Retail AMD Fury X Sound Testing - Pump Whine Investigation by PCPerspective

[cesrai]

That's the problem with having 2 threads. I already went through updated prices and availability in the master thread yesterday. But it is correct that you can now get a 980ti for cheaper. But as I pointed out in the other thread, supply and demand, and entry to market plays a big role on pricing. So the Fury X is priced highly, as there are few of them. The cheapest store for the 980ti for instance has price gouged the hell out of the Fury X, at over 10k DKK. Also HBM and AIO's are value adding propositions in themselves.

Reference versus reference is always most fair, but if you factor in cost and functionality, maybe EVGA's AIO version is more fair, as AIO cost drives price up. Either way, conclusion is that 980ti is cheaper right now in DK. Have you thought about why NVidia, usually having the price premium, don't anymore? Competition is a great thing

As for on topic,; PCPer, did state that their 2 retail versions are the Cooler Master sticker versions, and that they knew about the Cooler Master embossed versions. They also said they would buy two more retail versions with embossed CM units and test those.

All you said about HBM and AIO adding value is true but in the end the 980Ti is the better GPU with better performance so it doesn't if they have HBM or whatever if they can barley match the 980Ti.

[Godlygamer23]

690 Ti is 6600 DKK (980 USD) for the cheapest reference card[.]

690 Ti?

[cesrai]

690 Ti?

He has emprorr eye.

[Notional]

All you said about HBM and AIO adding value is true but in the end the 980Ti is the better GPU with better performance so it doesn't if they have HBM or whatever if they can barley match the 980Ti.

 

Indeed. But having the newest tech for the sake of it is also a value proposition. I do hope drivers will improve the performance in the next couple of weeks. Maybe Win 10/DX12 will have an impact too. The smaller card is also something that could generate sales.

 

I still think both cards costs too much, but at least AMD has forced NVidia to go cheaper. That is a win for everyone (consumers).

[GoodN1ght]

http://www.overclock3d.net/articles/gpu_displays/amd_s_revised_r9_fury_x_-_pump_whine_issues/1

Overclocked says its fixed as well. 

+ you can always open the Fury to check if you have the <<fixed>> pump now since it doens't damage the warranty. 

[Gunjob]

http://hexus.net/tech/news/cooling/84416-has-amd-fixed-radeon-r9-fury-x-whining-issues/

Hexus has the old pump with its sticker and new the embossed pump with the fixed whine. As shown in the video on the article.

 

 

The fixed pump

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOlVOzubdAI

 

His fan is now rattling which is probably just unfortunate, but the pump was fixed as AMD promised, I'd imagine the first run still has this problem though. 

[cesrai]

Indeed. But having the newest tech for the sake of it is also a value proposition. I do hope drivers will improve the performance in the next couple of weeks. Maybe Win 10/DX12 will have an impact too. The smaller card is also something that could generate sales.

I still think both cards costs too much, but at least AMD has forced NVidia to go cheaper. That is a win for everyone (consumers).

Forced them to go cheaper ?? 980Ti is still the same price.

[Notional]

Forced them to go cheaper ?? 980Ti is still the same price.

 

Not at launch it wasn't. At least not here. Can't speak for other countries of course.

[cesrai]

Not at launch it wasn't. At least not here. Can't speak for other countries of course.

It's probably related to what you mentioned above but the retail price in US is 650$ and it's same price in UAE.

[Notional]

It's probably related to what you mentioned above but the retail price in US is 650$ and it's same price in UAE.

 

In Denmark the 980ti has gone down 1-200$ for the cheapest reference versions in less than one month from launch. That is extremely uncommon for a high end card, especially NVidia.

 

Either way, several sources has now shown the embossed pump in action, with no whine. That is very good news. I HATE high pitched sounds and other electric noise. One of the reasons I picked the PSU I have know, and the ASUS GPU I have.

[BiG StroOnZ]

 

That's why I said "apparently" and "may" have been fixed.

