Clicking sound on new GPU

[Adoxx]

I got a new RTX 4090 and when the fans spin or when the card is under load I hear a ticking sound.

I added a video.

 

Should I be concerned?

[emosun]

if i cant hear it then its not a problem

[Parker Kincaid]

2 minutes ago, emosun said:

if i cant hear it then its not a problem

The ticking is at the end; the 17 second mark. Sounds to me like it could be a fan blade hitting something.

[podkall]

5 minutes ago, emosun said:

if i cant hear it then its not a problem

the ticking is less than one tick per second, as @Parker Kincaid said, it could be just something getting in a way of a fan and fan slapping it, because it spins

[Godlygamer23]

Sounds like a fan hitting something.

[Parker Kincaid]

Make sure no wires, cables, etc, in your system are dangling into the fans. Barring that, the problem could be a wire inside the videocard that is getting in the way of a fan or a fan that is wobbly or imbalanced and as the fan spins up to higher RPMs the wobble becomes greater and it either clips a wire or part of the GPU housing resulting in the ticking sound.

[Adoxx]

On 3/16/2024 at 7:27 PM, Parker Kincaid said:

The ticking is at the end; the 17 second mark. Sounds to me like it could be a fan blade hitting something.

You can hear it at 2,4 and 17 seconds. 

It's not a constant ticking.

Also checked the fans and cables, nothing is hitting the fans..

[Parker Kincaid]

7 hours ago, Adoxx said:

You can hear it at 2,4 and 17 seconds. 

It's not a constant ticking.

Also checked the fans and cables, nothing is hitting the fans..

From personal experience, this sounds like a fan hitting something, however, if it is not then, honestly, I'm at a loss.

 

Remove the 4090 and put the old GPU back in your system and confirm that the sound goes away after its removal to make sure the sound is actually coming from the card. If it goes away then put the 4090 back in again and see if it returns. If you can isolate the the origin of the sound being the videocard and it is not a fan hitting anything then I'd look into returning/exchanging the card.

 

Edit: The more I listen it also sounds like it could be something ticking against the metal fins of the heat sink. But, that would require some kind of physical contact and what would the source be? If physical contact is ruled out and it's isolated to the GPU then I'd refer back to looking into returning/exchanging.

[Adoxx]

7 hours ago, Parker Kincaid said:

From personal experience, this sounds like a fan hitting something, however, if it is not then, honestly, I'm at a loss.

 

Remove the 4090 and put the old GPU back in your system and confirm that the sound goes away after its removal to make sure the sound is actually coming from the card. If it goes away then put the 4090 back in again and see if it returns. If you can isolate the the origin of the sound being the videocard and it is not a fan hitting anything then I'd look into returning/exchanging the card.

 

Edit: The more I listen it also sounds like it could be something ticking against the metal fins of the heat sink. But, that would require some kind of physical contact and what would the source be? If physical contact is ruled out and it's isolated to the GPU then I'd refer back to looking into returning/exchanging.

I've tested it with my other card and there's no ticking.

 

Checked the card for any loose parts but can't find any.

 

Will return the card, thank you for your reply.

 

Edit: I've found some simular posts and it could be the aluminum thats working because of the heat difference. 

Same like a car that's cooling down, it's almost the same sound. 

Edited March 19 by Adoxx
Added more info

[Parker Kincaid]

8 hours ago, Adoxx said:

Edit: I've found some simular posts and it could be the aluminum thats working because of the heat difference. 

Same like a car that's cooling down, it's almost the same sound. 

Interesting.

 

So, exchanging the card might not resolve the issue if that is the cause. I guess it comes down to whether the sound bothers you or not.

[Godlygamer23]

8 hours ago, Adoxx said:

I've tested it with my other card and there's no ticking.

 

Checked the card for any loose parts but can't find any.

 

Will return the card, thank you for your reply.

