PSU crackling sound :( Overloaded?

neoglow

neoglow

neoglow

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Hey all,

Yesterday I noticed my PSU has started making a crackling sound - it sounds more like an electrical/static arcing sound rather than the fan so I think my PSU is on the blink OR - as I came to discover - it may be overloaded for my system, I wanted to pick your brains about this possibility.

The PSU is a Seasonic S12ii 620 Watt, Ive had it for about 2 years.

I noticed the sound when playing an intensive game - Crysis 3 and its on high settings so the GPU's are working quite hard.

My Rig:

Intel i5 2500k 3.3Ghz
Asus P8P67 Pro Motherboard
8GB (4x 2gb) Corsair DDR3 RAM
EVGA GTX 670 f.t.w x2 in SLI
HDD's x 4 (normal SATA drives not SSD)
DVDRW x 1
Approx 5 fans in total

Now, the crackling has concerned me so I will be replacing the power cord as it could be this, but failing that its going to be a new PSU.

Earlier, I used a Plug in Power Monitor between the wall and the PC Tower and it got to about 350 - 370 W when playing intense scenes in Crysis 3. Now this is far from the 620W stamped on the side of the PSU or does it not work like that?

Is 620W too small for my rig?

Thanks chap and chapettes!
 
The psu isn't overloaded. Does it happen constantly when playing crysis 3 or just every so often?

It could be coil whine from the 670's, but you probably would've noticed it sooner (assuming you've had them a while)
 
It only happens now and again during gaming. The noise is very sporadic, sometimes a lot, other times just a little.

Its strange also that if I pause the game when it is crackling, the crackling noise changes :eek: I know that sounds odd but Im sure of it, this is what made me think that the noise is related to the load on the PSU.
 
It does sound PSU related i had a similar problem a few years ago the noise would change depending on what i was doing i found it really annoying and in the end and got it replaced and the new one was fine.


Have you tried it with only one GPU installed does it still happen maybe testing each one individually will give you a better idea if its PSU related or GPU related :p
 
Hmm, Im pretty sure its coming from the PSU and not the GPU's so I dont think its coil whine, I had the side panel off and put my ear near the PSU. I will recheck to make sure.

Good plan peahead, I'll have a play about with the GPU's.
 
The PSU can Coil Whine not just GPU's, that is why its hard to tell which.

Leaking CAPS can also make a fizzing/whistling noise.


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Technically coil whine isn't a fault unless it's a very extreme example. (which would suggest a faulty component).

Some more reading for you http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coil_noise
That means the PSU's resonant frequency of the coil is close to the resonant frequency of the electric circuit In this case mostly likely you GPU's.

If your lucky you'll get a successful RMA, but there's no guarantee the replacement will be any different, as it's probably a case of you system happens to similar resonant frequencies as the PSU when run at a certain level of performance.

Given the PC's have quite a wide range of power output compared to most other household appliances the chances of hitting a resonant frequency is pretty high and much harder to avoid. (Particularly when the PSU is sold separately)

Some PSUs will have rubber caps over the coils to reduce this or even just a bit of glue. These methods can be done by the end user as well, but I would recommend caution as it would invalidate the warrantee and it is potentially dangerous to open up a PSU. (if not sure what you are doing, don't)

Over specing a PSU can reduce the chance of getting coil whine, but that not 100% guarantee.
 
In laymans terms the copper wire round those green polo mints is slacker than it should be so vibrates, glue or nail varnish can help.
 
Okay, got a new PSU and no more noises so it must have been the PSU causing it.
Will try and get the old one repaired and/or sell it.

Got a new EVGA Supernova 850W G2 so I'm happy :D
 
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