 

AMD stated that they knew of the problem and that it would be fixed in retail versions, but they didn't say "all retail versions from day one". I think they should have waited to ship the first run of cards and fixed the problem before any retail versions hit the shelves/customers/reviewers. But, that would have pushed back availability and they've already kept us waiting longer than they should, so it's a bit of a trade off I guess.  

 

My only issue with this theory is the following, their source is taken from a forum post. That forum post is coming from a single video on Youtube where he got a replacement and it shows the different etching on the block. That video is here: 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOlVOzubdAI

 

The picture they are using, both in the forum post and on TechPowerUp is the thumbnail for the Video posted above. That video was released on July 1st (so yesterday), Ryan Shrout's Pump Whine Investigation article was posted yesterday as well. So both of them obviously have received their cards around the same time considering both made it public yesterday. While one was ordered from Newegg (PCPerspective's units), while the other unit with the supposed fixed pump came from an RMA (the guy in the video, the picture being used on TPU and all over the internet).

 

I'm assuming, based on that guy's video (Titled Update #3) it took 5 days for him to get a replacement because his previous video (Titled Update #2) was posted Jun 26th. Which based on that time frame would probably put PCPerspetive's retrieval of ordered items around the same time frame (5 days). Since their first review on the product where they addressed the Pump Noise originally was posted on Jun 24th. I'm not sure how fast they said, "well let's order two more and see if the retail samples have the fixed pump noise" but let's say for arguments sake it took them two more days to do that. So that would put the ordering around Jun 26th as well. Meaning both instances the guy with the supposedly fixed pump and PCPer got "new" units in at the same time. Only difference here is one came from an RMA and the other from an actual retailer. 

 

This makes me wonder because there is no other proof on the internet of this revised pump with the etching existing. So far the only one that exists is the guy in the Youtube video. We can hope that more make an appearance but as of now there aren't any. Which also makes me wonder if AMD is just trying to get rid of initial stock (even with the defunct pump) only to later have them be RMA'ed (where they then will replace them with the "revised" pump version).

[cesrai]

In Denmark the 980ti has gone down 1-200$ for the cheapest reference versions in less than one month from launch. That is extremely uncommon for a high end card, especially NVidia.

Either way, several sources has now shown the embossed pump in action, with no whine. That is very good news. I HATE high pitched sounds and other electric noise. One of the reasons I picked the PSU I have know, and the ASUS GPU I have.

I will wait little longer to see if the problem is fixed or not.

[MEC-777]

-snip-

 

I think it's definitely wise to wait and see if more of these "fixed" units surface with silent pumps before we call it confirmed. I believe they have fixed it, but that it's just a matter of getting rig of all the existing "noisy pump" stock before we see a steady flow of the fixed units from there on out. Right now, it's probably a crap chute if you'll get a loud pump or a fixed pump, which is why I'd wait a few weeks to buy one and why I'd say PCper's investigation is inconclusive/inaccurate.

[BiG StroOnZ]

I think it's definitely wise to wait and see if more of these "fixed" units surface with silent pumps before we call it confirmed. I believe they have fixed it, but that it's just a matter of getting rig of all the existing "noisy pump" stock before we see a stead flow of the fixed units from there on out. Right now, it's probably a crap chute if you'll get a loud pump or a fixed pump, which is why I'd wait a few weeks to buy one and why I'd say PCper's investigation is inconclusive/inaccurate.

 

I wouldn't call it inaccurate or inconclusive. The AMD rep told them it was fixed in retail versions, and to not worry. They ordered two retail versions and it wasn't fixed. Doesn't get any more conclusive than that. One guy on Youtube popping up claiming he has a revised version doesn't suddenly make it inconclusive (one that he got from an RMA mind you, not from being purchased from a retailer).

