Tagan BZ800 problem?

mikeo · 2 Oct 2010 at 15:40

Came to switch my PC on the other day and there was a lot of noise from inside the case (sounded fan related). Though intermingled with what sounded like cap/coil whine / noise.

Quickly removed side panel and tried to work out where it was coming from. Though by then it had started to die down. Sounds daft I know, but I found it quite difficult to stick my ear in the case and work out where it was coming from. First I thought it was my new graphics card, now I'm "fairly" sure it was from the PSU.

Removed PSU & tried to peer into the depths of it with a torch looking through the grill. Could not see / smell anything. So put it back in and powered up. Noise VERY quickly disappeared this time. Hard to pin point. O'dear!!!

Only looks to happen when PC totally cold (IE. over night). Switch off and power back up and fine. Even give it an hour and fine.

PSU is a 2 1/2 year old BZ800 (overkill for current system really... was planning SLI but never got round to it). Could just leave it and see what happens, but if it is the PSU and it "lets go" worried what other damage it might do.

So wondering if I should just replace it!? Could try and RMA current PSU, but unless it happens everytime you switch on, could be struggling to get a replacement.

Any thoughts here anyone?

Though I know that problems like this are hard to diagnose remotely.

If I do decide to replace it. What's considered to be the best these days? Preferably something that doesn't suffer bad coil/cap while (which the Tagan always has to a certain extent). P55/I5/SLI rebuild on the cards at some point, so need to look to the future a bit when choosing something.

PC's... you've got to luv em. :rolleyes:

PS. Totally silent (well... normal noise level now). Even running Kombuster and games, when warmed up.

mikeo · 3 Oct 2010 at 23:29

Emm.. starting to look like the PSU is going a bit "wonky" (highly technical!).

While finally getting round to finishing off The Witcher (only taken me 12 months on and off!) I started to here what sounded like a "crackling noise". Removed side panel and stuck my ear to the PSU and yep... it's coming from there. Only appears to occur under stress though. IE. games and Kombuster etc. but strangely enough, not if you just stress the CPU (IE. Intel Burn Test)!!!

So looks like it might be an idea to replace the PSU before it dies (maybe) and takes something else with it.

So looks to be between:

Antec TruePower New Modular 750W

and

Corsair HX 750W ATX Modular SLI Compliant

Been looking at a few reviews and I'm starting to think Corsair ... longer warranty and the RMA service looks good (should you ever need it of course). Though not too sure about the flat modular cables!?

Anyone got any experience / recommendations?

I suppose that I could RMA the TAGAN. But to be honest, the coil / cap whine annoys me anyway (though Vsync on in games usually quietens it down). Only 2 1/2 years old (warranty I think is 3 years on these units).

Damn... I suppose that's my P55/I5 re-build down the toilet now (IE. not enough money left). Maybe Sandy Bridge is starting to look good now.

mikeo · 4 Oct 2010 at 14:05

O'well. Just taken the plunge and ordered the Corsair. It appears to get a pretty good write up and I've seen the comment that they could have rated it at 900w if they had wanted! So with the top quality warranty and RMA service, I think this is the one to go for. So that should be fine for either a P55/I5 rebuild later this year, or maybe Sandy Bridge at some point next year. Don't think there should be a problem with SLI's 460's either.

mikeo · 5 Oct 2010 at 16:20

That's the new PSU arrived and installed. Appears OK at the moment. Quick Intel Burn Test and Kombuster 20 min run to to stress it a bit.

Looks like a nice PSU, though not sure if I'm a fan of the flat cables. Took a while to make things neat. But looks OK now. Sort of miss the multi coloured glow from the old PSU though

Might also have been nice to have some different length modular leads (like one of the Seasonic PSU's I was looking at). As the leads are really aimed at a full tower case, so there is a fair bit to tuck away / hide in a mid tower case.

And HOORAY .... the coil / cap whine under load appears to have totally gone. So much for Tagan blaming everything (EG. drivers / graphics card / mobo etc. etc.) under the sun, other than the power supply.

Lets hope the new PSU lasts the test of time.