strange sounds from a new computer, PSU issue?

[juriak]

Hi there,

I hear strange sounds from my new computer - it sounds like an old C64 or ZX Spectrum loading sounds if you now what I mean. The sounds only come out from the desktop when the system has to work on its maximum (like in 3Dmark, playing games etc.), in idle it's quiet. Can it be a PSU problem? Can it be because the PSU has not got enough power, or what? The system is: Asus 5PK, E8500, Sapphire 4870, Corsair 620W PSU.

Thanks!

 

[Grimmy]

Might be a slight chance of a grounding issue. Did you mute the sound card when you tested it? Just wonder if the sound is coming from perhaps the sound card.

 

[Onus]

That PSU is big enough. In line with Grimmy's suggestion, try to isolate the source of the sound, possibly by having the side off your case. As components warm up, perhaps a cooling fan is revving up to a speed that is creating extra noise.

 

[Andy2008]

It could be some component in the PSU, like an inductor, vibrating. In the same way you can sometimes hear a hum from a power transformer in the street. It's a switched-mode power supply, which will work at audible frequencies. Or it could be components on the motherboard in the CPU's voltage regulator circuit.

The traditional cure is transformer varnish, but it would be dangerous to open the PSU, and putting transformer varnish on the motherboard could stop it working.

 

[juriak]

No, it can't be sound card because i don't have any installed yet. It's kind of high-frequency (but hearable) noise. Now, after a litlle examintion, it looks like the sound comes out from the DDR2 modules from Corsair! (2GB DDR2 Twin2X dual channel, unbuffered 4-4-4-12 800MHz). Or at least the sound can be heard when the LEDs on the modules are blinking. Strange... Does anybody have the same experience?