Buzzing noise coming for PSU?

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Flogger23m

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Jun 19, 2009
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Today I was using my PC and I noticed a faint buzzing noise. I turned down all of the fans that I could manually turn down, and the buzzing noise level stayed them same. I then turned off the PC, and the noise was still there. Turning off the power to the PSU kills the noise. When I press the switch back on, the noise comes on again (no fans spinning). I am positive it is coming from the PSU. The noise is not extremely loud, but it was enough for me to notice over my PC fans at idle (Antec 120mm set to medium).

I have never noticed this noise before. Before when my PC was off, I heard no buzzing noise at all.

No BSODs, errors, crashing, or any type of instability to report as of yet. I turned off the PC anyways.

The PSU is an Antec Earthwatts 500. It is about 2 1/2 years old.

PC specs:
ASUS M3N78 Pro
GTX 260 216 Super Clocked EVGA
AMD 965 with Xigmatek LOKI 92mm
4GB PC6400 DDR2 (2x 2GB)
WD FALS 1TB HDD
Samsung 223F DVD/CD combo drive
2x case fans
1x PCI card

No overclocking done by me ever.

Assuming my PSU is going out and I can not get a replacement, what PSU should I be looking at buying for a replacement? Are the new Antecs still of good quality? What other brands are solid? I am looking for something cheap, so it would probably be a 600 watt PSU.

This looks to be a good PSU for the price:
http://www.amazon.com/Antec-EA-650-Green-Energy-Certified/dp/B004NBZAES/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317342424&sr=8-1

I am assuming this will mount fine in an Antec Sonata III?
 
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I get the same thing from my 850XFX when its not on. Its pretty normal
 
Call Antec get an RMA number, it should still be under warranty. A power supply should not make any noise.

You could also try plugging the unit into another outlet and see if it stops?
 
mybsetsmyshrts said:
Ok?
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There's this thing that most PSUs have. It's called a fan, and if it's not making noise, then that's usually not a good sign. And fan notwithstanding, you're still wrong. Mostly. Coil whine isn't supposed to happen, but it often does, and it doesn't harm anything except your concentration.
 
Zero82z said:
There's this thing that most PSUs have. It's called a fan, and if it's not making noise, then that's usually not a good sign. And fan notwithstanding, you're still wrong. Mostly. Coil whine isn't supposed to happen, but it often does, and it doesn't harm anything except your concentration.
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As I said, I hear the noise when my PC is turned off as well (with plug in and PSU set to on).

I can hear it when my head is roughly 1 1/2 feet away from the PSU. If that is normally how loud coil whine is then I guess I am ok. I just never heard it (or noticed it) until now.
 
Flogger23m said:
As I said, I hear the noise when my PC is turned off as well (with plug in and PSU set to on).

I can hear it when my head is roughly 1 1/2 feet away from the PSU. If that is normally how loud coil whine is then I guess I am ok. I just never heard it (or noticed it) until now.
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Yes, that's pretty normal for coil whine. Nothing to worry about.
 
Most electronic products will exhibit coil whine at some point. It's not ideal, but perfectly normal during their operation. Nothing to worry about, unless it's so loud you can't stay in the room (in that case you do have a problem).
 
I just posted a thread a few mins ago about somewhat the same thing. that whining sound even when computer is off. The power supply in question is: Corsair CMPSU-600CX V2 600W. I cant hear it when computer is on, only when off. No whine when under load either.
 
I just wanted to drop in and say that coil whine is something that is certainly covered under warranty. If you decide that you would like a replacement, just let us know.
 
Antec_Jessie said:
I just wanted to drop in and say that coil whine is something that is certainly covered under warranty. If you decide that you would like a replacement, just let us know.
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That is nice to know. We have dozens of Antec supplies here at work and from time to time a very small percentage of them have exhibited coil whine.
 
My PSU has this +5v stand by whine too. I do not know if the warranty covers it, brand new PSU.
 
Most of the more reputable manufacturers will allow you to RMA your PSU due to coil whine. you would have to check with Thermaltake and see if they allow you to.
 
Yeah... I guess that I have to send it back. It can't be normal that it's quieter when system is on, including the fan. It annoys the living crap out of me when I try to sleep. My system is about 3m away from me.

I did ask Thermaltake about it and got this answer (I don't really know if that is qualified as proper answer, though)... Obviously the warranty is handled by the local dealer (at least 3 years) but I filled Tech Support Request to get answers.
Dear Sir

This is Thermaltake Customer Service Department Europe.

In case of warranty please first contact your local dealer for further assistance.

For direct service please send us your defective product with invoice copy, defective description and this mail for exchange.

Thermaltake Germany GmbH

RMA-CSD/EU
Oststr.26
22844 Norderstedt

-Germany-

Shipping fee for sending in is on your expenses, reshipment will be covered by Thermaltake.
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It's not that strange actually. Coil whine in power supplies is very dependent on the load put on it. Some have it when the computer is shut down, others have it when the computer is idling, and yet others get it when it is under load. Coil whine by nature is very random.
 
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