Weird PSU noise when GPU is under load? Coil Whine?

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Vizuka

Vizuka

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Assassins Creed 4 at 60fps Ultra settings: [video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQbc-0y7GGE&feature=youtu.be"][/video]

Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) at around 300fps highest settings: [video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlvADvFb9Cc&feature=youtu.be"][/video]

PC Specs:
GPU: EVGA GTX 780Ti ACX SC
CPU: i5 3570K @ Stock speeds (3,4Ghz)
RAM: 16GB
PSU: Fractal Design Integra R2 750W 80+ Bronze
HDD: 2TB (Don't know exactly which one)
SSD: Corsair Force 120GB SSD
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK - ATX / Z77

As you can hear in the video, my PSU has this weird sound when my GPU is under load, like maybe it can't fully handle the power requirements of the GPU :/ I don't know what it is but i am 99% sure it is coming from the PSU. I have tried listening to it several times and it seems to come from the PSU, i have even put my ear right on my case right where the PSU is located at the back and it really seems to come from the PSU. The noise gets louder in games like CS:GO where the FPS goes up to around 300fps, in the video i linked to i am playing Assassins Creed 4 Black Flag on Ultra settings at 60FPS capped. When i am playing CS:GO the sound seems to change a bit depending on what i am looking at in the game. Which lead me to think it was the GPU's coil whine at first, but it didn't really sound like GPU coil whine and it was louder than that, so after carefull listening in a quiet room with a rolled up paper to locate where the sound is coming from it seems to be the PSU. I am planning on replacing the PSU in about a month (I don't really have the money right now) so i am wondering, is it dangerous to be gaming when it is sounding like this? Can it damage anything? And also, which PSU do you think i should get, i want to get around 850W with an 80+ Gold rating :)

 
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M
No, not dangerous. Glad to hear you are getting a better one. I feel you on the coil noise as I've had 2x Corsair CX delivered to me with coil whine and after I got the Seasonic S12II 620W, I dont even notice I have a PSU.
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Vizuka

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This is what it sounds when playing CS:GO with the FPS hovering around 280-300fps. As you can hear it is pretty loud :/

[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlvADvFb9Cc&feature=youtu.be"][/video]
 
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Malli Karim

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As mentioned, coil whine is an annoyance. Some brands do offer better reliability in terms of coil whine. Like Seasonic ( example S12II series, or G series , X series etc. ) I have GPU coil-whine and since when I'm gaming I have my siberias covering my ears whole, I don't hear anything and I've had mine ( Gigabyte GTX 660 ) for 2years now with full on coil whine and works like a charm.
 
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Vizuka

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As you can hear in the video it is very loud, i can hear it through my Sennheiser G4ME Zero's which are made to cancel out noices from the outside :/ But as i said, i am getting a better one pretty soon, so it's no big deal, i just wanted to know if it was dangerous since it was really loud and annoying :p
 
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Malli Karim

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No, not dangerous. Glad to hear you are getting a better one. I feel you on the coil noise as I've had 2x Corsair CX delivered to me with coil whine and after I got the Seasonic S12II 620W, I dont even notice I have a PSU.
 
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Vizuka

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Do you think i should get a Seasonic one too? Is there one with 850W 80+ Gold? :)
Nevermind, found one :) (X-850)
 
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ko888

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Check the customer feedback on the Seasonic X-850 at Newegg.com. There's several complaints about coil whine with that model.

Corsair had the CMPSU-850AX that was based on Seasonics X-Series platform. It also suffered from the same coil whine complaints.

XFX P1-850B-BEFX is also based on the Seasonic X-Series platform that some have also reported coil whine with.
 
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Vizuka

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Hmm, do you know of any PSU's which doesn't have many reports of coil whine or are known not to have any of those issues? :)
 
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ko888

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As I've said in my first reply:

EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2 (220-G2-0850-XR)

10 year warranty.

Newegg.com customer feedback for this model, so far, has not reported anyone having coil whine.
 
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Vizuka

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I bought a 850W G2 but when I had plugged everything in, I plugged in the powercord to my PC and I could hear coil whine even though the computer was not even on, why is this?? I returned it to where i bought it and got a new one, exactly the same issue. I have now returned it and gotten my money back, it seems this issue is very common with this PSU, so I don't know which one I should get now.. Which one do you think i should get? I have been looking at the Corsair HX850i and i haven't really seen many people reporting issues with that one. I didn't record what the PSU sounded like after the PC turned off, but this is pretty much what it sounded like: [video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QWmQKM7v2Q"][/video]
I am not sure that everyone will be able to hear it since it is one of those high pitched sounds which everyone just simply can not hear.
This sound only seems to appear when the PC was turned OFF.
And it slowly faded away when i turned off the PSU completely from the switch on the backside of it.
 
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Vizuka

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But you could hear the high pitched sound from the video? And if you were to recommend a PSU that is not EVGA 850W G2 which one would it be? Specifically which brand would it be?
 
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ko888

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There's something being powered by the +5Vsb that is causing the high pitched whine. It can even be the +5Vsb circuit itself. Some PSU's +5Vsb circuit use PWM and would explain the high pitch whine. The EVGA SuperNOVA G2-850 uses PWM in its +5Vsb circuit.

The main switch mode portion of the PSU isn't even turned on until it is told to do so by the motherboard when you press the power button on the computer case or motherboard.
 
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Vizuka

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Hmm, I guess you are lucky, I looked through a Swedish forum (I live in Sweden), where another guy had the same problem as I did, and he asked about what to do and if other people had the same issue. And then one other said he had the same problem, and then the next guy had it to, and the next guy, and one of them just bought it and allso had the same problem with coil whine after the PC was turned off.. Really weird.. It could be that one batch of the PSU's had this issue. But one of the guys on that forum allso returned it, first to the store and then to EVGA, still the same issue.. When one of them went to the store to try and RMA it there the guy in the store said he couldn't hear it, i really do however think this sound can not be heard by everyone since everyone has different hearing, and some people just can not hear specifik frequences, especially older people seem to not hear high pitched sounds as easily.. I am probably not gonna roll the dice with EVGA's PSUs again as i am too afraid of getting a bad one again, which seems likely that i will do sadly. And the one you linked i can't really get since i really would like to buy from a Swedish store incase of an issue (like for example if i get a doa kind of thing), and i can't seem to find that PSU in any of my local stores. Any other suggestions?
 
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Vizuka

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Just for the record, i have had two different PSU's before my EVGA one and i have had zero issues with coil whine after the PC was turned off with them. Really weird :/
 
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My 1000G2 makes my gpu whine. I had a 980ti with whine, so I replaced it. The replacement has exactly the same whine
 
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