Noise upon power on that subsides after 3 minutes?

[new daddy]

I have a 400Watt power supply from iMicro, which I substituted for the Dell OEM power supply.

It used to work fine for about an year, but recently started to make growling noise when it's switched on. The noise remains for about three minutes and goes away.

Is it a sign that the PSU needs to be replaced? I don't want to make an expenditure unless absolutely necessary, but at the same time don't want to save a few bucks now and spend a fortune on replacing a damaged motherboard either.

 

[Paperdoc]

That sounds like the bearings on the fan inside the PSU are wearing out. When that first becomes apparent it does just what you describe. When it is turned on cold, the fan shaft rattles around inside a worn and slightly loose bearing sleeve. But as it runs, the shaft and sleeves expand differently and the excess clearance is reduced until the shaft runs without rattling around. (I'm betting it does not have ball bearings.)

If you are not concerned with maintaining warranty coverage on it, open the PSU case and remove the fan. Take it to a computer parts shop and get a matching one to replace it.

 

[new daddy]

If it's the bearings problem, what's the worst that can happen if I don't fix them? Since the problem seems to go away after the PSU is warmed up, is there still reason for concern if I continued to use it?

Thanks.

 

[Paperdoc]

It will get progressively worse and may cause you problems you don't realize. Bad bearings can cause the fan to run slow and noisy, reducing cooling of the PSU and case. Really bad ones will cause the fan to seize up and stop making noise, but then you have NO cooling. Right now when it stops making noise, that's probably because it has warmed up as I posted. But later if it goes quiet, which cause is it?

This is not an emergency - it may continue to work and get worse for a few months (but maybe less). Just DO plan to fix it.

 

[shovenose]

that psu is junk in the first place, dont torture it more by having a failing fan. either replace the fan (for help, go to the website in my signature), or get a new psu.