danyulcohen
13% appears to be the lowest value you should set the fan to in order to avoid constant clicking at minimum fan speed. This is only an issue if you are using the 'stepped' fan curve.
 
If you use the 'smooth' fan curve this is only a problem IF the minimum is 10% AND the current temperature sets the fan value between 10%-12%. Basically if the fan is set anywhere from 10-12 percent you will get constant clicking at the fan starts and stops repeatedly.

Thanks for posting that here. Whatever else is going on, that is very useful information.
 
 

danyulcohen
I think the reason EVGA will accept an RMA request in regards to the fan issue is because an RMA is preferable to you returning the card to the retailer.
 
If they give you an RMA and you ship them the card and they send you a new in box replacement you are no longer able to return your card as the serial number would not match the one on file with the retailer. Assuming you decided to keep the RMA card and not your original card.

I think that that is a very good point. I surmised earlier that it didn't make sense to waste money replacing a card that a company knows is working as intended, but I either didn't know or didn't think about the fact that you point out.
 
At the same time, it does seem rather short-sighted behavior, especially for a company that I have considered to be more concerned about goodwill than a lot of other companies.
 
 

Toanerz
I was able to fix the fan clicking/grinding noise on my 2070 xc gaming card.

Thank you for contributing--every bit of evidence counts.

Just wanted to update and say you'll likely get constant clicking if you set the fan curve below 10% too. I just didn't bother to check.
 
In regards to the individual who managed to fix his XC Gaming. On my card the issue is with both fans and when I manually move the blades with my hand there is no sound at all. I listened very closely and there is absolutely no noise when I spin them manually. Additionally when I spin them at any constant speed I can't hear anything except the usual noise of the air moving. I played with the card for about a week so 15-20 hours of gaming. Noise has not changed in that time at all.
 
This whole thing is kind of ironic for me as this is the 3rd card in a row I've owned where I've had issues with the fans in one way or another. MSI 460, EVGA 970, and now EVGA 2070 XC Ultra.
 
It's too bad we can't make a custom BIOS for these cards. With a custom BIOS I could adjust the fan curve so that the temperature has to drop to a lower value before the fans cut off. Thus avoiding the clicking issue associated with with certain games while keeping 0% fan speed at lower temps by default.
 
I suppose running the fans constantly at 13% probably isn't an issue for them long term even though I leave my PC on 24/7. It's just that with my past experience with dying GPU fans I'm probably a little paranoid.

danyulcohen
On my card the issue is with both fans and when I manually move the blades with my hand there is no sound at all. I listened very closely and there is absolutely no noise when I spin them manually.

Did you just manually turn them, or did you attempt to spin them as fast as you could manage with your finger? My apologies--I assume you did the latter, but otherwise everything else you mention, including the lack of noise after spin-up is consistent with the multiple cases in which the problem was traced to an obstruction. Visually, it's easy to believe that an obstruction would be readily apparent, but in actuality a minute and thorough visual inspection while the card is outside of the case would be necessary.
 
Many of us believe that there could be another cause as well, but to date the only thing proven to cause start-up noise is an obstruction.
 
 

danyulcohen
It's too bad we can't make a custom BIOS for these cards. With a custom BIOS I could adjust the fan curve so that the temperature has to drop to a lower value before the fans cut off.

csaris
EVGA must respond and release a bios that stops the auto stop fan.

Someone else stated that fan behavior is not controlled by the BIOS. But even so, I agree that there is no legitimate reason that a $1,000+ USD piece of hardware--or even a $150 piece of hardware--allows one to only temporarily override the behavior of a crucial function instead of altering it permanently/indefinitely. [Clarified--Flonkam 12-10-18]
　
People may disagree on whether a given product requires this or that feature, but this is something for which I don't believe there is any legitimate excuse for omitting. I was genuinely surprised when I discovered that I wasn't altering the fan curve but merely temporarily overriding it.

I've also uploaded a video in YouTube with the issue just to add more data.
 

 
If someone installs the gpu to a case with good insulation and lot of fans sitting 1m away, will never hear it.
 
I use a HAF XB case with Noctua NH-D15 cpu cooler which sits 50cm away from my ear and can hear even a needle drop.

Flonkam

csaris
I've also uploaded a video in YouTube with the issue just to add more data.

Are you not able to post a link? I unsuccessfully tried posting a link a few days ago, and just assumed my account is too new.

I can't post a link I'm afraid.

