It does not hit any Cables, its just the noise when the fans start spinning. would not be that much of a problem if the fans would not spin up every second for about a half hour when watching movies and hitting that 55-56C Temp

I can watch a 4k video and my 2080 doesn't even clock up from 300 MHz, stays under 40 C. You've got something weird with your video playback software or something else keeping your idle clocks high, it shouldn't be that hot playing video.

GTXJackBauer
 
There are different variables at play as not everyone is in the same environment.  Could be case air flow and or higher ambient temps.

Sure but literally ever case of someone complaining about this here so far has turned out to have high idle clocks.

I can confirm the clicking noise when the card is turning the fans from off to on. This is when the card cooled down (less then 50°C?) and then heat up above 60°C. 
I got a good cooled case, so if I leave a game the gpu temperature will drop pretty fast under 50°C, like 45°C and keep there. Because of this I have no constant clicking.
 
Because of that, the clicking noise is irrelevant for me (most of the time I don't even hear it because of I wear headphones while gaming).
But I would like to know: Is this clicking noise normal and intended by design?

exactly

I bought this card over the Nvidia founder one because it was supposed to be semi passive. But with the clicking noise i had to make a custom fan speed curve, like other people suggested, to make the fans constantly running even at low temperature. That way they won't have to stop and start again randomly and it will avoid clicking sound.
 
But i shouldn't have to do that.I'm very disappointed with this product. My first card had this issue, and the RMA one too. It feels like a cheap card.
To all the people that have this noise issue, think about the resale value of your card the day you have to sell it. Some people won't care about the issue, but others will do...
 

CAN somebody from EVGA confirm this Issue?

Finally received my 2080 XC Black Edition through Step-Up, instantly fell in love with the entire design. I installed X1 right away before sliding in the card an noticed an initial idle temp. of around 50-55 C after it warmed up. After 2 days of light use I noticed a weird "clicking" noise and looked inside my case, I could see both of the fans turning off and on repeatedly, only staying on for 3 seconds maximum then turning off again. Did a quick Google search and found this thread. Sigh. 
 
I have set the curves to deal with the temp manually and seems to be working to keep it much more reasonable, just kinda upset that I might have gotten a rotten card. Will be contacting support. 

I've been throwing everything I can find at my 2080 Ti XC Gaming for several weeks now and it's been rock solid, quiet, cool, etc.
 
Tonight I spent a few hours running GPU benchmarks, playing games, and watching videos. After closing everything I found that the GPU and memory were jumping from typical active (1350/7000 MHz) to typical idle (300/405 MHz) speeds and back, the GPU temp wasn't going down below 54°C, and the fans were spinning up and down.
 
It's as if something had been left running in the background periodically applying GPU load. After a reboot and a few minutes, idle behavior is back to normal (300/405 MHz, 34°C, fans off).
 
Looks like a software issue to me.

Tullagh
It's as if something had been left running in the background periodically applying GPU load. After a reboot and a few minutes, idle behavior is back to normal (300/405 MHz, 34°C, fans off).

 
Played around a bit more, and am now 99% sure that this "idle thrashing" is related to Precision's OSD and HWM features. Enabling them doesn't cause thrashing right away, but if I run a game with those features enabled, thrashing occurs sometimes after I exit the game. If I then click OSD and HWM off, the GPU immediately starts cooling down normally.

jihvd

Tullagh
Played around a bit more, and am now 99% sure that this "idle thrashing" is related to Precision's OSD and HWM features. Enabling them doesn't cause thrashing right away, but if I run a game with those features enabled, thrashing occurs sometimes after I exit the game. If I then click OSD and HWM off, the GPU immediately starts cooling down normally.

Will tweak with this when I get home today and see if it helps. Thank you very much. 

Wow, turns out I was wrong. Started seeing this "idle thrashing" nearly all the time. I think I found a solution on the Web though, and it has nothing to do with the GPU. Starting a new thread about "idle thrashing".

1st Node - My fans are set to 15% speed at 30 degrees C or below.  This helps keep the card cool at all times and you won't have that constant clicking sound.  That's the fans cutting on and off.  By the fans cutting on and off, it actually decreases the longevity of the fans themselves.  Older cards run at a constant 10% speed, while idle, and they will ramp up as the heat increases.  The 970 GTX, that I have set to the side, is still working after 6 years.  I have it setting there incase the 2070 RTX gives me issues.  These newer ones...  You're stuck at atleast 15% fan speed.

