PSU Buzzing sound?

[Blake]

hey guy,

So the story is that i got a shiny new PSU the other day (and a bunch of other stuff), and when i am playing a game, there is a loudish buzzing sound coming from the PSU, is this normal? somthing to worry about? I have read around on the webs and it seems that this maybe normal, which is kinda weird as my old one never buzzed to my knowledge (or if it did it was quieter then the fans/HDDs).

anyways system specs are:

Q9650
2x 4870 512mb
8GB 1066 Kingston (4 dimms)
gigabyte ep45-ud3p
fatality sound card thingy
4x 1TB HDDs (1 about 6 months old)
Seasonic M12D 750watt PSU (it is modular).

Just need to know if i need to get it replaced/upgraded.

thx,
Blake.

[billdcat4]

It could be the fan spinning up, which could be considering the amount of hardware that you are running on it.
Seasonics PSUs are supposed to be very quiet, yet I remeber reading user reviews on newegg complaining of a similar sort of buzzing.

I would contact Seasonic to ask them.

Personally, noise bothers me a lot, so I would RMA it, but considering the amount of hardware in your rig, I dont think you're that bothered by the noise, just by worrying.

[SirRobin4ever]

Are you sure it's coming from the PSU and not the GPUs?

[Blake]

i'll give seasonic a ring/email tomorrow (currently 3:30AM here). If it is just a noise issue it shouldn't be too bad when i put the side panel back on and don't have 3 old 120GB HDDs hanging out the side (just getting my old data...)

thx Blake.

[ColonelCain]

Hey,

Just want to let you know that more than likely Seasonic will tell you that it is normal.
My set-up does the same with a PCP&C 750w, and a 4890.
Though, the sound comes from the PSU, and the GPU.

Life's a bit*h.

[Eurasianman]

I'd say it's the VRMs or whatever on the video cards.

[billdcat4]

I'd say it's the VRMs or whatever on the video cards.

+1
recently, a lot of the higher-end cards have been experiencing electronic noise

put your ear up to the PSU and see if its coming from there

[Blake]

one of the GPUs I have had for a year, so it is not that one (would have had the problem before).

one of the few things i have found useful on tom's, is using an old toilet roll to help find the sound. defiantly the PSU, sounds and looks (i don't mean i see sparks on the coil) like it is coming from a coil at the back of the PSU. Just to be certain, i'll remove the new GPU tomorrow, and see if it still makes the sound.

i'll report back tomorrow on the news.

thx, Blake

[arisythila]

Its more than likely the choke. It's probably not a solid choke, and the windings sometimes will vibrate. causing a buzzing down.

[1Tanker]

I would rule out everything else first. Once you're sure it's the PSU...myself, i would RMA it. It could end up being something minor...but a good 700w PSU like your SS, has a lot of power...and potential to cause serious damage...be it to HW, or worse(should the PSU explode/short..even way down the road). PSU's are mostly very similar inside.. and there's no logical reason that one particular brand should whine or hiss while others don't..this could be from a bad(or slightly below-spec) batch of chokes/resistors/caps, etc. In my mind, i would always be wondering if one day it's gonna self-destruct..and also...i'm quite sure that SS advertised that PSU as quite and environmentally-friendly...so whining/hissing isn't quite, period. I replaced the PSU in my brothers machine around 5 months ago..although it was a no-name PSU (and 8 years old ), it was whining/whistling. I know that he and his family wouldn't pay enough attention to it..if anything out of the ordinary were to occur, so i got him a new one. I'm using the old one for my old bench-setups(and it's still working fine)...which is fine for me, as i'm always right there when i run them, and they don't run for serious lengths of time. Anyways, nothing in your system has more potential for disaster, than the PSU. GL

[Blake]

okay so, it was the PSU buzzing, my old 650 watt will do for now (minus one of the GPUs). As I have not had the product for 7 days i was going to get it swapped out for a non-buzzing one, but Umart (the shop i purchased it from) wants me to bring it in so they can make a warranty claim, which would take at least 21 days (knowing warranties it'll be more like 3 months), so screw it, I'll be returning it (and the 2nd GPU, which had a ****ty aftermarket cooler on it) and using my old one... which actually is better as i don't have a mess of cables sitting at the bottom of the case.

[TSIMonster]

Both my GTX260 and PSU buzz under high stress loads.

[billdcat4]

Both my GTX260 and PSU buzz under high stress loads.

Thats one reason why I didnt want to get a GTX 260 or a 4870, the higher power draw can result in a buzz/whine

thankfully my VX550W and 4850 dont buzz at all, just has a bit of fan noise on load

[vein47]

Yesterday my PSU started buzzing, so I unplugged the mobo, cpu, and graphics. No buzz. Plugged in mobo and cpu. No buzz. So I resituated the graphics (noticed that the power cables were tugging on the card and bending it slightly.) And viola! No more buzz.

I have an antec 1000w and was playing crysis on 1920x1080 on very high details for like 30mins. So that may have contributed, too.

So if u googled and found this. DONT RMA UNTIL YOUR SURE. Especially if you've spent hours on cable management b/c the last thing you'll want to RMA is the PSU!
Make sure first!