Such a weird issue, I'll try to explain.
 
When the fans start from a 0% fan speed state, and only when it starts between 35-39% I hear this clunk/grinding noise for a second as the fans start. It's similar in sound to an old HDD reading. Once the fans are on, there's no issue. When turning the fans off, there's no issue. This is only when it initially starts at that low RPM, if I go from 0% to 50%, there's no sound.
 
It only bugs me, because if the card is idling, and the temps are sitting in the 50-60c range, the fan will turn on for a split second to cool the card a tad, and the noise will happen 1-2 times a minute.
 
It's happened for about a month now, but last week I dusted out my PC with compressed air and the issue is a lot more frequent. I could try taking the air to it again, but I'm worried to now.
 
I don't want to RMA the card, it works fine, the temps are fine, it's just a noise. I have advanced RMA, and I know EVGA is an excellent company, but I don't want to take the chance on getting some refurb that's broken over a silly fan.
 
Is it the fan bearing? Is there anything I can do?

It sounds like a bad fan bearing. If the card is less than 30 days old you will get a new one in return and not a refurb.

It's about 7 months old now, so I'd get a refurb I think. How long will the fan last if the bearing is bad?

rjohnson11
If a bearing is going bad please start an RMA for the product.

So it sounds like a defective bearing?

Cool GTX
Setup a custom fan profile to keep the fan running and monitor if the noise gets worse.
 
This will at least temporarily address the start /stop of fan under low demand.
 
You could ask if EVGA would be willing to send a new cooler / fan -- if your up to the task of changing it?

Hmm, I've asked if they could send me a reference fan before (Was interested in attaching a hybrid cooler) and they said no. I doubt they would send me a fan for this reason.
 
I have no issue messing with the card, I just don't want to void the warranty.

As long as you don't physically damage the card in the process of taking things apart you will not void the warranty.  If there was a bearing problem you would normally hear it while moving as well, like a light friction noise as well.  I would also power down the system and move the fans by hand and see if you feel a catch anywhere and inspect closely to see if there is an obstruction of some sort, or if the fan moves like it is out of balance/crooked.

Satzlefraz

Cool GTX
Setup a custom fan profile to keep the fan running and monitor if the noise gets worse.
 
This will at least temporarily address the start /stop of fan under low demand.
 
You could ask if EVGA would be willing to send a new cooler / fan -- if your up to the task of changing it?

Hmm, I've asked if they could send me a reference fan before (Was interested in attaching a hybrid cooler) and they said no. I doubt they would send me a fan for this reason.
 
I have no issue messing with the card, I just don't want to void the warranty.

Changing out the fans/shroud on an ACX card sounds a lot less involved than converting an ACX to a reference cooler.  I'm not sure if they'd do it, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

It is not the bearing.
 
This is the well known ACX Rattling.
 
My card does it as well, exactly at 34% fan speed even though it is a few weeks old.
 
If I put pressure on the radiator with my thumb by compressing it with the SLI slot rubber cover, it immediately stops.
 
Something is loose, but I just do not have time to see what.
 
I am just disappointed that I've thrown 650€ in this and honestly thought that this could not happen at this price tag.

MonstyB
It is not the bearing.
 
This is the well known ACX Rattling.
 
My card does it as well, exactly at 34% fan speed even though it is a few weeks old.
 
If I put pressure on the radiator with my thumb by compressing it with the SLI slot rubber cover, it immediately stops.
 
Something is loose, but I just do not have time to see what.
 
I am just disappointed that I've thrown 650€ in this and honestly thought that this could not happen at this price tag.

Nice analysis, thank you
 
I bought 2 cards, one for myself and one for my brother, my brother's had a loose cooler fin, I managed to fix it myself by luck, otherwise the solution was to cut it out, so a loose cooler fin might explain the issue well (3 months ago)
 
Here is why I signed up and found this issue: So I was playing Dota2, started hearing a clunking sound, thought one of the case fans went bad, my case fans are loud, yet this clunking, like an old hdd noise, was much much louder, I got a headache and got worried that I need to replace a case fan. - when I inspected the issue, I realized it's more severe than I thought, it was the GPU, the only fans that are hard to replace (right fan, touching the fan very lightly in the middle seems to stop the issue, so it's a very delicate issue)
 
I verified it with Furmark, whenever the GPU gets 75C+ now, the sound appears, it wasn't there before tho
 
My card was always <80C, when I checked hwmonitor when this happened, it was 81C, so that +1C might have triggered the change
 
Anyway, here are my theories
 
1) Newly loose fin that is a bit moody (low prob)
2) A newly developed but potentially chronic sound issue at a specific rpm range (high prob)
 
I'm afraid the rpm range is anything above the 75C point
 
I would appreciate any advice, replied to this thread instead of creating a new one, as "ACX Rattling" is a perfect explanation
 
Edit: They are 980 Ti FTW's by the way