Weird GPU electrical (?) issue

[Onasi]

So, just had a rather weird thing happen with main rig, the one in the specs. When watching a YT video (so, a light load) the display went out for a couple of seconds, then went in again. GPU started to emit fairly high-pitched buzzing, not unlike coil whine whistling. I then quit the video and, being a bit unsettled since it happened so suddenly, ran a light-ish load test via GPU-Z PCIe render test. After like 30 seconds of the test with the buzzing somewhat steady the whole PC shut down and the PSU emitted a light buzz (OCP triggering?). I shut down the PSU, then the power strip everything is connected to, then pulled out the strip out of the socket. After, I reconnected everything in the reverse order. Now things are… fine? PC starts up and boots alright, no new noises from the GPU (other than light coil hissing/crackling, but that was present before too) and the light load is running just fine, no shutdowns.
So my question is - what the fuck was that, should I test something else? Should I be worried at all? Most importantly - does this mean the GPU is showing signs of croaking and I should shop around for a new one?

 

[TumbleGeorge]

It is likely that there has been a change in the mains voltage of your electricity supplier which the power supply has not been able to fully correct. However, a faulty current protection tripped, which subsequently recovered.

 

[Onasi]

@TumbleGeorge
Possible, didn’t notice any brown out with regards to the lights, though I do run very low power LEDs that might not have been affected. Would have been a hell of a voltage change to trip up a 850 watt RMx in near idle though.

 

[eidairaman1]

Could have been a phasing problem even, being so fast you couldn't detect it but the psu did. Possible ripple

 

[Onasi]

Thinking about it, the PC also booted up for a longer time than usual before all that happened. Might have been the PSU trying to sort the voltage out. Anyway, so far so good and the total reset of everything seemingly worked out. Hm. GPU still does have more coil whine than usual, although it tends to do that when it gets colder in the room in Fall/Winter, for some reason.

 

[eidairaman1]

Thinking about it, the PC also booted up for a longer time than usual before all that happened. Might have been the PSU trying to sort the voltage out. Anyway, so far so good and the total reset of everything seemingly worked out. Hm. GPU still does have more coil whine than usual, although it tends to do that when it gets colder in the room in Fall/Winter, for some reason.

Implement the mitigations for it on this page

 

[Onasi]

@eidairaman1
I… assume there was supposed to be a link there?

 

[eidairaman1]

@eidairaman1
I… assume there was supposed to be a link there?

Lexluthermeister has a pinned topic in tpu for it

 

[Onasi]

@eidairaman1
Oh, you meant the coil whine one. Yeah, I am aware of it and know of the glue/epoxy trick. My case with this GPU is not as severe as to be resorting to it yet. Less of a whine and more of a very quiet buzz that really is only noticeable when you put your ear to the case. Have used said trick succesfully on several others though before.

 

[eidairaman1]

@eidairaman1
Oh, you meant the coil whine one. Yeah, I am aware of it and know of the glue/epoxy trick. My case with this GPU is not as severe as to be resorting to it yet. Less of a whine and more of a very quiet buzz that really is only noticeable when you put your ear to the case. Have used said trick succesfully on several others though before.

Unfortunately buzzes/hums/chirping/squeaking can come from the psu, fans, water pump, even motherboard itself. Coil Resonance is just a part of our world, isn't physics amazing?

Heck even transformers buzz (2 coils air gapped for up or downconverting voltage/current)

I tend to mitigate troubles when stuff is out of normal warranty coverage.

 

[Onasi]

@eidairaman1
Yuuuup, can also be a particular combination of PSU and GPU or PSU and MoBo, despite those components performing absolutely normally in isolation. Or even just the power outlet the PC is plugged in can be a culprit. Things just happen sometimes.

 

[Onasi]

Necroing this just in case.

Turns out it really was an electrical problem. One of the sockets in my apartment was acting up. By that I mean it literally melted itself. The wiring going to it inside the wall just gave up the ghost and, despite the fact that it was in another room entirely, turned out previously an electrician did a poor job of hooking up all the internal wiring to different circuit breakers and EVERYTHING was on a single one. That caused the voltage instability for the PC when the socket died which caused the issue. Now all is fine, called an electrician, replaced the socket, replaced the wiring leading to said socket and even replaced all the breakers (they were getting old) while also rewiring everything to be more balanced.

So, as always, the lesson is as old as time - check your electrical stuff, people, often might be trouble with that rather than any of the PC components.

 

[eidairaman1]

Necroing this just in case.

Turns out it really was an electrical problem. One of the sockets in my apartment was acting up. By that I mean it literally melted itself. The wiring going to it inside the wall just gave up the ghost and, despite the fact that it was in another room entirely, turned out previously an electrician did a poor job of hooking up all the internal wiring to different circuit breakers and EVERYTHING was on a single one. That caused the voltage instability for the PC when the socket died which caused the issue. Now all is fine, called an electrician, replaced the socket, replaced the wiring leading to said socket and even replaced all the breakers (they were getting old) while also rewiring everything to be more balanced.

So, as always, the lesson is as old as time - check your electrical stuff, people, often might be trouble with that rather than any of the PC components.

In past ive made mention of this to others around the board, heck electricity could even be out of phase or part of a phase be missing.

 

[Shrek]

Turns out it really was an electrical problem. One of the sockets in my apartment was acting up. By that I mean it literally melted itself. The wiring going to it inside the wall just gave up the ghost and, despite the fact that it was in another room entirely, turned out previously an electrician did a poor job of hooking up all the internal wiring to different circuit breakers and EVERYTHING was on a single one. That caused the voltage instability for the PC when the socket died which caused the issue. Now all is fine, called an electrician, replaced the socket, replaced the wiring leading to said socket and even replaced all the breakers (they were getting old) while also rewiring everything to be more balanced.

Consider yourself lucky, my house had Federal Pacific breakers

Federal Pacific Breakers: An in-Depth Guide to Understanding and Maintaining Your Electrical Panel | B&K Electric | Warwick, RI

"Federal Pacific Breakers, also known as FPE breakers, were once widely used in residential and commercial buildings between the 1950s and 1980s. These circuit breakers were manufactured by the Federal Pacific Electric Company and were popular due to their low cost and easy installation process. They were found in millions of homes across the United States, and even the U.S. Navy once approved them for use in their buildings and ships.

However, over the years, it was discovered that these breakers had several flaws, making them potentially dangerous and hazardous."