[MEC-777]

I wouldn't call it inaccurate or inconclusive. The AMD rep told them it was fixed in retail versions, and to not worry. They ordered two retail versions and it wasn't fixed. Doesn't get any more conclusive than that. One guy on Youtube popping up claiming he has a revised version doesn't suddenly make it inconclusive.

 

Let's look at the actual quote from the AMD rep (pulled from PCper's article):

 

In regards to the “pump whine”, AMD received feedback that during open bench testing some cards emit a mild “whining” noise.  This is normal for most high speed liquid cooling pumps; Usually the end user cannot hear the noise as the pumps are installed in the chassis, and the radiator fan is louder than the pump.  Since the AMD Radeon™ R9 Fury X radiator fan is near silent, this pump noise is more noticeable.  

 

The issue is limited to a very small batch of initial production samples and we have worked with the manufacturer to improve the acoustic profile of the pump.  This problem has been resolved and a fix added to production parts and is not an issue.

 

So there you have it. Some noisy cards were shipped with the initial production batch. The rest have been supposedly fixed from here on out. It's too early to say for sure as we don't know how many of that initial batch had this problem. If there is mixed stock out there (which is quite possibly the case) then AMD was correct in their statement. 

[BiG StroOnZ]

Let's look at the actual quote from the AMD rep (pulled from PCper's article):

 

In regards to the “pump whine”, AMD received feedback that during open bench testing some cards emit a mild “whining” noise.  This is normal for most high speed liquid cooling pumps; Usually the end user cannot hear the noise as the pumps are installed in the chassis, and the radiator fan is louder than the pump.  Since the AMD Radeon™ R9 Fury X radiator fan is near silent, this pump noise is more noticeable.  

 

The issue is limited to a very small batch of initial production samples and we have worked with the manufacturer to improve the acoustic profile of the pump.  This problem has been resolved and a fix added to production parts and is not an issue.

 

So there you have it. Some noisy cards were shipped with the initial production batch. The rest have been supposedly fixed from here on out. It's too early to say for sure as we don't know how many of that initial batch had this problem. If there is mixed stock out there (which is quite possibly the case) then AMD was correct in their statement. 

 

No, "Initial Production Samples" denoting samples being made/produced (like ES versions "engineering samples"). "Production parts," denoting retail versions.

 

And one guy = the rest have been fixed?

[MEC-777]

Yeah, "Initial Production Samples" denoting samples being made/produced (like ES versions "engineering samples"). "Production parts," denoting retail versions.

 

An engineering sample is not the same as a production sample. A production sample is exactly what gets shipped to retailers. What they are basically saying is there are some production units out there with this problem. We know this because it's been observed. What we don't know just yet is if in fact it has been fixed on all units from there on out. We've supposedly seen one fixed sample thus far, let's wait and see if more show up. 

 

And, if this is the case, again, PCper's investigation is incorrect. As of right now, it's inconclusive and should remain so until more production samples are tested over the next couple weeks since, again, we don't know just how many out there have this issue. 

[BiG StroOnZ]

An engineering sample is not the same as a production sample. A production sample is exactly what gets shipped to retailers. What they are basically saying is there are some production units out there with this problem. We know this because it's been observed. What we don't know just yet is if in fact it has been fixed on all units from there on out. We've supposedly seen one fixed sample thus far, let's wait and see if more show up. 

 

And, if this is the case, again, PCper's investigation is incorrect. As of right now, it's inconclusive and should remain so until more production samples are tested over the next couple weeks since, again, we don't know just how many out there have this issue. 

 

LOL, then why would PCPer think that ordering two retail versions be any different than the samples they were given...?

 

Even better yet, why change the words from "production sample," to "production part..."

 

Also:

 

Sample, noun - 

 

"a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from"

 

"a small amount of something that is given to people to try"

 

"A small part or quantity intended to show what the whole is like"

[MEC-777]

LOL, then why would PCPer think that ordering two retail versions be any different than the samples they were given...?

 

Even better yet, why change the words from "production sample," to "production part..."

