All 7900 owners please check something..!

[itznfb]

i have an XFX 7900GT Extreme. i was running stock for a while and had no issues. i did the 1.5v volt mod and crancked OCed to 575/800. and immediatly heard this "whining" noise. it was LOUD. i was shocked at how loud it was. i threw a couple heatsinks on the ICs on the back of the card, and the noise went away. and its 100% stable with no artifacting at the speeds in my sig.

[andre X_X]

1.5v with only 575 on Core?? that seems low.... you should be able to hit 630+

[itznfb]

yea i did. that was my initial OC. as soon as i applied those settings i heard the noise.

i maxed out at 675/830 @ 1.5v

[Zeus]

Another one bites the dust.
My second XFX 7900GT520/1500 is acting up on me.

3D mark 2001's Point sprites runs for a splitsecond, shows some heavy dots and freezes.
Leaving things like they are results in a bsod "nv4_displ...blabla", all at stock speed.

What's up with those cards, i just refuse to believe it's the voltmod causing this, it's just too much stress on the memory it seems.

What to do now?
Getting a third, fourth, fifth, god knows how muches card?

I don't want to waste another €200,- to go GTX, speaking of which, do these cards have the same sort of trouble??

[itznfb]

yea, it makes me nervous seeing this many people having trouble. we see more and more cards start dying every day. if mine starts acting up i don't think i'd replace it with another 7900GT.

so where do you go from there? what is a good replacement for the 7900GT?

[NightCrawler™]

I don't want to waste another €200,- to go GTX, speaking of which, do these cards have the same sort of trouble??

As much as I like the 7900 GTX (had two of them) I'd skip it and go for an ATi model...
The only manufacturer I know of who really males an effort to solve this is EVGA.. buy an XFX and you're screwed more or less simply because they don't have the means to get you a quick replacement if it breaks down again.

[eBoy0]

As much as I like the 7900 GTX (had two of them) I'd skip it and go for an ATi model...
The only manufacturer I know of who really males an effort to solve this is EVGA.. buy an XFX and you're screwed more or less simply because they don't have the means to get you a quick replacement if it breaks down again.

EVGA 4 life!

[SMa]

There should be a new revision of the 7900GT by now
Does anyone know how well it oc's? Better then te previous revision?

[rob[GL]]

The point is... And end-user should not have to modify (add their own heatsinks at their own cost) in order to use a product within specifications... The Manufacturer's should step up and address this problem, and replace customers OBVIOUSLY defective hardware. I have heard the noise everyone is speaking of... During 3DMark runs, it almost sounds like running water for christmas sake... Fluctuating voltage THAT loud is scary... That's why I returned TWO 7900GT KO SUPERCLOCKS and went right back to ATI...

X1900 FOR THE WIN!

[K.I.T.T.]

As long as you put a ramsink on those chips, you'll be alright?

I sold my X800GTO2, and was going to get a 7900GT. I can't afford a X1900XT. Its a choice between X1800XT and 7900GT.....

[itznfb]

As long as you put a ramsink on those chips, you'll be alright?

i think there are a couple issues with these cards. i'd say from what i've seen so far, about 25-30% of the issues have been solved with heatsinks. maybe less.

[***Deimos***]

the noise is "normal". Its the tiny pF filtering capacitors around the voltage regulator. If it really bothers you RMA it, but most likely you will get same issue again since its the same design. Some boards dont have the issue because lower power models with less variation in power drawn, or because the capacitors are ideally chosen.

[STEvil]

the noise is "normal". Its the tiny pF filtering capacitors around the voltage regulator. If it really bothers you RMA it, but most likely you will get same issue again since its the same design. Some boards dont have the issue because lower power models with less variation in power drawn, or because the capacitors are ideally chosen.

The noise may not be normal and you do not even need the noise for damage to be caused to the cards. Just like some weeks of ram chips work better than others or survive better (5b-g anyone?) it could be due to the vreg, cheap caps, inefficient or underperforming parts.

Its usually chokes that cause audible noise that is "normal".

Numerous threads have been started on this issue including ones about overly hot capacitors and nothing happening form any of the vendors...

[K.I.T.T.]

Thats it...I think i'm going to order a X1800XT now

[The_NamelessOne]

There should be a new revision of the 7900GT by now
Does anyone know how well it oc's? Better then te previous revision?

how can those new revisions be identified ? a part number on pcb ? bios version ? my 7900gt CO have just arrived from rma...i think it may be a new revision, it clocks very well...600/1700 stable....

[igor0203]

Here is my HS...

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/8026/dsc001286nr.jpg

[itznfb]

Here is my HS...

wtf? talk about overkill

i have the small blue zalman heatsinks on mine.

[igor0203]

He he... Bigger is better... :P

[NightCrawler™]

how can those new revisions be identified ?

I have no idea... yet... the only one who can say for sure is the one who got an EVGA back and wrote down some numbers...

[The_NamelessOne]

i managed to solve the problem with that strange noise i put some "super glue " into those three inductors near the pci>e connector, it didn't took more than five minutes ,simply put the card vertically and some drops of glue throught the holes into inductors "case"... the noise has disappeared

[filmbot]

Does anybody know if this happens on the 7800 series?
I have a 7800GT that when I start 3D Mark, it starts to whine, but I figured it was just my fan speeding up.

[The_NamelessOne]

i think it can happen also on a 7800gt, it has got some big incuctors on the pcb, like the 7900s

[jrw]

The noise on 7800 can be killed by filling the "coil" "house" with a bit of hot glue.

How to do that?

(Had a very early Sapphire X800GT with the same squiling noise).

[perry_78]

I have a squeling DFI board. Only happened with my venice + opteron chips though, more than 1.72vcore and it would get awfully unhappy.

[filmbot]

So what should I do if this is the case, and its not the fan?