AMD Radeon R9 Fury X gets new sound baffling adhesive compound to address pump noise

AMD has issued a formal statement to address the complaints about pump noise with the Radeon R9 Fury X. The firm tries to downplay the issue, claiming it only affects a small number of cards and is especially bothersome when the cards are used in open bench testing, but promises a new sound baffling adhesive compound should fix the acoustic profile of the pump:

We have received feedback that during open bench testing a small number of Fury X cards emit a sound from the high speed liquid cooling pump that, while not loud, is bothersome to some users. While the vast majority of initial Fury X owners report remarkably quiet operation, we take this feedback seriously, as AMD’s mission is to always deliver the best possible experience to our Radeon customers.

AMD Radeon R9 Fury X customers demand and deserve the best, so adjustments in the sound baffling adhesive compound were applied in the assembly of the high speed cooling pump to address the specific sound a few end users experienced as problematic. This improved the acoustic profile of the pump, and repeat testing shows the specific pitch/sound in question was largely reduced through adjustments to the sound-baffling adhesive compound in the pump.

AMD will work with its graphic card partners to ensure the satisfaction of the small number of initial customers who observed this specific sound and experienced it as bothersome. AMD is confident that on-going production of Radeon R9 Fury X product reduces the specific sound in question, but this is also a highly subjective matter with wide differences in PC case builds and room acoustics.

The AMD Radeon™ R9 Fury X radiator fan is near silent, and this makes any sound from the high-speed pump more noticeable to some end users, especially during open bench testing. Thus although the overall sound levels are remarkably low for an enthusiast product, AMD has worked to reduce the specific sound that some customers report as bothersome.

There's no word about a recall so if you're experiencing issues with high pitched noise your best bet is to RMA the card. At present it's unknown how or if customers can identify which cards include the pump noise fix.

Last week there were some reports about R9 Fury X cards with 2-color chrome Cooler Master badges on the pump block instead of the multi-color badges found on the initial batch. AMD has yet to confirm whether this is really the distinction between the old and the fixed units but even if this is the case this is hardly something you can check in a retail store as it requires you to disassemble part of the front shroud.