2nd Node - My fans are set to 50% speed when it hits *50%* degrees C.  The fans will slowly ramp up when the heat increases.  This will help to keep your card cool even playing intense games.  The card stays at, or around, 53-55 degrees C when I'm playing Battlefield V, on Ultra settings, for an hour and a half.  Those are some REALLY good numbers and the fans are only a tad bit past 50% fan usage.

3rd Node - My fans are set to 80% speed when it hets *65* degrees C.  Again, the fans will slowly ramp up as you're getting close to that temperature.  I've never seen the card get that hot, NEVER!  The highest I've seen it reach is 55 degrees C.  Make sure you constantly keep your computer clean and free of debris!  Make sure you don't have your computer setting on a rug, and make sure it has room to breath!  In other words, don't stick it in a corner under your desk with a back panel, or put it at the corner of the room and it's forcing the warm air back into the computer.

4th Node - My fans are set to 100% usage at *70* degrees C.  By this time... I'm sorry to say it, but your card is already meeting its maker 9 times out of 10...  Some people would think, "Why not set 100% fan speed at 100 degrees C?!"  at 80 degrees C, the graphic card is already too hot.  Again, make sure your computer is clean of dust, dirt, and debris!  The best thing to do is be safe, set your fans at a safe but reasonable speed, make sure the fans are increasing in speed with the increased temperatures, and check your temperatures randomly to make sure the card isn't getting too hot.

That's pretty much about it!  I highly recommend keeping your fans constantly busy to increase the longevity of your fans and card.  Decrease the speed enough to keep them active, but also at a speed that is reasonable.  15% at 30 degrees C works extremely well!

Sorry for the excessive editing.  I want to make sure I'm getting my point across properly.  A few more things I wanted to add.

1) IF you use my settings, .ake sure you have, "Enabled Automatic Control," checked.  This will keep your fans active at all times.  If you make your own fan curve, where the fans are setting at 40%+, I would highly reconsider keeping your fans active!  That's extremely too high to keep your fans active!  By using my settings at 15% fan speed, at 30 degrees C, it works fantastic for me.

2) Make sure, in options, in general, that this program starts with OS, and that is starts minimized.  This program needs to be active at all times for your fans to work properly!  I wish that there was a lighter, or less memory usage, version because there is no reason why it should be this high.  I think it's because they want that, "pretty," look but I see it as unnecessary.

3) Definately make sure that OSD is cut off because it uses too many resources and truthfully doesn't need to be on.

4) Make sure your HWM doesn't have 5, or more, different things being displayed, or monitored at one time.  This will bog down your computer!  I just have 1 HWM active and that's the temperature.  I have that marked as, "TRAY," so I can see it at all times.  I feel this is the only thing I really need to monitor.  The front, or main display, is already showing you almost everything else.  There is no need to have it showing up on your HWM as well.

*12/30/2018* Updated Temperature changes.  My temperature hit 55 Degrees C playing Battlefield 5 on ultra settings.  This was tested for 2 1/2 hours.  Best so far.  Again, if you're not looking to keep your fans active at 45, but keeping your fans active at 15... this might be the best setting for you?!  Not sure, it works wonders for me.  I love it  ;)

I have same clicking problem, it does not hit any cables, its just the noise when the fans start spinning. :(
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAxwpU5Vxr8

 
 
 
 

I too am having this issue and idling at 55 on my XC ultra 2080.   Between this and the Gysnc flickering I'm ready to return to amazon.

Because the high idle temperature causes my fans to click on and off every few seconds. And I do mean click. They work fine when running but click when stopping or starting. I spent extra money on a premium product from a premium brand because I expected it to operate well. The entire point of spending $100 on a big fancy cooler is quiet and cool operation. My last card from a different brand had a true fan stop and didn't make a peep unless I was gaming. Now I have to worry about X1 software working and designing a custom fan curve to block a broken feature from bugging me. Default setting should work well out of the box for a product of this calibre. And don't go down the case airflow route. I've got 4 140s and plenty of open space. I don't understand why the card idles this high.