Will my capacitors go pop

[n00ber]

Hi folks, hope this is the right forum. I believe it is the PSU that is causing the issue.

My PC has recently started making a high pitched buzzing sound when plugged in and the power is on. The sound used to stay for only a few minutes progressively getting high in pitch until it stopped. But now its not stopping at all. I have a feeling this is related to capacitors.

The sound is not really noticeably when the PC is on but i'm alittle worried that either my PSU or MB is going to crap out on me. They are both only one year old but would probably be on for about 60 hours a week.

Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

 

[bridonca]

Dumb question, but does the noise go away when you turn off the monitor? We need more information on the PC, like how old it is, brand of the components, stuff like that

 

[jajig]

Just sounds like a fan needs oiling to me.

 

[jjnguy13]

Just sounds like a fan needs oiling to me.

I was about to suggest the same thing. Now...I guess I'm just wasting space....

 

[gomerpile]

the name states it all dont you think, I have a strange sound from my bottom anyone know what causes it. I can give a list of parts if needed, forgot to mention I ate some beans, would that cause sounds like bombs, or is there more to it.

 

[jajig]

Sounds like you're farting to me. Have a couple of charcoal capsules (you can buy them from the supermarket) and that should fix the issue.

 

[n00ber]

Thanks Guys sorry it took me a while but my new monitor arrived yesterday and i was understandably distracted. Oh and the noise is not the monitor, come on give me some credit

As for the charcoal capsuls, one its not a 'popping' sound its a high pitch buzz and if that was coming from my arse i think i'd need to do something more than just come here Oh by the way never knew charcoal capsuls would reduce the risk of gaseous emmissions, must bear that in mind

Relevant Spec:
PSU - HIPER 540 R_Type
MB - Asus A8N32-SLI

Definitily not fans because the sound is there when none are running. It will start as soon as current is being applied (not necessarily booted up). It also sounds distinctly electrical in nature, like those monitor type buzzes It's probably all fine but just thought i'd throw it out there to to try and gain a few gems.

Thanks again guys

 

[jajig]

As for the charcoal capsuls, one its not a 'popping' sound its a high pitch buzz and if that was coming from my arse i think i'd need to do something more than just come here Oh by the way never knew charcoal capsuls would reduce the risk of gaseous emmissions, must bear that in mind

That was me just been a smartarse to gomerpile.

Charcoal's good for gas, diarrhea, drug overdoses and things like that. It absorbs whatever is in your stomach.

 

[womble]

Suppose it could be something going in the power supply, not that awful high pitched whistle you get when something is going is it?

The only other thing that springs to mind straight off is possibly one of the fans. All my cpu fans seem to go the same way over the years, a bit noisy for a few minutes before settling. My current Athlon64 cooler has a particularly nasty feint vibration at the moment which is sometimes nicely picked up by one of the sata cables and the drive bays resonate very noisily. Driving me nuts so swapping over to an Arctic Cooler soon.

 

[wbirkin]

i have those especially in games menus. i think those sounds are from the digital pwm's. i have two ati cards that have that, currently using one, getting that buzzing, grounded like sound. i just learned to live with it as nothing has gone bad for half a year with the buzzing.

 

[gomerpile]

sounds like transformers doing their work

 

[n00ber]

Thanks alot guys, actually i'm quite relieved with the responses. No ones saying quick evacute the house PC based explosion imminent, which would have worried me slightly.

I'll just live with it and hope i can get another year or 2 out of the system, its hardly noticeable when the PC is actually on.

I maybe getting myself a new quieter PSU at some point, the Hiper is a noisey brut, so hopefully that would proof if its the PSU or MB or somthing else. I really want it to be the PSU i like my MB :?

 

[wouse101]

itss switch mode power supply, they make this noise!!

 

[rodney_ws]

I've seen many computers with ruptured capacitors... and to the best of my knowledge none gave an audible warning. I think you're barking up the wrong tree.

 

[Mugz]

A buzzing noise will be either the transformer(s) or something arcing.

If it's the transformers, they're simply indicating that they're no longer brand new. For transformers that small to buzz is unusual, but most likely nothing to worry about.

If it's something arcing, you'd smell ozone, and I highly doubt as to whether the PC will even stay switched on then. Or even be usable with a different PSU.

