idle fan noise is a bit high, though, which is mostly because of the pump that emits a permanent high-pitched whine that tends to get quite distracting after a while. You do get used to it after quite some time, but you'll hate it every time you turn on your PC, which is when it stands out the most.

http://anandtech.com/show/9390/the-amd-radeon-r9-fury-x-review/25

Last but not least, we have noise. Starting with idle noise, as we mentioned in our look at the build quality of the R9 Fury X, the card’s cooler is effective under load, but a bit of a liability at idle. The use of a pump brings with it pump noise, and this drives up idle noise levels by around 4dB. 41.5dB is not too terrible for a closed case, and it’s not an insufferable noise, but HTPC users will want to be weary. This if anything makes a good argument for looking forward to the R9 Nano.

Fury X is louder than GTX 980 Ti when idle, which is when people are mostly noticing this rather odd noise.

 

[Th0rHere]

Okay, Sapphire have contacted my directly. I did reach out to AMD's head of PR, and she was kind of enough to help me get in contact with Sapphire.

The first email seemed like a typical RMA process, but after telling them I wasn't prepared to cover the costs of returning a faulty item, she actually told me they would cover all the costs.

She did mentioned that they don't currently have any stock for replacement, and said she will let me know once the stock arrives, and I can send in mine for a immediate replacement once it's received.

I'm going to take a chance with Sapphire, as I don't want to go down the route of buying another retailer, as there is no way to know if I will end up getting the same issue, and just starting this issue all over again. Something I was planing on doing due to their lack of support, but the best of a two shitty options.

It does look like Sapphire might be taking this issue more seriously, and have said just that. So I'm hoping that will at least lead to something.

I will update once I have more information on this.

 

[n0x1ous]

Fury X buyers....please let everyone know here which pump version you get so we get a feel if the fixed units are starting to make their way into the channel. I am going to wait a little while longer to see how this plays out as I really did like my Fury X and may grab another if/when the pump issue is resolved

 

[darkserith]

Okay, Sapphire have contacted my directly. I did reach out to AMD's head of PR, and she was kind of enough to help me get in contact with Sapphire.

The first email seemed like a typical RMA process, but after telling them I wasn't prepared to cover the costs of returning a faulty item, she actually told me they would cover all the costs.

She did mentioned that they don't currently have any stock for replacement, and said she will let me know once the stock arrives, and I can send in mine for a immediate replacement once it's received.

I'm going to take a chance with Sapphire, as I don't want to go down the route of buying another retailer, as there is no way to know if I will end up getting the same issue, and just starting this issue all over again. Something I was planing on doing due to their lack of support, but the best of a two shitty options.

It does look like Sapphire might be taking this issue more seriously, and have said just that. So I'm hoping that will at least lead to something.

I will update once I have more information on this.

Did sapphire initially tell you to cover the shipping costs and you had to argue against them , or no, they were all fine with shipping costs from the beginning?

Anyways, it sounds pretty shitty that it was so hard to get Sapphire to respond to your RMA. That's whAt happens when dealing with shitty asian based companies that don't have local HQ throughout the world.(Sapphire is in Hong Kong).

Makes me glad that I bought my fury x from a etailer like newegg, who immediately shipped me out a new fury x within one day of receipt, in spite of it being out of stock on their webpage.

 

[Th0rHere]

It's funny, as throughout all of this, I kept thinking, that simply removing the included pump and going for the Ek waterblock and doing some nice custom water cooling.

The reason for this is the Cooler Master Storm Trooper has a PCI slot cut-out parrarell with the window panel, Although slight off, but nothing to major of a mod.

I think the single slot card would look fantastic with the main aspect of the water block exposed to the window. I would have to an extension cable for the PCI-E slot, but I think it would great in the end.

 

[Th0rHere]

Did sapphire initially tell you to cover the shipping costs and you had to argue against them , or no, they were all fine with shipping costs from the beginning?

Anyways, it sounds pretty shitty that it was so hard to get Sapphire to respond to your RMA. That's whAt happens when dealing with shitty asian based companies that don't have local HQ throughout the world.(Sapphire is in Hong Kong).