Just copy-paste to your browser:

youtu.be/3KZYoznZVjw

Official response from EVGA Support:

Your Answer:

Hi Chris,

Reviewing the video this is normal and it is due to the type of motor used on the fan and replacing the card would not resolve it. As it only happens when the fans first start you can use Precision X1 to set a custom fan curve to keep them running at the temperature that it is idling at or have them come on a little higher than the idle temperature so they will come on during games.

I apologize for any inconvenience.

Regards,
EVGA

Kind of dissapointed that actually EVGA used these kind motors for a 1200€+ graphics card.

Their recommendation is to use X1 or MSI AB to set a custom fan profile so the fans always spin at idle.

I can't understand what kind of quality this product has that the recommendation is to bypass a basic feature of the card in order to work as supposed to.

It's like buying a Rolls Royce and service manager suggesting to raise the car stereo's volume in order to fix a rattle you are hearing!

This whole thing is like Apple telling iPhone owners they're holding their phones wrong...why didn't I pay extra for an Asus Strix model. 

Same here. Will go with the Strixx.
 
@EVGA: shame you dont acknowledge the problem.

Flonkam

csaris
Official response from EVGA Support:

Thanks for posting that reply here. I wasn't sure of the authenticity of the reply that was posted earlier in this thread.
 
I admit that it still seems odd to me that EVGA would readily RMA cards that it knows are not defective, but perhaps danyulcohen's explanation is the right one.
 
At any rate, this seems like a classic case of fixing what ain't broken, unless there were in fact existing issues with their fans that I'm unaware of. They knew that their GPUs are designed to start and stop the fans sporadically and continually, and they deliberately advertise their GPUs, and fans specifically, as being ultra-quiet, so I can't imagine why they felt compelled to change fan designs.
 
To be fair, I don't think most people are bothered with it due to one reason or another, but that doesn't change the fact that it seems to be a new issue that was brought about by an unnecessary design alteration.

As we all know all these products are manufactured in China, so their quality is questionable.
 
If for example, due to a bad design of a bearing or the motor itself you produce thousands of fans with that clicking noise, their are not going to throw them away and obviously they are going to install them to all their RTX 2* lineup.
 
The number of RMAs will be negligible compared to the gpus that are sold and if a lot of people start to complain they will respond that this is a "normal characteristic"  of this super duper new fan design.
 
The 99% of these cards sold are on water from the first day or sitting in a case with good insulation 1m away from any sensitive ears with lot of fans.
 
There isn't a single RTX 2* that doesn't have this issue I believe.
 
What makes me mad though is their response that this is a "normal" for this type of motor.
 
A while ago my 2080ti was at 54-55c and every second was hearing click, click, click, all the time... FFS!!
 
 
 
 
 

ty_ger07
But, sure, talk down on Chinese manufacturing.

All that he did was make a statement based upon an overwhelming body of evidence spanning decades: That regardless of what can be achieved, the general quality of exports has been such that "Made in China" became a household cliché.
 
 

ty_ger07
Most companies have no option but to manufacture in China since the skilled labor and equipment is absent elsewhere.

Is that really true? It's my understanding that the reason the U.S., for example, no longer manufactures much is that the cost of labor has risen too high, combined with burdensome tax and regulatory issues. Labor, which is the largest expense in nearly all businesses, is much less costly in China and many other nations.
 
A lack of equipment as a reason doesn't make sense, as that is a condition that is easily remedied if a company desires to manufacture in a given location.

I think they just admitted it's a design flaw.
Here is what I got from EVGA in my support case
 
Hello,

A replacement would not affect this noise from the fans, all of the cards produce this noise at lower fan speeds due to the design of the fans. Our product team is aware of this and may release an update to resolve this issue in the future but we have not been informed of any time to expect an update. As of now the only workaround is to adjust the start fan speed with a customer curve to something above 8%. I apologize that we can not provide a better solution at this time. 

Regards,
EVGA

stealthcn
I think they just admitted it's a design flaw.
Here is what I got from EVGA in my support case
 
Hello,

A replacement would not affect this noise from the fans, all of the cards produce this noise at lower fan speeds due to the design of the fans. Our product team is aware of this and may release an update to resolve this issue in the future but we have not been informed of any time to expect an update. As of now the only workaround is to adjust the start fan speed with a customer curve to something above 8%. I apologize that we can not provide a better solution at this time. 

