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XPS2 video card noise

post #1 of 87
4/1/05 at 3:31pm
Thread Starter 
My XPS2 makes a low-frequency buzzing noise during certain video operations. Of course, Dell tech support was clueless, so I've been trying to isolate the noise. Speakers are off, fans are off, LCD is off (using external monitor), and I *still* hear the buzz coming from the area just to the right of the power button.

At this point, I'm 90% sure it's coming from the video card itself. Is anybody else having this problem? It is most evident in the graphics test in PCTest04, but I also get it sometimes in normal game play.
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post #2 of 87
4/1/05 at 3:33pm
sounds like mayba the fan's bearing being just a little bit off kilter?
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post #3 of 87
4/1/05 at 3:33pm
Thread Starter 
Like I said, I turned off the fans to isolate the noise.
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post #4 of 87
4/1/05 at 3:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dellbert
Like I said, I turned off the fans to isolate the noise.
dellbert, this is the exact sound that I was complaining about a couple of weeks ago, remember? The high pitch buzzing sound? Was it you or someone else who told me it could be the inverter???
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post #5 of 87
4/1/05 at 3:50pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah, first I thought it was the fans, so I killed the fans, and it's still there.

Then, I thought it might be the LCD inverter, so I hooked up an external monitor and killed the LCD. Still there.

That's why at this point, I think it's coming from the video card itself.
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post #6 of 87
4/1/05 at 5:23pm
heh, sounds like the problem i had with my 9300, except mine was coming from the CPU area. Tried everything, still happened (it was a noticeable sound by all means). Ended up shipping it back to dell and was told a i had a faulty main board :/
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post #7 of 87
4/1/05 at 5:47pm
dellbert, I think I know what you are talking about. I had loaded up Painkiller and started by setting all the options when I heard a buzzing noise. When at the main menu it was silent. Entered the audio options menu and it started. Same again with controls and video menus. The noise only occurred in the seperate configuration menus. Weird huh?
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post #8 of 87
4/1/05 at 6:48pm
Look at this picture: http://www.myfootballonline.com/9300/DSC00029.JPG

Right under the heat pipe to the CPU, two small coils are seen. These are used to suppress electrical noise on the power supply to the CPU, which means that the current flowing trough the CPU also flows trough these coils. Now, the current drawn by the CPU (or the GPU) depends on what it is doing, which means that the magnetic field in the coils will change, causing the coil form / metal core to move slightly... it basically functions as a very small speaker. Because the power requirements of a CPU or GPU changes very fast, you will be able to hear a buzzing sound from the coils. You can't see the coils under the graphics card, but I'm sure they are there...

I'm 99.9% sure that's what causes the noise...

Edit: I might add, that this is not an indication of a defective component... at least not if the sound is relatively low-volume.
Yes, it is annoying, but it is a problem found in many notebooks... it's the price you have to pay, if you want power hungry components in a small form factor.
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post #9 of 87
4/1/05 at 7:30pm
Thread Starter 
I like that theory, ThDa. When I get home, I'll try to run the same video tests on battery power with PowerMizer enabled to see if that changes the frequency of the buzz. It is pretty loud and annoying.
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post #10 of 87
4/1/05 at 7:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dellbert
I like that theory, ThDa. When I get home, I'll try to run the same video tests on battery power with PowerMizer enabled to see if that changes the frequency of the buzz. It is pretty loud and annoying.
Heh, it's totally normal dellbert. Even the GeForce 6800 non-ultra in my desktop does the same thing...it clicks and buzzes in all sorts off ways. My XPS Gen2 does the same thing except the buzzing is a different frequency. It happens when you scroll down images and movies...it's probably linked to hardware image acceleration.
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post #11 of 87
4/1/05 at 7:35pm
Thread Starter 
I don't want to be normal. I have two desktops with different 6800 cards, and neither does this. And my 9300 doesn't do it, either. I prefer the abnormally quiet versions
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post #12 of 87
4/1/05 at 8:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dellbert
My XPS2 makes a low-frequency buzzing noise during certain video operations. Of course, Dell tech support was clueless, so I've been trying to isolate the noise. Speakers are off, fans are off, LCD is off (using external monitor), and I *still* hear the buzz coming from the area just to the right of the power button.

At this point, I'm 90% sure it's coming from the video card itself. Is anybody else having this problem? It is most evident in the graphics test in PCTest04, but I also get it sometimes in normal game play.

Mine does the same when you do anything 3d.
When i select the aquarium screen saver it starts buzzing
when the preview renders in the preview window.
It does sound like a singing coil or capacitor I have herd
in psu's before

i will prob jus wait 6months(if it doesnt die) and get it taken care of then when they have newer revisions of the card(that will prob run cooler with less power)
fabbing gpu's is just like cpu's, they will improve over time
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post #13 of 87
4/1/05 at 9:00pm
No buzzing here..
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post #14 of 87
4/1/05 at 9:43pm
No buzzing here....unless it's like the 'TrueCRAP' screen, and I just don't have the capacity to perceive it!
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post #15 of 87
4/1/05 at 9:47pm
Thread Starter 
Hmm, you think the two might be related? Maybe those sparkles are really a microscopic bee colony, and they buzz angrily when stimulated by certain video patterns....
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post #16 of 87
4/1/05 at 10:44pm
I've not heard a buzz so far... but I'll start listening for one.
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post #17 of 87
4/2/05 at 12:21am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ThDa
Right under the heat pipe to the CPU, two small coils are seen. These are used to suppress electrical noise on the power supply to the CPU, which means that the current flowing trough the CPU also flows trough these coils. Now, the current drawn by the CPU (or the GPU) depends on what it is doing, which means that the magnetic field in the coils will change, causing the coil form / metal core to move slightly... it basically functions as a very small speaker. Because the power requirements of a CPU or GPU changes very fast, you will be able to hear a buzzing sound from the coils. You can't see the coils under the graphics card, but I'm sure they are there...
Yeah, I think you nailed it. I ran tests under battery power, and the problem went away. Seems to be a function of GPU current draw.
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post #18 of 87
4/2/05 at 1:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dellbert
I don't want to be normal. I have two desktops with different 6800 cards, and neither does this. And my 9300 doesn't do it, either. I prefer the abnormally quiet versions
Oh shit, your 9300 doesnt do this? Mine does, so it must be defective?
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post #19 of 87
4/2/05 at 1:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dellbert
Yeah, I think you nailed it. I ran tests under battery power, and the problem went away. Seems to be a function of GPU current draw.
Can you stick something down there to muffle it?
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post #20 of 87
4/2/05 at 1:19am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by prism
Oh shit, your 9300 doesnt do this? Mine does, so it must be defective?
IIRC, you said yours wasn't very audible -- like below fan noise level, right? If it doesn't bug you, ignore it. Mine is clearly audible. I must have loose coils or something, because there has to be a lot of oscillation for the level of noise I'm hearing. Somebody in the next room could hear mine -- that's how loud it is.
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