8600gts clicking sound...not fan

[jfenwick]

So my brother's video card is making a clicking sound that increases in frequency the more demanding the needs on it...when minimal use, no clicking (aka, right now on net). Playing Warcraft it starts clicking and when I do an ATI stress test it clicks like crazy, almost a continuous sound at that point.

Here is where it gets odd...it's not the fan. I turn it off or just hold it so that its not spinning and the clicking is unchanged. BTW, I know its the card, swap cards and there is no clicking.

Any ideas what else it could be? I've pulled it apart, cleaned it out, changed the thermal paste...nothing. BTW, there was a ton of hair in it, he and his GF now have 3 cats and he has no filters on his fans.

He bought it off craigslist 6 months or so back so no receipt for warranty at EVGA. The performance seems to be ok, its the OC version and in ATI seems to run fine without further OCing, no artifacts after 10min. But the clicking is noisy and annoying.

 

[Lexluethar]

Have you tried using another card? Honestly if it still click w/o the fan running I would bet the clicking is coming from something else. There are no other moving parts on a video card that could possibly be making a clicking sound - or one loud enough to hear. Are you sure it isn't something else? Try another video card just to make sure.

If it truely is the card, you've already done everything you can do - clean it out, ensure nothing is blocking the fan, etc. Deal with the sound until the card dies, then buy a new one. That would be my only suggestion.

 

[jfenwick]

Have you tried using another card? Honestly if it still click w/o the fan running I would bet the clicking is coming from something else. There are no other moving parts on a video card that could possibly be making a clicking sound - or one loud enough to hear. Are you sure it isn't something else? Try another video card just to make sure.

If it truely is the card, you've already done everything you can do - clean it out, ensure nothing is blocking the fan, etc. Deal with the sound until the card dies, then buy a new one. That would be my only suggestion.

I know...that's what's got me sitting here in utter confusion....we tried it in his system where the clicking was first heard, we stopped the fan and still it clicked. We pulled it and put in a 7300gt, no clicking. I took the card and put it in my comp....it clicks, pulled it, no clicking. Put it in another build I'm doing for someone else: clicking, pulled it and it stopped. In all cases I've stopped the fan, pulled the power...and still it clicks.

This post is my desperate attempt at what else could it be.

 

[Lexluethar]

Nothing really to do. Can't return it, it 'works' fine, just annoying. Tell your friend to either get over the sound, buy ear plugs, or purchase a new video card

Personally I would just continue using the card until it dies, then purchase a new one.

 

[Highlandcomp]

I know from previous experience that a corrupted memory( in your case the video memory may be) could give click noise, but not from card, it somehow goes to the speakers. Its kinda surprising the card making noise.

Sam

 

[jfenwick]

I know from previous experience that a corrupted memory( in your case the video memory may be) could give click noise, but not from card, it somehow goes to the speakers. Its kinda surprising the card making noise.

Sam

Yup...and its definitly coming from the card...as for ignoring it, its really loud. To sit here while I'm stressing it you'd never believe it wasn't a fan problem, it sounds exactly like fan blades nicking a wire with every cycle.

 

[Chrysamere]

ok i have the same sound on my card but it is my fan as my fan is screwed in 3 ways. 1 screw cannot be screwed anymore. but the card works perfect still. this might be your problem.. did any capacitors lift, get fatter, leak? there the lil cylindar tube things. did the cap pop up on any of them? capicitors cuase the sound if its not the fan

 

[jfenwick]

ok i have the same sound on my card but it is my fan as my fan is screwed in 3 ways. 1 screw cannot be screwed anymore. but the card works perfect still. this might be your problem.. did any capacitors lift, get fatter, leak? there the lil cylindar tube things. did the cap pop up on any of them? capicitors cuase the sound if its not the fan

The card looks pristine after my cleaning...no visual problems anywhere...capacitors look like new.

 

[jfenwick]

I've ruled out the fan entirely now, had an accelero S1 rev2 kicking around that I installed and still the clicking persists without change.

 

[jfenwick]

Ok....the ONLY visual defect...if it even is a defect, that I can find on the card is that the three capacitors aren't soldered in place on the underside of the card. The others are and on another 8600gts I have here they are all soldered as well....thinking I'll either solder them or just yank em and replace them? Anyone ever replaced a capacitor on a gpu before? Is it just a matter of yank and replace if there is no solder?

Any chance this could be the odd sound?

I'm grasping at straws here....I called EVGA and registered the card, they said don't worry about the receipt for registration....but that I would need the receipt if anything ever went wrong with the card. lol, then why register the card