[meddlepal]

Slightly off-topic:

Do people really notice coil whine that much? When I built my PC last year with a 970 GTX every review I read mentioned the horrible coil whine. I don't notice it at all. I also helped build my roommates computer with the same 970 GTX and I didn't notice the coil whine at all on that one either. It's possible that both those cards were "lucky" but it seems like literally every single 970 GTX review mentioned coil whine and I have yet to notice it.

[rayiner]

It'd be a deal breaker to me. It's one thing to have it on a desktop machine that sits under your desk and probably has a fan going at all times. Very different to have it in a laptop that you're using a few feet from your head and where the fan doesn't run unless under load. I had a Dell with coil whine, and if I was using it in the library or at home that was all I could hear.

[nibnib]

Is it possible to dope the coil with something to damp out the whining? I have an old Lenovo that has this, and the noise seems to vary depending on what's onscreen. It can be very annoying.

[Gracana]

Manufacturers often apply some goopy glue on top of inductors to damp out some of the noise, like this: http://i.stack.imgur.com/144ui.png

[nibnib]

Yeah, I've done this myself when building switching power supplies. I guess there's no reason not to tray silicone or nail varnish on noise graphics cards.

[thebakeshow]

I find the computer case, and tower placement as well as room acoustics can influence this greatly.