# GPU + Funny noises = ?



## Hyena (Dec 20, 2009)

Yeah, so I tried googleing the problem, but I didn't find anything on the issue. the card in question is a Nvidia GTS 250 512MB OC Edition from BFG Tech. I was just sitting here chatting on messenger and watching YouTube like I often do and suddenly the screen flashes and the theme goes into "Windows basic mode" I thought maybe youtube angered it or something but then I hear these really strange "groaning/moaning" sounds coming from inside my computer. almost like as if the capacitors or ram chips or something were getting pissed off. I opened HW monitor to find the GPU was at 60c randomly so I shut down after saving and restarted. 

Now I'm sitting here having restarted and the card is fine again and everything is back to normal. has anyone else had this really strange random hiccup? I'm using Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit Retail. I thought maybe the driver crashed or something, but why would the GPU start moaning and get so hot?

System is; 
Gigabyte MA790X-UD4P
AMD Phenom X3 8650
4GB DDR2 1066 Ram
Western Digital Caviar 640 Black Edition
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. 

Could this be a Windows 7 / Nvidia Driver problem or something? I never had any problem like this on Vista 64


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## ToeClaws (Dec 20, 2009)

It might have been temperature related, but without a baseline that's hard to tell.  Many modern cards sit at around 60c even when idle.  You should see if that's the "norm" for your card.  If it happens again, you may also want to clarify on what's producing the odd noise - a fan misbehaving, for example.  You should also check the system event logs and application event logs in Windows to see if there were any recorded errors at the time that the video mode switched.  Let us know the findings and that might help in further diagnosing the issue.


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## Sparticle (Dec 20, 2009)

Is the card connected to the Mobo properly? The sound might be the vibration of the card against the mobo. The reseting of the theme could be the card disconnecting momentarily.


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## Hyena (Dec 20, 2009)

ToeClaws said:


> It might have been temperature related, but without a baseline that's hard to tell.  Many modern cards sit at around 60c even when idle.  You should see if that's the "norm" for your card.  If it happens again, you may also want to clarify on what's producing the odd noise - a fan misbehaving, for example.  You should also check the system event logs and application event logs in Windows to see if there were any recorded errors at the time that the video mode switched.  Let us know the findings and that might help in further diagnosing the issue.



yeah I checked, there didn't appear to really be anything abnormal. I'm hoping this is a one time event and it won't happen again XD and I always am monitoring my hardware, my card usually idles at 38-42c so 60c it was obviously pissed at something.


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## Runefox (Dec 20, 2009)

Actually, from the sound of it, it sounds a lot like the GPU fan could be seized, and the temperature getting up there is a prime symptom, as is the GPU attempting to reset itself (theme reset; ATI's does this when VPU Recover is tripped, which does happen while the card is overheating (among other weirdness)).


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## Hyena (Dec 20, 2009)

Sparticle said:


> Is the card connected to the Mobo properly? The sound might be the vibration of the card against the mobo. The reseting of the theme could be the card disconnecting momentarily.



Ohh yeah, it's connected in there nice and snug.


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## Hyena (Dec 20, 2009)

Runefox said:


> Actually, from the sound of it, it sounds a lot like the GPU fan could be seized, and the temperature getting up there is a prime symptom, as is the GPU attempting to reset itself (theme reset; ATI's does this when VPU Recover is tripped, which does happen while the card is overheating (among other weirdness)).



Hmm, I'll have to check into that. it's been a while since I dusted my system anyway. I doubt my nvidia card is fancy enough to have that whole rebooting thing, nvidia seems to just have figured out about temp controlled fans, so XD. I also don't think it was running hot at all, I think it was running normal and then it suddenly freaked out.


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## Runefox (Dec 20, 2009)

Hyena said:


> Hmm, I'll have to check into that. it's been a while since I dusted my system anyway. I doubt my nvidia card is fancy enough to have that whole rebooting thing, nvidia seems to just have figured out about temp controlled fans, so XD. I also don't think it was running hot at all, I think it was running normal and then it suddenly freaked out.



Well, it also suddenly started "groaning" right? The fan could've started seizing and the thing could've suddenly started getting hotter. You did say that the temperatures were about 20*C higher than usual when you went to look, so it seems to be a pretty big coincidence if it wasn't heat/fan-related.


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## Rushnerd (Dec 20, 2009)

Sounds like dust buildup OR possibly PSU issues to me. Also that fan is connected with a plug witch you can actually jar loose since it's on the out side. Your card should (depending on ambient temp) be running around 42C idle. 

Also you might wanna try downloading the EVGA precision tool
http://www.evga.com/PRecision/
It's the standard for overclocking and plus you can adjust your fan speed. Maybe let it run at a few different higher speeds and see what happens. 
Personally I leave my GTX280@%80 speed at all times.

Worst comes to worst, BFG Tech has a lifetime warranty!


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## Hyena (Dec 20, 2009)

Runefox said:


> Well, it also suddenly started "groaning" right? The fan could've started seizing and the thing could've suddenly started getting hotter. You did say that the temperatures were about 20*C higher than usual when you went to look, so it seems to be a pretty big coincidence if it wasn't heat/fan-related.




