Jason Efstathiou

Novice II

My NVIDIA GT 440 makes a loud noise when playing games.

February 22, 2012 8:41 AM PST · Flag · 8 answers

Is that normal? I also realized that the noise stutters when there's a framedrop.

Rich Barfoot

Novice III

If the noise changes when the framerate changes, then it's most likely coil whine, not the fan. If you could describe the noise, that would be helpful. If it's a high-pitched whine / buzzing, sort of like an old tube TV, then it's coil whine.

On your graphics card, near the voltage regulator, are small coils of copper wire. Under certain circumstances, they vibrate at just the right frequency that you can hear them. It can be quite loud, depending on the card and how many coils it has and how they're made.

Coil whine is irritating, but normal. It's not a sign of a defect. Although I've never done it, I've heard that putting some tape or hot-glue on the coils will stop them from vibrating as much and will reduce or eliminate the sound. Keep in mind that this might damage your card and could void the warranty. You may also have to take off the large cooling shroud, which isn't always an easy task.

You could contact the manufacturer and ask for a replacement. They may not help you though, since it's not technically a defect.

✔ Highest voted answer

Reply · Send thanks · posted 82 days ago · 1 person agrees

Henry Lee

Enthusiast II

The loud noise is probably the fan on the video card. If the fan is broken, it could be overheating like someone else said.

Reply · Send thanks · posted 86 days ago · 1 person agrees

Alec S.

Enthusiast II

It could be overheating for sure. Is the noise before or after the frame rate drop? If before, possibly overheating. If after, maybe your power supply is inadequate.

Reply · Send thanks · posted 87 days ago · 1 person agrees

Chris Gibbs

Novice II

What kind of a noise? Could just be the fan spinning quickly. I would advise checking there are no loose wires being knocked by the fan, this could make a loud noise.

Reply · Send thanks · posted 87 days ago · 1 person agrees

1 points posted by Weste E.

It could be overheating. Definitely isn't a fragmentation issue.

Asger Dyrst

♫Eight Bit Battle Cat

Novice III

What Rich Barfoot said is correct. You can try and install SpeedFan. It's a program that shows you how hot stuff in your computer is. On my computer it lists my graphic card simply as "GPU". Try and run a game, then minimize it and open Speedfan. Your GPU should be at a max of about 60 degrees (~160 F). If it's too high it might indicate that the fan on the card isn't sufficient.

One solution could be to install a new fan on the card. It could also be that there's not enough airflow in your computer, so the air inside the box gets warmed up because it's not escaping. A professional should be able to help you with this.

Reply · Send thanks · posted 82 days ago

1 points posted by Jason Chan

Although you really should be shooting for <60C, GPUs are able to withstand prolonged periods of 80C or even more depending on the specific GPU.

Jorge Loc

Novice II

u must use a program to monitoring the heat of u vga atitools is a good chance

Reply · Send thanks · posted 84 days ago

Roberto Napolitano

RNStudio Facebook

Practitioner I

if it is doing a clicking or scratching noise then it is broken , if you just hear it speeding up, then thats cause your video card is getting heat from the video game that is running , try lowering your graphics in-game , it might help.

Reply · Send thanks · posted 84 days ago

Zenith Quinn

Novice III

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Your computer disk space is running low perhaps, and this causes it to overheat. Defragging can help you, (there is an option under the start bar if you're on windows)

Reply · Send thanks · posted 87 days ago

3 points posted by Chris Gibbs

This doesn't really make any sense. Disk space will not cause overheating, nor will defragging give you more disk space significantly.

2 points posted by Alec S.

Defragging has nothing to do with your GPU though... that is not the issue.

1 points posted by Rich Barfoot

What?! Where do I start with this?

1. Defragmentation would do nothing increase free disk space, so recommending it to someone who is low on disk space doesn't make any sense at all.
2. Defragmentation is much less effective on a disk that is nearly full. Sometimes, if the disk is full enough, defragmentation will fail because there is insufficient room to move the files around.
3. Disk space and fragmentation of the disk's contents have absolutely nothing to do with the graphics card or heat levels.

I understand that you're trying to be helpful, but please stick to what you are knowledgable about.