Power supply buzzing

titaniumx3 · 1 Aug 2016 at 12:49

Hi All,

I have a Corsair AX760 and it's been virtually silent for the last couple of months that I've had it. Yesterday, I was just browsing the internet and as I closed down some chrome windows this fairly loud high pitched buzzing sound started coming from the PSU. It was loud enough to be heard over all the fans in my computer. Initially I thought it was the graphics card, but when I put my head next to my case, it can clearly be heard coming from the PSU. The buzzing was continuous and would only stop when the computer was shutdown, but would start immediately after the computer was booted. I even removed my graphics card to confirm that it wasn't related to that, but it still happened.

I then ran some benchmarks/games and it seemed to be affected by that, would die down slightly under load situatons, but would come back. At this point I was pretty sure I would have to return the PSU as faulty, so I just carried on using the computer as normal until tomorrow. Anyway, after gaming for a while, the buzzing was been reduced pretty significantly, but is still there. It's difficult to hear it over my case fans now, but if I put my head down to the PSU, it can clearly be heard.

I'm not sure what to do now. Is it possible to return a PSU for buzzing/coil whine? It's not very loud anymore, but it still bugs me that the PSU was completely silent before.

Would appreciate some advice here!

Bone9 · 1 Aug 2016 at 13:11

I'd rma it for sure. I've returned 4 psus for coil whine. I'm now using a evga p2 850w and it's silent.

titaniumx3 · 2 Aug 2016 at 15:00

Bone9 said:
I'd rma it for sure. I've returned 4 psus for coil whine. I'm now using a evga p2 850w and it's silent.

Thanks for the recommendation, will consider it when I get the new PSU.

What was your experience with returning PSUs for coil whine? I just called overclockers as I ordered the PSU from them about 4 months ago. They said that I can return the PSU to overclockers who then send it to Corsair for repair, but was then told that it is likely they will class it as not faulty. Is this true?

Bone9 · 2 Aug 2016 at 15:46

titaniumx3 said:
Thanks for the recommendation, will consider it when I get the new PSU.

What was your experience with returning PSUs for coil whine? I just called overclockers as I ordered the PSU from them about 4 months ago. They said that I can return the PSU to overclockers who then send it to Corsair for repair, but was then told that it is likely they will class it as not faulty. Is this true?

All of mine were bought from another retailer. They were all swapped for new units straight away. Some were swapped at the door. Once they received the other faulty ones they shipped out new ones the same day. None if them were tested before being replaced

titaniumx3 · 2 Aug 2016 at 16:11

Strange overclockers don't do this. The guy I spoke to on the phone seemed pretty sure that they would not class it as a fault and gave me the impression that i should just "deal with it". Anyway, I've since made an RMA request directly with Corsair's and will see what happens with that.

Ideally I want to stick with the same PSU as the idea of rewiring everything in my computer makes my heart sink. If I got the same PSU I can just plug the new unit and attach the old cables.

titaniumx3 · 2 Aug 2016 at 16:14

Also, what models of PSU did you have before the evga?

Bone9 · 2 Aug 2016 at 16:58

titaniumx3 said:
Also, what models of PSU did you have before the evga?

Corsair CX750 x1, Cooler master V850 x3 and now the Evga P2.

titaniumx3 · 6 Aug 2016 at 00:27

Bone9 said:
Corsair CX750 x1, Cooler master V850 x3 and now the Evga P2.

Took up your advice and got the EVGA P2 850w to replace the Corsair. Connecting everything was an absolute pain, but I got it all hooked up now.

Thankfully everything seems to be working as usual, minus that damned buzzing/whine! This thing is completely silent and all I can hear is the gentle whooshing of my case fans and a slight whirring from my two HDDs. I've not done anything strenuous yet, so it could still develop a fault, but so far it seems to be working perfectly.

To be fair, I couldn't have just lived with the slight buzzing from the AX760 (it wasn't anything major), but I paid a fair bit for it and I don't think it's unreasonable to expect silent operation, especially during idle operation where it makes the most difference. I can tolerate a bit of coil whine during gaming, but not when it's idle or not doing much.

As for the AX760, my RMA has been approved by Corsair and I just need to send it off. Hopefully I'll get a new one that I can sell off.

In any case, thank you for your advice Bone9, much appreciated!

Bone9 · 6 Aug 2016 at 11:27

titaniumx3 said:
Took up your advice and got the EVGA P2 850w to replace the Corsair. Connecting everything was an absolute pain, but I got it all hooked up now.

Thankfully everything seems to be working as usual, minus that damned buzzing/whine! This thing is completely silent and all I can hear is the gentle whooshing of my case fans and a slight whirring from my two HDDs. I've not done anything strenuous yet, so it could still develop a fault, but so far it seems to be working perfectly.

To be fair, I couldn't have just lived with the slight buzzing from the AX760 (it wasn't anything major), but I paid a fair bit for it and I don't think it's unreasonable to expect silent operation, especially during idle operation where it makes the most difference. I can tolerate a bit of coil whine during gaming, but not when it's idle or not doing much.

As for the AX760, my RMA has been approved by Corsair and I just need to send it off. Hopefully I'll get a new one that I can sell off.

In any case, thank you for your advice Bone9, much appreciated!

No problem, happy days

glad it's all sorted mate.