PSU intermittent buzzing noise.

kol12

Honorable
Jan 26, 2015
2,109
0
11,810
I have an intermittent buzzing noise that I suspect is coming from my PSU. The noise seems to get amplified throughout the case making it sound like it's coming from anywhere in the case. I've just recently replaced my two top case fans with Corsair AF140's thinking it was one of the fans buzzing but evidently it wasn't.

The buzzing will sometimes go for hours and then just suddenly stop becoming absolutely silent (the way it should be!) and then will start again.

The Seasonic X-750 I have is only a few months old, it was a replacement for the X-650 I had that had turning on issues.

Is it some sort of coil buzz or something? Could it be a hardware/electrical conflict of some sort?

Whatever it is, it is not acceptable in my opinion, this is meant to be a silent PC!
 

lifespill

Reputable
Oct 25, 2015
520
0
5,360
The buzzing noise may be the psu fan or that psu cant cope with high load,anyway if its new and under warranty i would have returned it asap,psu not really meant to sound like this in normal situations.
 

kol12

Honorable
Jan 26, 2015
2,109
0
11,810


Funny you should mention this as my dvd drive makes a terrible buzzing noise when I try to open the disk tray that doesn't open anymore, well not without me helping it along anyway. It also makes a weird noise when booting the computer up. I think it's had it to be honest, maybe this is the link to the buzzing noise? The buzzing noise of the dvd drive is only when I open it though and the constant buzzing sounds like it's coming from the PSU but maybe it's the link. I will disconnect the optical drive tomorrow and see...
 

kol12

Honorable
Jan 26, 2015
2,109
0
11,810


I've disconnected the DVD drive but the buzzing continues although more intermittent. It's quite random, it will buzz for 30 seconds then stop then at any time start again.

 

kol12

Honorable
Jan 26, 2015
2,109
0
11,810


Just the power cable, I didn't feel like pulling the wrong sata cable out from the mobo! Is there way to see what devices are on what sata ports ?

That's the reason I swapped the two stock Corsair fans up top with new AF140's as I thought they were the source, that only leaves the two Noctua redux 140mm up front but they are silent and the two stock 120mm fans on my H80i GT water cooler radiator. There's also one 120mm at the bottom of the case. It could be the fan of the PSU as well but it's a top quality sanyo denki...

I'll have to really stick my head in there and see if I can pinpoint the source...
 

kol12

Honorable
Jan 26, 2015
2,109
0
11,810


Yip fan only comes on under certain load. This PSU is actually a replacement for a X-660 KM that I had which had turning on issues. It was quite a process to get the replacement but they kindly upgraded me with the X-750 for my patients!

I actually had the same buzzing with the X-660 KM, it may be trait with Seasonic. I emailed Seasonic at the time is this is what they had to say:

"Dear customer,

Thanks for contacting Seasonic - Customer Service Dept.
Please try the following methods first:
You may experience a high frequency noise that the PSU is emitting and the best thing to do is the following:
1. Update the BIOS of your MB
2. In the BIOS, ENABLE all energy savings modes like ErP, S4/S5, standby, etc.
3. In the BIOS, please disable the C6/C7 power states or Audio Always On, if it is available.
4. In VGA set up, disable VSync.
5. If you use AMD APU (Accelerated Processing Unit), then set the "pending current" to "constant current" of 1.2V.

It is very well possible that the MB meets ErP regulations but the functions are disabled.
It's also possible that the MB or VGA does not have the right filters at the DC power connectors and signal noise is returning to the PSU and the coils in the PSU is amplifying it."


Unless I've looked for the wrong things in the Bios this hasn't worked for me, by disabling VSync I'm not sure where he means.

I think the filter thing seems quite likely, it could be other appliances on the same circuit in the house interfering?
 
1, 2, and 3 are a bunch of bull IMO. That won't do anything. Vsync adjustments may change the load which could affect noise. The PSU does not know if it's hooked up to a banana or a computer; it really can't tell the difference. Zero data is transferred between the PSu and motherboard.
 

kol12

Honorable
Jan 26, 2015
2,109
0
11,810


I think it's likely not the actual PSU either but more a piece of hardware that's making the PSU make the buzzing noise?

Ok but I'm a little hesitant in unplugging the H80i GT (radiator fans) as the temps could sky rocket, what do you suggest?
 

Rexer

Distinguished


Yeah, you're right. It doesn't sound good.
1) It may be a capacitor in the psu unit is going out. Capacitors that handle incoming power sometimes emit a buzz when they don't have enough power to start or maintain the system. When they eventually power up, the buzzing stops, everything's O.K. But if it gets longer or more common, it's a warning the psu is going out.
2) If you have a UPS unit, check the program and see if there wasn't a power failure of some sort. Low or fluctuating power (brownout) coming from the home wall socket will burn components if there's no protection. It's always good to have a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) unit over a surge protector.

 

kol12

Honorable
Jan 26, 2015
2,109
0
11,810


The buzzing is not while powering the system on, it is intermittent during normal usage.

