Got low TDP GPU (RX 6600 132w) but still got coil whine while old single fan 120w GPU doesn't. Where to go from here?

[Mhytron]

PSU: Corsair rm650x (2018)

GPU Old : GTX 1060 Mini ITX OC 3G

GPU New: Fighter AMD Radeon™ RX 6600 8GB GDDR6

Case: Fractal Pop Air

 

TLDR: New 132W GPU go bzzzzz desperate to get one that doesn't bzzzzz since old 1060 3gb 120W doesn't bzzzzz

 

 

I've been trying to upgrade my PC into a silent one for a while now, I didn't get rid of my HDD yet but Im almost there. In order to get to get the pc to be as silent as possible I got a fractal design pop Air because I've read that even thought Air cases leak more noise outside, there's not going to be noise in the first place if you can run the fans on the PC at slower speeds while still getting good temps.

Recently I got a RX 6600 PowerColor Fighter since it's got a TDP of 132w which is only slightly higher than my previous GPU, a GTX 1060 Mini ITX OC 3G with a TDP of 120w. One of the reasons that pushed me to do it (aside from the price and that 8GB of VRAM are better than 3) is that I read that GPU coil whine is very common (even on high end cards) so I thought that a low TDP card would have lower chances to whine, specially considering that the 1060 is dead silent an runs cool unless pushed to its limit, in which case the temps are still really good and it's also relatively quiet even inside the pop air case (and it doesn't whine either).

I've also read that single fan GPUs are the noisiest and hottest out here, and since my 1060 is silent while being a single fan GPU, I thought the 6600 could only be better due to it having two fans and only a slightly higher TDP. Well...

The card whines when being pushed to the limit, but at least not in the form of a high pitch but rather a constant buzzing that I assume is generated by the electricity circulating through the GPU or something, it somehow remembers me of a fountain. It is still very noticeable tho because I have sensitive hearing, it's specially noticeable at night. I know it's due to it's usage because as soon as I alt f4 of the demanding game the noise stops instantly so it's not a fan or hardrive (I also tested this with the HDDs disconnected).

I placed my ear around the case with the side panel open and I'm pretty sure the wining comes form the GPU itself, not the PSU. I tried undervolting the card through the AMD drivers but the noise persists (I can't go any lower than 1090 mV or games crash). The only way for the card not to whine is to not use it at 100%, which is the whole point, I mean, I paid for the whole GPU I'm going to use the whole GPU, the headache that comes with it is not on the spec sheet tho.

 

Another problem this card has is the zero RPM, the card goes from dead silent to moving the fans at 1300 RPM, turns out that's the minimum speed that can be adjusted in the fan curve, which is 35%. So I downloaded MorePowerTool to try to make it run slower and now the card can run to a minimum of 600-800 RPM which is really good, or would be if it wasn't because then the fans make some high pitched squeaky noise. I think it's due to the bearings because I tried gently stopping the fans with my fingers and as soon as the fan stops the noise is gone. Letting them spin again makes the noise reappear. I don't know if this noise means the fans are bad or if it's just the bearings being cheap, but I haven't heard it from any other fan inside a pc. I can hear them from my desk at night (the pc itself is at floor level elevated with a wood platform).

Also, I don't know if it makes any difference but the 1060 uses 6 psu cable pins while the 6600 uses 8.

 

My question is: If a single fan GPU from 2016 can be quiet and coil free, why are modern GPUs full of coil whine? Isn't there any model that just doesn't whine? At this rate I feel like Im going to end up returning half of the world's GPU stock to get a decent one. Can't some organization create coil whine certification standards or something? Maybe I should forget about getting an air mesh case...

 

AND WHY WON'T ANY REVIEWERS WARN ABOUT THIS? :'/

 

Lots of people say this is normal that it's just physics or something. That's a really bad argument. Components catching fire is just physics too but engineers are capable to build components that don't catch fire. So why won't they build components that don't whine? I can only assume that's because doing so would make them more expensive, and since most people not only swallow up coil whine but also tell others to put up with it without considering their hearing might work differently... they don't bother.

Please correct me if Im wrong.

[Eigenvektor]

17 minutes ago, Mhytron said:

TLDR: New 132W GPU go bzzzzz desperate to get one that doesn't bzzzzz since old 1060 3gb 120W doesn't bzzzzz

My question is: If a single fan GPU from 2016 can be quiet and coil free, why are modern GPUs full of coil whine?

Coil whine has nothing to do with TDP, but can depend on the load your card is under and/or what fps it is running at. I also have an RX 6600 (Sapphire Pulse) and no coil whine at all.

 

You may be able to get rid of it by doing some undervolting. Sometimes switching to a different PSU can help as well.

 

There can also be physical fixes: https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/how-to-quickly-easily-fix-coil-whine-coil-choke-noise.294015/

[Mhytron]

11 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

Coil whine has nothing to do with TDP, but can depend on the load your card is under and/or what fps it is running at. I also have an RX 6600 (Sapphire Pulse) and no coil whine at all.

 

You may be able to get rid of it by doing some undervolting. Sometimes switching to a different PSU can help as well.

 

There can also be physical fixes: https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/how-to-quickly-easily-fix-coil-whine-coil-choke-noise.294015/

Getting 500 FPS on menus does not aggravate the sound. And I tried undervolting to the lowest I can go without crashing (from AMD Adrenalin drivers, I haven't tried doing it from MSI Afterburner like I did with the 1060).

EDIT: And the PSU is supposed to be high end.

I got the card a week ago, I can still return it but if the one I get has the same issue then I don't know what I'll do.