As an industrial engineer specialising in electronics, I see a fair number of industrial-grade transformers. These brutes (120KVA input, usually) will start buzzing within at least a month of installation, usually a year or so. They then keep on going for a long time afterward - several years at least.

A transformer is normally two coils of wire around a metal core. To prevent things like eddy currents and other anomalies, the metal core is made up of a number of metal plates bound together, with the wire wound around them. The buzzing is caused by these plates vibrating together. The vibration is caused by the electromagnetic flux that makes the transformer work. These plates are usually glued together, but not always.

 

[n00ber]

Good stuff cheers, the capacitors was only a bit of a guess on my part i figured that if they maybe started leaking that they'd generate a sound.

Its probably nothing to worry about, but like i said i like my MB and wouldn't like loss it.

My tweaking (overclocking) has probably just made me a bit over cautious.

 

[jjnguy13]

Your PSU is pretty low quality. It is no surprise that it is buzzing, chirping, or whatever. You might want to get a new one before something seriously goes wrong and you fry some of your other components, or start your computer on fire.

 

[n00ber]

You just had to say something like didn't you JJ

I know its no top of the range PSU but would hardly say its low quality, the one that came with the case now that was low quality, never hit 12v at all, needless to say that was out of there sharpess But the hiper gives out decent steady volts.

The Hiper has done alright for me in general plus its modular which i liked, my new case and CPU HSF has highlighted how noisey it is mind, 2 fans.

 

[jjnguy13]

You just had to say something like didn't you JJ

I know its no top of the range PSU but would hardly say its low quality, the one that came with the case now that was low quality, never hit 12v at all, needless to say that was out of there sharpess But the hiper gives out decent steady volts.

The Hiper has done alright for me in general plus its modular which i liked, my new case and CPU HSF has highlighted how noisey it is mind, 2 fans.

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said it was low quality. That is a bit of an over statement.

What I meant was that it wasn't one of the good quality PSU's on any of the Reference lists (I don't think).

 

[badnob]

I don't know if capacitors make noise or not when they ar laking, but you can tell by visual inspection. When they are on their way out, they start to bulge on top, their tops should be flat. Ohandyoucan sometimes see some oxidisation on their tops as well, it looks a bit like mouldy rust.

Note, I am not suggesting you take apart your PSU, but that's ehat I know about capacitors for future reference.

 

[rupert86]

Try smacking your PSU (just smack the upper of the case). I've done it 1000s of times in my life and never seen an immediate HDD failure, so I think its a non-issue.

This will cause the fan to shut-up. I think you only need to replace a fan. The bush-bearing is worn-out. If you can bear the noise, the fan will most probably go 12hrs a day for another whole year before failing.

Transformers making great noises are either very big or being fed improper type of power (square wave instead of sine). They sound like mosquitoes and aren't very harsh. And it remains continuous (not stopping after a while).

 

[gomerpile]

Thanks for the excellent notes we have to respect people that bring that kind of input to this place. It must have been hard to stay in school to learn that stuff. Hopefully your getting good pay for it.

 

[ZOldDude]

Your PSU is pretty low quality. It is no surprise that it is buzzing, chirping, or whatever.

PSU: Ultra 500W X-Finity

It's a wonder yours hasn't died and taken the rest of your system with it.
You must be one of the lucky Ultra owners.

 

[vic20]

MOSFETs can make a noise like that before they blow up. I was posting a mobo and this happened to me. Got part of a mosfet from the vrm in my eye lol

Change your PSU before any damage is done to the mobo. If its the mobo, changing the PSU is smart anyway, because it could have been what damaged the board.

 

[wouse101]

Smacking it, like i did, <b>WILL ah heck YOUR PSU FAN!</b>

started rattling around cos of a loose fan blade.

Your Caps will only go bang under the following conditions:

1. The voltage arcoss them exceeds their rating(hardly, unless your putting more than 230V mains in, to which your then probably looking at 3-phase! Or the feedback signal controlling the PWM inside is not doing its job and boosting the voltage too much)

2. the polarity of the voltage across them is back to front (hardly, unless you been messing around, in which case you probably deserve it)

I think the lesson here is research your equipment, BEFORE making silly posts.

but then thats probably why your here

If in doubt, change it.