On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:36:38 -0000,
sndive@gmail.com wrote:
>> IIRC, condensers translates into capacitors in modern
>> engrish.
>>
>> Capacitors don't whine(hum), unless severely failed which
>> couldn't be the case with the card still working. Instead
>> it would be the inductors whininig if anything, OR the power
>> supply making a noise at this changed power output level.
>>
>> Either way, it is not a matter of condensers that "don't
>> suck". If your card truely has inductors that whine,
>> instead of the PSU making the noise (which is more common),
>> your options are RMA/replacement or coating the inductor
>> coils with something ( remove them and dunk in laquer or
>> leave them on and put a liberal coating of epoxy on them to
>> still the coil resonant vibrations).
>
>there are some black shiny boxes next to the capacitors.
>are those the inductors?
Yes some inductors look like black shiney boxes. I can't be
certain they're inductors based on this description, except
that there is nothing else looking like a black shiney box
that should (could?) be making a whining sound. Beyond a
fan, inductors are the only remaing part on a video card
likely to make a whining sound.
>if so they are already epoxied and
>i see little benefit from another coating.
>i see no parts with the coils exposed on the parts
>of the parts of the card that are not covered with the heatsink.
If it is a surface-mounted part, perhaps they can be removed
then accessed from the bottom. Regardless, if this noise is
objectionable enough you are probably better off to RMA the
card.
>
>> Otherwise, replacing the card to reduce this kind of noise
>> is a crapshoot/lottery, any slightly different card will
>> have a different inductor resonant frequency depending on
>> the load, power, PSU output and ripple. It's not like there
>> is one solid variable to recommend a specific card which is
>> why I mentioned the factors involved. You could randomly
>> choose a different card and resolve this "problem", but many
>> are reference design cards in same GPU family so if that
>
>??? i have no access to the engineering samples.
I didn't say you did. "Reference design" is what most cards
use, did you ever notice that beyond the shape of a heatsink
many cards of the same model/family look practically
identical? There is latitude for different supplier's parts
on this reference design so another otherwise similar card
may not have the problem, or even another card from same
manufacturer might not.
>as i said i'm using a production card. what do the components
>apart from the silicon on the reference cards have to do with the
>production card from gigabyte i'm using???
Compare a picture of your card to same model and family of
nVidia card sold under another brand name. Ignore color and
heatsinks, look at the location and type/size/color/etc of
capacitors and inductors. Do this comparing several 2600XT
and seek a review of 2600XT, try using "reference" as one of
the search terms and it might help.
This might all be beside the point though, that if you need
to RMA your card to the manufacturer instead of the seller,
you have no choice but whatever they offer in return, their
now equivalent product. If you can get a refund or
substitute from the seller, that would be when choosing a
different variation of the card might be prudent.
>
>> doesn't help it would be time to consider either replacing
>> the PSU or coating inductors with epoxy/etc as mentioned.
>>
>I'm not a complete idiot. I have the system on the table
>as opposed to the case and i can pinpoint the source of the
>noise. The PSU is the low noise Zalman and there is not a peep
>coming from it except for the low constant drone fan
>that obviously is not dependent on the current gpu setting.
I never wrote that you were an idiot, but since you had
described the noise as coming from the capacitors which is
extremely unlikely, it seemed appropriate to wonder how
closely you had examined it... because if you had only
installed the video card and then heard the whining from
outside the system, it could have been caused by the PSU
instead.
It is good that it is clear where the noise is coming from.
>As i have already said the noise is coming
>from the graphics card when it switches to 3D mode.
>
>> Key is to first be certain of where the noise comes from.
>> Perhaps you have already, but adding a video card and then
>> noticing inductor whining noise does not automatically
>> implicate the video card as the source of that noise.
>
>it is. i checked before i posted in case this was not
>clear from my original post.
If you cannot get any epoxy/etc into the inductor windings
to quiet them, you could either source equivalent inductors
from an electronics supplier and replace them, or RMA the
card to the seller or manufacturer. RMA seems to be the
best option.
Is there a g8x card that does not suck? should i have bought a 2600 XT? 
Linear Mode