Yeah, but it wasn't a groaning like a "angry fan noise" it was more like angry capacitors or something like that. I pulled it out today and took my air compressor to it and there was *barely* any dust in there at all (card is 4 months old) 

I'm just wondering if it's because my computer had been on for a long while? (uptime of a day and a half) I usually shut it down at night (since windows 7 just "naps" and won't standby)


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## Hyena (Dec 20, 2009)

Rushnerd said:


> Sounds like dust buildup OR possibly PSU issues to me. Also that fan is connected with a plug witch you can actually jar loose since it's on the out side. Your card should (depending on ambient temp) be running around 42C idle.
> 
> Also you might wanna try downloading the EVGA precision tool
> http://www.evga.com/PRecision/
> ...



Yeah, I have EVGA already on the PC but I haven't used it ever at all. I have a silent PC and need it silent for art, when I'm gaming I don't mind of the thermal fan boosts itself and makes noise. but I coulden't stand it being at 50% all the time. right now fan speed is at 30% doing 38c

-is jealous of your GTX 280- XD yeah my GTS 250 I just keep the fans at their default thermal settings, I almost wonder if it's because I'm running a single Nvidia on a crossfire motherboard with Windows 7 ?


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## Rushnerd (Dec 20, 2009)

Hyena said:


> -is jealous of your GTX 280- XD yeah my GTS 250 I just keep the fans at their default thermal settings, I almost wonder if it's because I'm running a single Nvidia on a crossfire motherboard with Windows 7 ?


:3 http://www.overclock.net/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/67143
huh...a GTS250 on an AMD crossfire board with Win7...well that certainly does sound a bit iffy. I have no experience with ATI drivers, but that mobo there might be some issues maybe.

Don't be too jealous of my BFG 280, I bought it the WEEK they released it...ya $650 :|. Can't believe it's a year and a half old now.
Also it's been overclocked and @%80 speed that ENTIRE 1.5 years too, so I wouldn't worry about leaving your card on at all.


As long as your nVidia drivers are up to date (maybe go to GURU3D.com for latest forceware) and your motherboard bios and drivers are as recent as your mobo manufacturer has, you should be good. Hope your mobo is physically fine.


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## Runefox (Dec 20, 2009)

OK, I just need to know: What exactly does an "angry capacitor" sound like if not "BANG"?


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## Rushnerd (Dec 20, 2009)

Runefox said:


> OK, I just need to know: What exactly does an "angry capacitor" sound like if not "BANG"?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wdrQDK388E

If you really do hear buzzing, OR the next time you do, try to isolate the sound. It's either the mobo or the PSU.

I know your on a Gigabyte and they make good stuff. Maybe you have a generic PSU??


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## Hyena (Dec 21, 2009)

Runefox said:


> OK, I just need to know: What exactly does an "angry capacitor" sound like if not "BANG"?



XD I have no idea, but I once heard the sound when someone on youtube forgot to plug in their PCI E connector into a nvidia 9500GT or something like that and the thing was making this horrible squealing sound, it was kind of like that, but about 2 full octaves lower, not nearly as loud and varying in tone. I've never in my life heard a computer make a noise like that XD 

I guess I'm just going to have to keep an eye on it or something. I dusted it today and there was pretty much no dust in it. thanks for your help.


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## Hyena (Dec 21, 2009)

Rushnerd said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wdrQDK388E
> 
> If you really do hear buzzing, OR the next time you do, try to isolate the sound. It's either the mobo or the PSU.
> 
> I know your on a Gigabyte and they make good stuff. Maybe you have a generic PSU??



My PSU is pretty decent. it's a BFG Tech GS550 (550W) PSU and my card is also a BFG. I contacted BFG and they said my PSU was fully capable of running up to a GTX 280 or SLI Nvidia 9600 / Crossfire ATI 4770 So I don't think it's running out of power or anything like that. I haven't heard the noise again, I think it was just because the system had been running for something like 36 hours or something like that.


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## Runefox (Dec 21, 2009)

Strange. You might want to check the *power supply fan* to be sure it's spinning. That's how my last power supply went, and took my motherboard down with it. If the PSU's overheating (or just old), it might not be supplying the same amount of power as it used to be. Then again, the 550W BFG is 550W continuous, so you do have a lot of wiggle room as far as old age goes. So again, check the fan, and check the PCI-E connector (and since it's an SLI PSU, try swapping the PCI-E connector for another), if that card actually requires one.


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## Hyena (Dec 21, 2009)

Runefox said:


> Strange. You might want to check the *power supply fan* to be sure it's spinning. That's how my last power supply went, and took my motherboard down with it. If the PSU's overheating (or just old), it might not be supplying the same amount of power as it used to be. Then again, the 550W BFG is 550W continuous, so you do have a lot of wiggle room as far as old age goes. So again, check the fan, and check the PCI-E connector (and since it's an SLI PSU, try swapping the PCI-E connector for another), if that card actually requires one.



Yeah I checked the PSU and everything is all running fine. I switched the PCI E connector just in case. What I'm guessing happened was something angered the Nvidia driver and caused it to fail, there for pissing off the GPU or something like that. It hasn't happened again and I ran Furmark stability for a good long while and it was fine. I guess I'll just keep an eye on it. thanks for your help :3


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## Rushnerd (Dec 22, 2009)

Hyena said:


> I ran Furmark...


I see what you did there :3


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