Makes me glad that I bought my fury x from a etailer like newegg, who immediately shipped me out a new fury x within one day of receipt, in spite of it being out of stock on their webpage.

I didn't really have to argue, but I was speaking to two different people. The first was someone their facebook page helped get in contact, but he was pretty telling me what I already new.

The second person got onto me after I contacted AMD directly through my own website. The initial email stated I would have to ship it to them. Once I emailed her back and said I was disappointed with their lack of support and the fact I would have to cover the cost of shipping it.

She did get back to me and said she forgot to mention the fact that they would cover all of the shipping costs and as before, the lack of stock and to wait until they got more before sending it in.

I'm hoping they won't cheap out of the shipping, and not pick a slow one.

 

[n0x1ous]

It's funny, as throughout all of this, I kept thinking, that simply removing the included pump and going for the Ek waterblock and doing some nice custom water cooling.

The reason for this is the Cooler Master Storm Trooper has a PCI slot cut-out parrarell with the window panel, Although slight off, but nothing to major of a mod.

I think the single slot card would look fantastic with the main aspect of the water block exposed to the window. I would have to an extension cable for the PCI-E slot, but I think it would great in the end.

Agree - that would look epic!

I didn't really have to argue, but I was speaking to two different people. The first was someone their facebook page helped get in contact, but he was pretty telling me what I already new.

The second person got onto me after I contacted AMD directly through my own website. The initial email stated I would have to ship it to them. Once I emailed her back and said I was disappointed with their lack of support and the fact I would have to cover the cost of shipping it.

She did get back to me and said she forgot to mention the fact that they would cover all of the shipping costs and as before, the lack of stock and to wait until they got more before sending it in.

I'm hoping they won't cheap out of the shipping, and not pick a slow one.

Tell them to send you a pic of the pump top before they ship your replacement

 

[realibrad]

I think you're failing to realize that this noise is persistent during idle points where the GPU fan is barely audible. Most people who complained seem to focus at during resting periods because during actaul game play, I doubt the noise is louder (not even focusing other noises in the case) than sounds from the games or if the use headphones. But sitting there idly using your PC where before you'd only hear the sound of fans (if barely) you suddenly got a buzzing noise coming your case.


Fury X is louder than GTX 980 Ti when idle, which is when people are mostly noticing this rather odd noise.

I will try one more time, but you don't seem to get what I am saying. I am not sure if there is a language barrier, but I will try to be as clear as possible.

The pump seems to be emitting a high frequency noise. The posts and reports I have seen seem to imply that the pump is at a constant speed so the sound is thus constant. The fan its not the issue here, its the pump.

The reason people notice the noise more when they are at idle is because the other things like fans would normally spin up and emit more noise that would drown out the pump noise. The gpu fan hides the gpu pump noise. This is why the sound sticks out during idle but not at load.

This is why I made the car analogy. Electric cars also had to deal with this type of problem. When other low white noise is removed aka engine noise, people are better able to focus on noises. In this case, the pump that emits a high frequency noise is exacerbated because of how quite the card is.

In a normal case the sound is going to be less. Once the machine is under load and the system fans start spinning up, that pump noise will be drowned out.

This is how AMD does things now it seems. They come out with something that seems awesome and forget something that drags down the card. They will likely get this resolved but this issue will be used to dissuade people for this card forever.

 

[railven]

I will try one more time, but you don't seem to get what I am saying. I am not sure if there is a language barrier, but I will try to be as clear as possible.

The pump seems to be emitting a high frequency noise. The posts and reports I have seen seem to imply that the pump is at a constant speed so the sound is thus constant. The fan its not the issue here, its the pump.

The reason people notice the noise more when they are at idle is because the other things like fans would normally spin up and emit more noise that would drown out the pump noise. The gpu fan hides the gpu pump noise. This is why the sound sticks out during idle but not at load.

This is why I made the car analogy. Electric cars also had to deal with this type of problem. When other low white noise is removed aka engine noise, people are better able to focus on noises. In this case, the pump that emits a high frequency noise is exacerbated because of how quite the card is.

In a normal case the sound is going to be less. Once the machine is under load and the system fans start spinning up, that pump noise will be drowned out.