I'm quite sure the buzz is coming from the PSU.
 

Rexer

Distinguished
Hmm. Your previous psu made this sound. Strange for good brand to do that. There are lemons, thou.
I had a psu go bad before. When it was going out, it was taking out everything with it. What kind of problems did you have with your previous psu? The reason why I'm asking is the old psu could have been taking out components as it was going south. So, when you installed the new psu, the components put a strain on it. Making it work hard to keep a normal running pace. But you would probably notice a great deal of heat. Making this just a suggestion.
When my Corsair RM750 was going out, it brown out the mobo, video card and cpu. To my surprise, certain RM750 serial numbers were on recall before I purchased it. I just happen to buy one. It was for an auto-fan setting that wasn't set properly so it overheated and slowly brown-out my computer. Power grew weaker, micro burns outs and random crashing, then frequent crashing, then not starting at all. When I put the new psu in, part by part in a short period of time, I replaced the components except for ram. Why the manufacturer didn't recall the bad psu from the retailer's shelf, I have no clue. Till I went on the Corsair site for an RMA, did I find out about a recall. By that time all my components were suspect. I just don't buy Corsair anymore.
I'm not saying what happen to me, is happening to you. I'm saying is it might be a good idea to check to see if Seasonic has discussion blogsite. Check out other hardware sites or Google to see if other users are having the same problem. Seasonic is a good name but every once in a while a bad ones roll out on the floor. I know it sounds messed up. I'm not trying to be offesnsive. Please don't take me wrong. I'm just trying to help.
Do you have a friend who has spare psu, you could plug it in to test for whine? Most computer shops have hardware test stuff to check components.
Just suggestions. Hope this helps.
 
@Rexer
http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=123484
the original post from the corsair froum post:
"In an effort to improve our products for all of our users, we have updated the RM750 and RM850 to resolve this issue. The thermistor circuit that is used to measure the temperature for the fan controller and OTP has been changed in all RM750 and RM850 PSU’s moving forward. An additional resistor has been added that will result in the fan turning on prior to the condition that causes the PSU to shut down in the event that temperatures exceed 45°C."
" This shutdown will cause no damage to the PSU or the system."
 

kol12

Honorable
Jan 26, 2015
2,109
0
11,810


I'm sorry to hear about your PSU troubles. My previous PSU (Seasonic X-660KM) would not turn on from the case switch so I would have to flick the I/O switch on the PSU multiple times to power on the machine. As you could probably imagine this became highly frustrating! Luckily (I discovered) that this particular issue with the PSU would have no negative effect on the rest of the hardware and simply was an issue with the PSU. It turns out to be a known issue with the X-660 I believe. Seasonic PSU's are very sensitive, this is what the Seasonic rep had to say at the time:

"According to your info, it may come from a voltage tension at the boot. Our PSU strictly follow Intel specifications and it may happen that from time to time, your motherboard (VRM component in charge of DC tension) is outside of these specifications which will have for consequence for the PSU not to be able to start."

Since getting the X-770KM3 (latest release) I do not have this issue, but I do still have the buzzing that the X-660 exhibited as well. I've seen some reports of the Corsair PSU's exhibiting this buzzing too. Most of those Corsairs are made by Seasonic anyway I believe...

I'm still yet to figure out what causes it, I think rather than it being a fault with the PSU that it's that the Seasonic's are very sensitive to what they are connected to. It could be a particular hardware component it doesn't agree with or could have something to do with the mains power as well, I'm not sure...
 

kol12

Honorable
Jan 26, 2015
2,109
0
11,810


Me? CPU or GPU overclocking? I mainly hear it when the machines idling just web browsing and what not. The machines really only ever under load when I'm gaming and I usually have headphones on.
 

Rexer

Distinguished


I'm aware they corrected the problem in the psu. Thanks. But before the problem was rectified, the shutdowns were detrimental. They can say, 'No, it causes no harm to equipment' in their statement and I'll always beg to differ. Of course, every company has the right to say that. They have a right to protect their product and name. By my experience, I won't believe it.
My problem started slowly, going from random to frequent blackouts and starting failures. Like I mentioned, after replacing the psu, I eventually replaced cpu, gpu and motherboard in a few months time. They listed the serial numbers which were recalled on their site. Corsair didn't recall the psu from the retail shelves. Guys like myself bought them after they put out the recall because no one knew there was a recall.
To be honest, I don't trust Corsair anymore since I had problems with their cases and liquid coolers. It's not just this particular psu I'm disappointed with. Chicony whom Corsair contracts to build the RM 750 psu isn't known for their quality.



 

kol12

Honorable
Jan 26, 2015
2,109
0
11,810
I think the buzzing in my PSU could have something to do with the mains power. Today as soon as I turned the heater on in the room the buzzing stopped. I don't know for sure but it's a possibility... Aren't there some mains power filters you can get?
 

Rexer

Distinguished


Are you using a UPS (uninterrupted power supply unit)?

 

kol12

Honorable
Jan 26, 2015
2,109
0
11,810


No...