 

Also:

 

Sample, noun - 

 

"a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from"

 

"a small amount of something that is given to people to try"

 

"A small part or quantity intended to show what the whole is like"

 

Regardless of how you dissect what AMD said, the situation still stands. Until more evidence is presented, PCper's evaluation is inconclusive. It's also possible AMD tried to down-play the true number of defective units out on the shelves to instill confidence in those looking to buy. Wouldn't be the first time a company has done such a thing.

[BiG StroOnZ]

Regardless of how you dissect what AMD said, the situation still stands. Until more evidence is presented, PCper's evaluation is inconclusive. It's also possible AMD tried to down-play the true number of defective units out on the shelves to instill confidence in those looking to buy. Wouldn't be the first time a company has done such a thing.

 

That goes both ways, until more evidence is presented that the issue has been fixed, PCPer's evaluation still stands. One guy on Youtube should not constitute that a definitive fix has been issued. 

 

Imagine a car company deploys defective air bags in their vehicles (we will say for the sake of the argument that the passenger air bag deploys after you hit the brake a certain amount of times). Then a car reviewer takes note that that these air bags are indeed defective based on personal testing (many other car reviewers claim the same thing). The car company says this is a small issue just based on samples of the vehicle, and production versions will be much different (calls it a non-issue). So one of the car reviewers purchases two production versions and finds out that the air bags are still defective. Then that same day, a person gets a replacement for their vehicle because of the defective air bag (after they complained about the defective air bag). They post on Youtube that the air bag is no longer defective. They post a Youtube video of it saying that it has been fixed. Then all the other car reviewers claim that it has been fixed because of this Youtube video, not because they tested it themselves. Who are you going to believe the initial test that the one car reviewer did, or the Youtube video (including the reviewers claiming it has been fixed based off of the Youtube video)?

[LucidMew]

My (general) interpretation of the timeline

 

• AMD produces (unknown at the time) loud FuryX (let's call them FuryX 1.0) units
• AMD sends the (loud) units to reviewers
• AMD continues to produce FuryX 1.0 and sends them to retailers (newegg, amazon, etc)
• Reviewers call AMD out for unnecessarily loud pump noise/capacitor buzzing/whatever you want to call it
• People buy the V1.0 cards from retailers and also report the noise
• AMD says it's fixed in retail units and makes FuryX 1.01 with the etched pump as opposed to the sticker
• People continue to buy the old V1.0 cards that were made before the switch
• PcPer bought two and did their report
• Someone bought a 1.01 version and uploaded to youtube
• The internet loses its collective shit, even more than before
• Right now: there's V1.0 and V1.01 FuryX's in stores and you don't know what you're going to get until you open it

 

 

Wait two weeks for the stores to restock and get "good" FuryX's and we'll see if AMD really fixed the problem. If they haven't then it's time to call foul.

[BiG StroOnZ]

Ryan Shrout details on his Podcast, that he is trying to make things right with this investigation by asking AMD exactly if they have fixed the issue yet, if they have fixed it can he get one of the fixed versions, he also asked what they did or changed or what Cooler Master did to fix it and AMD simply ignored him with his requests:

 

Watch Here

 

or: 

 

 

skip to 55:37

[mr moose]

Ryan Shrout details on his Podcast, that he is trying to make things right with this investigation by asking AMD exactly if they have fixed the issue yet, if they have fixed it can he get one of the fixed versions, he also asked what they did or changed or what Cooler Master did to fix it and AMD simply ignored him with his requests:

 

Watch Here

 

or: 

 

 

skip to 55:37

 

It's bloody funny listening to people with only a basic grasp on the physics of sound talk about it.

[BiG StroOnZ]

It's bloody funny listening to people with only a basic grasp on the physics of sound talk about it.

 

I quite enjoy their descriptions, especially Malventano's comments on hearing it from the other room while they are benching.

[cesrai]

It's bloody funny listening to people with only a basic grasp on the physics of sound talk about it.

At least they have a grasp.