This is how AMD does things now it seems. They come out with something that seems awesome and forget something that drags down the card. They will likely get this resolved but this issue will be used to dissuade people for this card forever.

I think you are missing my point, which goes back to my first post on this:

You mean people are complaining about a new noise introduced into their system because a normal noise (the fan sound) can't hide it? I'm confused.

For these people the pump noise was never there. So back to my original comment - I don't get the car analogy.
Car analogy: A noise that was always there (tire sound) is more noticeable when a normal always there noise is missing (the engine).

How does that tie to a noise that was never there to begin with suddenly appearing? Which spiraled us downwards in this conversation which with the last iteration seems you're saying exactly what I said. It's a new noise to them of course they'll notice it.

 

[DarkKnightDude]

Fury X buyers....please let everyone know here which pump version you get so we get a feel if the fixed units are starting to make their way into the channel. I am going to wait a little while longer to see how this plays out as I really did like my Fury X and may grab another if/when the pump issue is resolved

How do I check which version I have? Are they numbered on the pumps?

 

[darkserith]

How do I check which version I have? Are they numbered on the pumps?

http://wccftech.com/radeon-r9-fury-x-pump-whine-new-adhesive/

 

[DarkKnightDude]

http://wccftech.com/radeon-r9-fury-x-pump-whine-new-adhesive/

I guess I'll have to open it up and check it, but I dunno if I should. I feel like I might jinx it heh.

 

[n0x1ous]

I guess I'll have to open it up and check it, but I dunno if I should. I feel like I might jinx it heh.

Lol. its simple. 1.5mm hex screwdriver and remove 4 screws and you'll have your (and our) answer :thumbsup:

 

[realibrad]

I think you are missing my point, which goes back to my first post on this:


For these people the pump noise was never there. So back to my original comment - I don't get the car analogy.
Car analogy: A noise that was always there (tire sound) is more noticeable when a normal always there noise is missing (the engine).

How does that tie to a noise that was never there to begin with suddenly appearing? Which spiraled us downwards in this conversation which with the last iteration seems you're saying exactly what I said. It's a new noise to them of course they'll notice it.

Go back to post #170.

Yes, its a new noise, but its only really a problem when the system is not under load and thus quiet. If the system were a little louder then people would not likely notice the pump. The reason I brought up the car analogy is because making the car quieter allowed people to pick up on sounds that would normally be too quiet to hear. In terms of the pump, AMD and or Coolermaster likely though people would not pick up on the pump noise because it is a relatively quite noise in standard cases. The issue here is that they make the main noise producing component in the system quieter which means any annoying noise that is either added or already there stand out.

The pump used in this card is likely not a new design and is used for CPUs. I would bet that at the behest of AMD to keep the card cool and reduce the fan speed, they asked Coolermaster to increase the pump flow. If you look at Tom's review, the pump and fan are almost equal in volume. They could have reduced the pump speed, but that would require higher fan speeds to compensate for the reduced flow. In trying to make the card run cool because of what happened with the 290x they created a new problem.

 

[railven]

Go back to post #170.

Yes, its a new noise, but its only really a problem when the system is not under load and thus quiet. If the system were a little louder then people would not likely notice the pump. The reason I brought up the car analogy is because making the car quieter allowed people to pick up on sounds that would normally be too quiet to hear. In terms of the pump, AMD and or Coolermaster likely though people would not pick up on the pump noise because it is a relatively quite noise in standard cases. The issue here is that they make the main noise producing component in the system quieter which means any annoying noise that is either added or already there stand out.

The pump used in this card is likely not a new design and is used for CPUs. I would bet that at the behest of AMD to keep the card cool and reduce the fan speed, they asked Coolermaster to increase the pump flow. If you look at Tom's review, the pump and fan are almost equal in volume. They could have reduced the pump speed, but that would require higher fan speeds to compensate for the reduced flow. In trying to make the card run cool because of what happened with the 290x they created a new problem.

Again, to the analogy - it just doesn't tie in with this scenario which is what my first post said. Regardless of that, if AMD, as you said, thought "If the system were a little louder then people would not likely notice the pump" they deserved this.

Honestly, who in their right mind would sit there and think "meh, users will have other things to drown this noise out" should get fired.