PSU noise, video within.

martinoheat

martinoheat

martinoheat

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I have an AMD 7950 and a R9 280x in my PC.

I have noticed that when the 280x is running (either with the 7950 removed from the case, or when both cards are fitted), the PSU gives out a strange noise. Can anyone explain it and give me a solution to silence it?

I doubt that my power supply is struggling for power, as it is a 750w XFX PRO power supply, and my power meter at the plug indicates that the Maximum my PC has ever pulled from the wall is 640w.

Here is the video. Notice that when i put the microphone near to the PSU, the noise is loud, and when i pull it away, the noise quietens; therefore the noise is coming from the power supply, not the graphics card.
 
I like that diagnosis. I'll take it apart and fit a new fan tomorrow. (i've already well and truly voided the warranty when i braided the cables.)

I'll post back my findings for future searchers.


Thanks guys!
 
thanks Steampunk,

when you say separate cables, what do you mean? - my PSU is semi-modular, and the two cables feeding the GPU are modular ones.

I'll try using a frame limiter/vsync, then running Valley Bench overnight.
EDIT: i've left my PC to mine crypto coins in the past, would that have had the same effect as running Valley Bench?

i did have another 280x which i returned due to thermal throttling (it controlled the temp by throttling instead of increasing fan speed), and the same noise was present, which suggests that the problem is the PSU, NOT the GPU, would you agree?


If it does come to buying a new PSU, do you have any recommendations?
I think i need 800w minimum, to power my PC (and have enough to last a few years as i add hard drives, SSDs, RAM, etc.)
 
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Steampunk said:
Some PSUs have Y-cables where you have one plug at the PSU, and two plugs at the graphics card. Some people have found that if you use two separate cables (ie two plugs at the PSU, each leading to one power socket on the graphics cards), then you will be using two separate pickups from the rail in the PSU, and this can stop the coil whine.
Click to expand...

ah, right. my PSU doesn't have such cables, they are all separate.



Steampunk said:
Yes it would. The idea is to run the whining coil for long enough and hard enough to make it wear in. As it's caused by a vibration, you can stress it to the point where the vibration goes away or gets a lot quieter over time. Crytpcoin mining will have the same effect.
Click to expand...
I guess that if that would have had any effect, it would have worked by now? - i've mined for about a month for about 22hrs per day at least.


From what you've said, i guess that if i did go for a new PSU, then i'd probably go Seasonic.





Jamin280672 said:
If you have whining / resonating coils, and have already voided your warranty, then simple fix is to open the psu and cover them with a hot glue gun, wait for the glue to cool down and set before using the psu again, it's what we used to do with whinning coils on older motherboards.

Obviously there is no hazard as the glue can reach stupid temps and is a plastic like substance when dry, therefore, non conductive, you find the same type of thing in the back of TV's.

I think it was back in my days of overclocking x38 boards we used to get resonating coils, bit of glue always fixed the problem.
Click to expand...

OOH! I like that idea very much!! I will have to give it a go, if it works, you've just saved me £100!

One question though - would the glue act as a heat insulator, and if it did, is that a problem?
 
i started having problems with the pc shutting down under load, so bought a new psu and problem solved. it seems that my PSU's symptoms were more than just noise.

thanks for the tips though!
 
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