Regards,
EVGA

That’s not good. Power Logic makes the fans and they make some good fans (MSI) comes to mind for high performance and being nearly silent. So how does a fan that exhibits this behavior end up used in mass production without anyone catching it or asking the questions what will our customers think and is this acceptable?
 
I love EVGA products and have been using them since 2008. However, Precision X1 is a deterrent due to ongoing bugs and Afterburner is not an option with the FTW3/ICX2 cards due to fan control. Then add in a fan issue that should have never occurred in the first place makes it tough to grab one of these RTX cards since I am in the market for another new GPU :-/

Today I returned the card to the store and got a refund. Hope to get a Strix instead when available.

I just can't accept a 1200€ gpu to have fans clicking all the time like a 10 year old crap gpu.

EVGA should have fixed this before launching the RTX series in first place.

Very disappointed.

GGTV-Jon

csaris
Today I returned the card to the store and got a refund. Hope to get a Strix instead when available.

I just can't accept a 1200€ gpu to have fans clicking all the time like a 10 year old crap gpu.

EVGA should have fixed this before launching the RTX series in first place.

Very disappointed.

Has anyone looked at who made the fan motors and their operation on any of the other brands. You guys yelling foul will feel silly if you get another brand just to find out you still have noises. Or you find there are other issues that makes the noise a fair trade for stability or performance

In case of any issue, I will RMA again and again until a perfectly fine working product is found.

I work very hard to afford a 1200€ gpu, so I expect it to work flawlessly and as described.

Personally, I owned a Black Edition (non-A), so what kind of stability or performance would I loose?

Flonkam

stealthcn
As of now the only workaround is to adjust the start fan speed with a customer curve to something above 8%.

I assume this means a minimum speed of above 8%? That is, this issue isn't dependent on something like the speed to which it starts to from a stop?

I tested this specifically to see if the fan maybe wouldn't make the startup noise if I had it set to spin-up to a really low value. Even having the fan start from zero and reach a target speed of 1% the clicking noise persisted. It seems the initial spin-up takes the fan to 590 RPM no matter what the desired % value is. I also found out that setting the % value to anything below 13% would cause the fan to spin up to 590 RPM and then drop down to 0 RPM before starting back up again. It would do this over and over in stepped fan curve mode if the initial value was set lower than 13%. This may differ slightly from person to person. Perhaps EVGA's card can go as low as 8% without repeatedly stopping and then starting up again.
 
I was hoping if the target fan speed was low enough the fans would not make this initial clicking sound on startup. Unfortunately that just is not the case.
 
I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with my card. I have about a week left to decide if I want to return it for a refund. In some ways that seems like the best idea, but so far the clicking hasn't really been an issue for me. I did have to change the power mode in Forza Horizon 4 to max performance to avoid clicking while in the pause screen or changing parts on my car.
 
More than anything this problem is just irritating in that this issue is something I'll have to be aware of and deal with in the various games that I play. Some games won't have an issue with clicking, but then others will and I'll need a custom fan curve or a change of the power mode via Nvidia Inspector.
 
I'd just prefer a GPU that I plug it in and it works. The idea of running a custom fan curve 24/7 is really unappealing because I'm afraid that doing so will eventually cause the fan motors to fail and then I'll have to RMA the card. If I could send my card in for RMA with the guarantee that they would fix the (hypothetical) issue and send that exact fixed card back to me I would have no reason for concern. 
 
The final issue I run into when considering whether to return or keep this card is that I'm somewhat limited in choice by the amount of space in my case. I could remove my HDD cage and then I would have tons of room, but I'd have to find a place to put 2 of the 5 drives currently installed. That would likely involve buying a 5.25" conversion kit which just amounts to more money out of my pocket. Never mind the hassle of having to remove the current GPU, return it and then replace it.
 
I think EVGA knows that most people would prefer not to pull parts from an otherwise working computer over an issue like this. Thus the decision was made to ship the cards with this known flaw. Surely they realized the number of complaints would be small and an even smaller segment of that group would bother to take action. As an example this thread is only 6 pages long and we've got maybe a handful of people that have actually returned the product as a result.
 
I expect to keep this card (or a similar one) for a very long time. Certainly past the point at which the 3-year warranty will expire. Paying $30 for another two years of warranty coverage seems very expensive when you consider that the cost for an RTX 2080 TI is the exact same amount. The RTX 2070 just happens to fall in the worst possible location on the pricing guide in regards to purchasing an extended warranty.