 

Edit: I've found some simular posts and it could be the aluminum thats working because of the heat difference. 

Same like a car that's cooling down, it's almost the same sound. 

If you can't find any physical issues, then that very well is probably the cause. You get similar effects when you hear a chassis creak. 

 

Thermal expansion and contraction. 

[Godlygamer23]

12 minutes ago, Parker Kincaid said:

Interesting.

 

So, exchanging the card might not resolve the issue if that is the cause. I guess it comes down to whether the sound bothers you or not.

The sound would likely always be there. Could be the design of the card, or something else. I don't really listen to my hardware that closely, and it's closed up. The chassis I def hear creak, but not heatsinks. 

[Adoxx]

2 hours ago, Godlygamer23 said:

The sound would likely always be there. Could be the design of the card, or something else. I don't really listen to my hardware that closely, and it's closed up. The chassis I def hear creak, but not heatsinks. 

 

2 hours ago, Godlygamer23 said:

If you can't find any physical issues, then that very well is probably the cause. You get similar effects when you hear a chassis creak. 

 

Thermal expansion and contraction. 

 

2 hours ago, Parker Kincaid said:

Interesting.

 

So, exchanging the card might not resolve the issue if that is the cause. I guess it comes down to whether the sound bothers you or not.

It bothers me because I can hear it while the case is closed.

 

The coil whine on this card is also very loud and screamy, never had one that bad before.

 

I'm sending it rma tomorrow, if they send a new one and it has the same issue imma get another brand/model.

[Parker Kincaid]

2 hours ago, Adoxx said:

 

 

It bothers me because I can hear it while the case is closed.

 

The coil whine on this card is also very loud and screamy, never had one that bad before.

 

I'm sending it rma tomorrow, if they send a new one and it has the same issue imma get another brand/model.

A new card could be better with respect to the coil whine but @Godlygamer23 makes a point about the clicking sound being a result of the design and thermal expansion/contraction meaning a new card might not resolve it at all. Depending on the computer case and acoustic environment some people might hear the sound while others won't.

 

Hopefully customer support treats you well and your replacement is much quieter!

[Godlygamer23]

3 hours ago, Adoxx said:

It bothers me because I can hear it while the case is closed.

 

The coil whine on this card is also very loud and screamy, never had one that bad before.

 

I'm sending it rma tomorrow, if they send a new one and it has the same issue imma get another brand/model.

Pairing the noise with a card with coil whine will likely work in your favor, but depending on how sensitive you are - which it seems like your hearing is sensitive - you may hear things that others simply cannot hear, and that are outside of what is possible, both from a physics perspective, and from a cost perspective.

 

In other words, you may just have to deal with it. Other cards may result in the same expansion and contraction sounds. It may be something you simply have to live with.

[Adoxx]

9 hours ago, Parker Kincaid said:

A new card could be better with respect to the coil whine but @Godlygamer23 makes a point about the clicking sound being a result of the design and thermal expansion/contraction meaning a new card might not resolve it at all. Depending on the computer case and acoustic environment some people might hear the sound while others won't.

 

Hopefully customer support treats you well and your replacement is much quieter!

 

8 hours ago, Godlygamer23 said:

Pairing the noise with a card with coil whine will likely work in your favor, but depending on how sensitive you are - which it seems like your hearing is sensitive - you may hear things that others simply cannot hear, and that are outside of what is possible, both from a physics perspective, and from a cost perspective.

 

In other words, you may just have to deal with it. Other cards may result in the same expansion and contraction sounds. It may be something you simply have to live with.

Yes, I hope they'll offer a refund.

I have a RTX 4080 (Zotac Airo) i. my other rig and that one has no coil whine, it's a very silent card.

Perhaps that's why I hear the difference?

 

I'll keep you posted on the rma.

 

Thank you all for your replies.

[Adoxx]

Update:

I received a new GPU.

Ticking sound is gone and there's barely any coil whine.

I'm happy.