MSI Lightning GTX780 help needed

[IndyColtsFan]

Hello,

I just installed my GTX 780 this evening. The problem I'm having is that the fans are INCREDIBLY loud. I was told this card was quiet and I shouldn't really hear it, but it is easily the loudest component in my case and is very noticeable.

I'm not quite sure how to fix the issue. I didn't see any fan controls in the NVidia control panel and when I load the Afterburner software and manually set the fan slider, it doesn't seem to make any difference. What am I doing wrong?

 

[rgallant]

http://www.overclock.net/t/646422/how-to-adjust-your-fan-curve-in-msi-afterburner

try that

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Check to make sure your temps are ok. If they are then you may need to completely wipe old drivers with a driver cleaner and reinstall.

 

[Will Robinson]

It would help if you could post the fan speed(incredibly loud) and the idle/load temps.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

It would help if you could post the fan speed(incredibly loud) and the idle/load temps.

Middle fan is currently 30% and the two side fans are 35%. GPU temp right now is 30 C (idle; just got done playing Rust and let it cool for a few). The fan sound is very noticeable right now. If I go into Fan Control and turn it up to 100%, it does get noticeably louder but even at idle, I think it is too loud IMO.

When I power on the PC, the card is pretty silent and it is only when it hits Windows where it starts getting loud.

In terms of drivers, I am coming from an HD 6870 and uninstalled the Catalyst driver suite, installed the card, and then booted and installed the drivers. I really wonder if the fans are reporting their speed correctly.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Check to make sure your temps are ok. If they are then you may need to completely wipe old drivers with a driver cleaner and reinstall.

Any suggestions for a good, free driver cleaner? I previously had the latest Catalyst drivers installed but uninstalled them first and installed the NVidia drivers.

http://www.overclock.net/t/646422/how-to-adjust-your-fan-curve-in-msi-afterburner

try that

Thanks, I'll review that article.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

I use the one from guru3d. I'm on my phone current and don't feel like looking it up.

 

[Teizo]

Google 'Display Driver Uninstaller'. That is the best uninstaller out there imho. Download the latest version, and run it twice. One to remove the left over AMD drivers, then once again to remove the Nvidia driver and then reinstall the Nvidia driver. Be sure to let it reboot into safe mode to run.

The 780 should be inaudible in Windows and quiet in gaming, even the Lightening from what I understand. Not sure what the deal is.

Just for safe measure, you may could unistall Afterburner and Riva Tuner Statistics Server and then reinstall after you reinstall the Nvidia drivers.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Thanks. I ran the latest version of DDU (10.2) twice on my system in safe mode -- once to remove AMD (rebooted) and once to remove NVidia (rebooted). I then let it boot into normal mode to reinstall the NVidia driver. The system is super quiet until I install the NVidia driver -- rebooting after that ramps the fan up.

I'm going to reload my system on another SSD soon, so I may see if that remedies the issue. Could the NVidia driver be seeing that this card has a default overclock and is ramping up the fans? MSI fan control reports 30% on the center fan (which, from my reading, is the fan that seems to make the noise) but I just can't believe that unless the middle fan isn't running at all until a driver turns it on.

 

[Pandamonia]

Middle fan is currently 30% and the two side fans are 35%. GPU temp right now is 30 C (idle; just got done playing Rust and let it cool for a few). The fan sound is very noticeable right now. If I go into Fan Control and turn it up to 100%, it does get noticeably louder but even at idle, I think it is too loud IMO.

When I power on the PC, the card is pretty silent and it is only when it hits Windows where it starts getting loud.

In terms of drivers, I am coming from an HD 6870 and uninstalled the Catalyst driver suite, installed the card, and then booted and installed the drivers. I really wonder if the fans are reporting their speed correctly.

I have 2 of these in SLI and overclocked to 1250mhz boost. I never hear the fan.

Then again my FT02 is insulated and i play with head phones.

But that said when i was testing the fans are very quiet

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I have 2 of these in SLI and overclocked to 1250mhz boost. I never hear the fan.

Then again my FT02 is insulated and i play with head phones.

But that said when i was testing the fans are very quiet

Yeah I was told that this was a quiet card. I don't believe the fan readings I'm getting. The card is whisper quiet until I load the NVidia driver and then it is loud. The fan doesn't sound like there is anything mechanically wrong; it is the sound I would expect if the GPU is hot and the fans ramped up to cool it. The GPU and case are not hot, leading me to believe there is something screwing with the NVidia driver.

If I get time tonight, I'll throw in my other SSD and do a quick load of Windows 8.1 with the NVidia driver and see if it is still loud. If it isn't, that tells me something in my Windows 7 load is hosing it up.

