Solved PSU Noise

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Shambala12

Shambala12

PCHF Member
Jul 28, 2019
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Hello, hopefully someone will be able to help me, my new to me gaming pc since travelling has started making a noise when under load, I believe it's from the PSU however could be wrong. When the noise starts at aprox 10s, I spawned into a game (increasing PSU load). I then move my phone closer to the PSU for a clearer recording. Hopefully someone will be able to help me. Not sure wether this could be a serious PSU issue or just coil whine or something. I do plan on replacing the PSU anyway however need to know wether it would be safe to use or not etc

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Welcome to PCHF Shambala12,

Not hearing much there so it is hard to be sure, heard a couple of clicks and an increase in fan speed but that was about it.

You mention you intend replacing the PSU, any reason for this.

Please provide information about your computer, is it a custom build or brand name such as Dell or HP, if a brand name, provide the model name or series number (not serial) if a custom build post the brand and model name or number for the MB, the RAM (including the amount) add on video card if one is used and the PSU (power supply unit) providing these details will enable us to better assist you.
 
Hi, I hear a sort of high pitch noise which sticks out from the rest of the system. I mean it could just be the psu fan getting old or me hearing something which isnt there. The reason I'm going to replace the PSU is because it is a used system and it is an old powersupply (unknown year but informed that the psu is old). It is a thermaltake 800w psu. Custom build with a ryzen 7 1700x and gtx 1070ti. Asus aorus x470 gaming wifi 7. 16GB night hawk 3200mhz. Clicks would be me pressing enter on my keyboard
 
Shambala12 said:
The reason I'm going to replace the PSU is because it is a used system and it is an old powersupply (unknown year but informed that the psu is old). It is a thermaltake 800w psu
Click to expand...

Thermaltake only ever made two models that were labelled as 800W the oldest some ten years ago and the most recent almost eight years ago, I strongly suggest that you remove the present PSU from the system and wait until you have replaced it with a good quality brand Gold efficiency rated PSU, your other rather expensive hardware is at risk from an old PSU that could go pop at any time if your suspicions that it is making odd noises are correct.

Two common noises that you may hear from a weak/old PSU are coil whine and screeching or grinding sounds caused by worn bearings on the cooling fan.
 
Ok thank you very much. It's hard to describe the noise however it does fit into both the grinding and screeching since I did initially think there were a grinding noise in the system. Will buy a new psu while I'm away for the week and fit it in the weekend. If I unplug the power cable (from socket to psu), I should be ok right?
 
If disconnected fro the wall socket no harm can be done.

The one saving grace here is the fact that the present PSU needs to be swapped in any event, once removed we can suggest a way of testing the present PSU if you like.

750W is way more than what you need but quite often when checking around you can get more output for less cash if an item is on sale, the tip that I always offer up is to check the warranty period of an item, 10 years cover is great if you can get it and especially if less expensive than something that ships with a shorter warranty period, keeping the cost in mind I would suggest a seven year warranty as a minimum, do you prefer full or semi modular.

Tip
If using a computer and not a mobile phone, please avoid adding multiple posts while waiting for us to reply to your last, edit your last post to include anything that you wish to add, this will ensure nothing gets overlooked which can sometimes happen if a thread has more than one page, it also avoids filling up folks inbox
 
Yeah was using my phone so couldn't edit post. I like a bit of fun so would be interesting to see what happens to the psu. And yeah I know 750w is more than enough but just future proofing. Thinking of swapping out both my gpu and cpu, something like a ryzen 3rd gen 2700x nd gtx 1080ti in the future, also like to overclock
 
You are welcome :)

Let us know when you are ready to test the present PSU and we will post the info, the test cannot put the PSU under load as you need specialist equipment for that but you will be able to listen more closely to the PSU fan running.
 
The new PSU is now installed. The whining sounds have stopped which is brilliant. How would I go about testing this old PSU
 
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Glad to hear that replacing the PSU has resolved the issue and thanks for letting us know (y)

Testing the previous PSU may or may not reproduce the noise that you were hearing because as was previously mentioned there will be no load on the PSU, the info at the link provided courtesy of Veeg shows how to test the voltage output from the PSU which is in addition to the steps that Corsair suggest doing here minus the use of a multi meter.
 
phillpower2 said:
Glad to hear that replacing the PSU has resolved the issue and thanks for letting us know (y)

Testing the previous PSU may or may not reproduce the noise that you were hearing because as was previously mentioned there will be no load on the PSU, the info at the link provided courtesy of Veeg shows how to test the voltage output from the PSU which is in addition to the steps that Corsair suggest doing here minus the use of a multi meter.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I do have a spare fan lying around so going to test it shortly
 
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