Capacitor whine while running two video cards

Tushon

I got an awesome deal (thanks for the tip, k) on a GTS450 and bought it simply to fold. My server's (which is really a folding box) mobo only had one PCIE slot, so I can't add it on there (already have a 9800GX2 in place), so I threw it in my gaming machine.

As soon as I got drivers all installed and rebooted. I did the appropriate copying of folders and setting up of shortcuts, but got cap whine as soon as I fired up the second card. It immediately jumped to 99% usage (good), but even after letting it run for several minutes, didn't turn over a frame.

I'm going to attempt to find and hot glue the cap (if anyone has a better idea, please tell), but I was also concerned about the lack of visible production. The cap whine only occurs when both cards are in use; if either are off, no whine. I let the 450 chug away for five minutes or so, with my 465 turned off, and didn't see it turn over a frame. Too short of a test (that seems unlikely) or bad card or bad installation?

Ryder

The cap will be in the PSU most likely.

Tushon

Solved by same method or upgrading PSU?

Ryder

Most PSU's are warranty void if you open, but yea you can fix it the same way.
Problem is finding while system is running, you can get zapped inside a PSU, you have 120 on primary side.

Are you "close" to PSU limit with both cards? I know when I used to bench, several PSU's would whine/make noise because I was pushing. 2 cards shouldn't be pushing, but that will actually depend on the PSU itself.

Tushon

Hmm. I imagine I may be pushing the PSU too hard then, because it is only a 650W. I'll have to check and see what I have in my server box and maybe trade them out. I think it was a 750 or 800. Thanks for the tip.

Total power draw: Phenom IIx4 965 folding 24/7, EVGA GTX 465 folding ~24/7, EVGA GTS 450 foldiing 24/7, 3 SATA HDDs, 2 optical drives (only one is generally used), several fans. The extreme PSU calc puts my system at about 776 watts.

primesuspect

776 > 650

I got an A in math.

Tushon

I got an A in calculus and I'm sure there is a theorem that says otherwise.

I surely did notice that number difference, but am at work and have no way to fix that until later. That is also only an approximation from some website.

Thrax

It's also a notably authoritative approximation.

Tushon

Well then I suppose I might be getting a new PSU if my server doesn't cut the mustard. Though I might be breaking that system with not enough power. *scurries away to check the authoritative approximation*

Edit: other system should only run about 500W, so here's to hoping

mirage

I use a simple kill-a-watt device for checking the real power draw on the wall outlet. If you don't have one yet, it is a very cheap device.

Tushon

So my other PSU is only 550W. Leaving that one as is and ordered this Rosewill 1000W (for possible expansion) for $100 lololol. Thanks for the holiday blowout newegg!

Ty for the tip mirage, I'll have to pick one up.

Thrax

Rosewill is Newegg's store brand. Depending on the OEM, it could be good, it could be crap. YMMV. GL.

mirage

Tushon wrote:

So my other PSU is only 550W. Leaving that one as is and ordered this Rosewill 1000W (for possible expansion) for $100 lololol. Thanks for the holiday blowout newegg!

Ty for the tip mirage, I'll have to pick one up.

I wouldn't buy that Rosewill. Instead you can consider this Enermax for a little more. Here is a review

RootWyrm

That particular Rosewill is known to be absolute garbage, not worth $10. They lied through their teeth - it's not even close to 1KW, it's barely a 750W. That particular model is made by Sirfa, and is their garbage mag-amp design.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?p=59265

I can't agree with that Enermax. It's NOT a bad unit by any stretch of the imagination; jonnyGuru gave it a 9. It's sturdy, it delivers what it advertises, but it's freaking HUGE. It doesn't fit LOTS of cases. GPUs have pretty much peaked on power too; numbers will stay flat and trend downward. (Seen the TDP on the 6800's? It's down from the 5800's for a reason.)

Here's the ones I'd recommend:
Corsair 850TX (non-modular!) - $126
XFX 850W Modular - $132
Seasonic SS-850HT (non-modular, OEM server beast.) - $130ish shipped
The only concern I would have here is the addition of a third GPU. Presuming you upgrade existing GPUs and do not add additional ones, in two to three generations you'll likely see room for 3 top-tier GPUs folding, or 4 second-tier as power efficiency increases and TDP continues to trend down.

Just my $0.02.

Tushon

Thanks for all of the input, especially rootwyrm. I feel bad for you having typed all that up now, though as my cash flow increases in the near future I may use your advice when adding additional cards. I cancelled the order then decided to do real testing today, because yesterday was not testing, just observation that there was a noise. Today, I found out that I am probably functionally retarded because it was just my UPS being overloaded that caused the noise, so it probably isn't even what cap whine sounds like.

Now that my stupid streak is over for the moment, I'm letting the computer run with both GPUs folding for the next 20 minutes or so, given that my 465 has about 9 mins TPF on the current project, so my 5 minute quick testing was a stupid idea.

Update: Yeah I just had an absolutely stupid moment. It is working fine. *slams face into table*