I may not have mentioned it before, but it is definitely the center fan. If I open fan controller and adjust the side fan speeds, there is no discernible difference in sound. If I adjust the center fan, you can definitely hear the difference. This mirrors what I read on another forum, where a guy said his noise came from the center fan and he was considering disabling it. I don't see a way in software to do that -- you'd have to unplug it on the video board, and I'm not prepared to do that yet.

 

[Face2Face]

Try using the LN2 bios and see if that makes any difference. The third fan on these cards are the loudest, but it shouldn't be like your describing. What is the fan speed of the center fan when you notice the noise?

You have the Lightning fan control tool right?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Try using the LN2 bios and see if that makes any difference. The third fan on these cards are the loudest, but it shouldn't be like your describing. What is the fan speed of the center fan when you notice the noise?

You have the Lightning fan control tool right?

Yes, I have the Lightning fan control tool. Middle fan is reporting at 30% and is loud. As I mentioned, this only happens once you hit Windows and the NVidia driver loads. During boot and when I was in safe mode or standard mode without drivers, you don't hear it at all.

 

[Face2Face]

Yes, I have the Lightning fan control tool. Middle fan is reporting at 30% and is loud. As I mentioned, this only happens once you hit Windows and the NVidia driver loads. During boot and when I was in safe mode or standard mode without drivers, you don't hear it at all.

It could be an issue with the middle fan controller? Did you try booting with the LN2 bios enabled?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

It could be an issue with the middle fan controller? Did you try booting with the LN2 bios enabled?

No, I have not tried that yet. This is my work PC and I won't get a chance to do any additional work until this evening. I'll have to see how to switch to that BIOS first.

 

[Face2Face]

No, I have not tried that yet. This is my work PC and I won't get a chance to do any additional work until this evening. I'll have to see how to switch to that BIOS first.

Here ya go. Move it all the way to the right.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Here ya go. Move it all the way to the right.

Thanks. I'll give that a shot tonight. From my reading, flipping that switch should drop me to default GTX 780 speeds and I can overclock from there. It'll be interesting to see if that solves this fan issue. I REALLY don't want to have to deal with a return on this card after my Seasonic RMA fiasco.

 

[Face2Face]

Thanks. I'll give that a shot tonight. From my reading, flipping that switch should drop me to default GTX 780 speeds and I can overclock from there. It'll be interesting to see if that solves this fan issue. I REALLY don't want to have to deal with a return on this card after my Seasonic RMA fiasco.

I'm not sure if it will help? Worth a try at this point... You may also want to reach out to MSI support if you can.. might end up having to RMA it though? Also, yes your clock speeds drop to 980Mhz on the core.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I'm not sure if it will help? Worth a try at this point... You may also want to reach out to MSI support if you can.. might end up having to RMA it though? Also, yes your clock speeds drop to 980Mhz on the core.

Do you know if MSI cross-ships on RMAs? Seasonic did not and was very, very unresponsive. If push comes to shove, I'll RMA it and reinstall my HD 6870 in the interim but I won't be a happy camper.

EDIT: I went ahead and opened a ticket with MSI support.

 

[tricky_p]

I have 2 of these in SLI and overclocked to 1250mhz boost. I never hear the fan.

Then again my FT02 is insulated and i play with head phones.

But that said when i was testing the fans are very quiet

Curious to know what temps you are seeing with your cards? I am a fellow FT02 owner and am considering a single Lightning.

 

[Face2Face]

Do you know if MSI cross-ships on RMAs? Seasonic did not and was very, very unresponsive. If push comes to shove, I'll RMA it and reinstall my HD 6870 in the interim but I won't be a happy camper.

EDIT: I went ahead and opened a ticket with MSI support.

Yeah not sure. I have done two RMA's with them in the past, but always decided to wait on them. Took around 2 weeks to get the cards back.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Update: For the heck of it, I popped in another SSD and did a fresh load of Windows 8.1 The fans were dead quiet until I loaded the NVidia driver, and they throttled up almost immediately. I even used an older NVidia driver this time, and no dice.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

May just be a bad fan?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

May just be a bad fan?

Maybe a bad sensor or something like that, but the NVidia driver is definitely triggering it. Like I said, I don't believe the fan readings I'm getting given how loud it is. I opened a case with MSI and if they want me to RMA it, I am hoping they'll cross-ship a replacement or I'm liable to just say screw it and disconnect the center fan from the header on the board.

 

[p_monks33]

I doubt they will do a cross shipment, I have had two MSI cards die, and both times resolution took about two weeks. Once receiving a refurbished card, the second time a refund of the purchase price via snail mail check.