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Power Supply Buzzing

P

Paradoxex

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 10, 2009
Messages
145
Greetings,

I recently swapped out my 850TX for a CP-850 for the rig in my signature. The Corsair did not seem to be audible at all, other than perhaps slight fan noise. The new PSU is mostly the same, save one small attribute.

The CP-850 has a faint buzzing sound emanating from it when it is powered. The computer doesn't have to be on, but when the PSU is powered via the switch in back, the noise is audible when listening close to it. When the computer is turned on, either the noise goes away or it is no longer audible due to the quiet fans running.

I do not have the system running on a UPS with AVR at present. I have heard that AVR can help "condition" the power and reduce this sort of buzzing on high quality PSUs. I also have been forced to use a 3 prong to 2 prong electrical plug converter on my surge protector due to the lack of grounded plugs in the complex I'm staying in this summer. When I move back to my normal residence in a couple weeks, I'll be using normal three pronged outlets again.

I have also heard that this buzzing noise actually dissipates with time....as the PSU "breaks in," if you will.

Should I be concerned? Is this a normal problem to have?
 
Any help with this?

Will a UPS potentially help the issue?

Is it possible the sound will fade in time?

It's clearly an electrical buzz, and it definitely can be barely heard when the computer is not turned on, but the PSU is powered on.
 
A UPS will not help. Mine is attached to one and it didn't make a difference. I do not know if the sound will fade in time. My PSU's buzzing is the same as yours.

I am currently RMAing mine to Corsair as I was told by JonnyGuru that it is a transformer heating up and causing magnetorestriction. Either caused by a bad transformer or loose windings. He said the unit is probably not working at peak efficiency either. As soon as mine cools down it doesn't make the noise.

My new one arrives next week. I'll let you know.
 
I looked at this again last night, and the buzzing sound definitely goes away as soon as the computer is turned on. It's totally silent at that point. As aforementioned though, the buzzing is barely audible from two inches away when the computer is off but the breaker switch is on.

Thinking bout this has also lead me to wonder something else:

The apartment I'm in for the summer has only non-grounded (two-prong) outlets, and so to use my computer I've had to use a three-to-two prong converter plug. right now that is what is sitting between my surge protector and the wall. My computer is plugged into the surge protector. Is this likely to cause problems for the computer system?
 
Does the two to 3 prong connector have a wire that comes out of it? If so you could wrap that wire around the screw that holds the faceplate cover of the outlet to the outlet itself and will be grounded that way.

It is possible what you are postulating could be the cause. Does your surge supressor have any indicator lights on it that tell you if you are grounded?
 
It does, but it's pretty screwy. It's a cheap Dynex surge protector that I picked up as a stop gap solution until I get back home.

The grounded light is on when the computer is on, but dims significantly (or maybe turns off) when the computer turns on. I'll test this again tonight.
 
I noticed something else interesting tonight, and I don't know if this has any meaning whatsoever.

When I flip the breaker switch on the back of the PSU, the Saitek Eclipse II keyboard, which has a lighted keyboard, lights up for a second. This is before the computer is actually turned on. It lights up for a second and then goes back off.

I know the PSU has a tiny draw on it when the computer is off because the Asus P6T has lighted on-board Power and Reset switches, so it is at least lighting those LEDs.

I don't mind the faint buzz or anything else about this power supply, so long as I can be assured it's safe.

Any other opinions on if this is just an annoyance issue?
 
If your board powers its USB ports from the +5VSB rail, that would probably explain the keyboard lighting up.
 
Interesting. I'm going to guess it's the wiring. My line still isn't grounded on account of staying in a very old apartment complex.

I move back home in a couple weeks, so that will change soon. I picked up an AVR-equipped UPS, and I think it has gotten better, however.
 
Mine is already plugged into a UPS. Not sure if mine is an AVR-equipped one. Will look it up. Either plugged directly into wall outlet or the UPS, the noise is still there.
 
Hmm. Do you know how much you are pulling out of the wall?

For a while I thought maybe the power supply was being taxed. That thought was especially scary given that the PSU is an 850 watt unit ($$$=Power Bills). After measuring the draw with the UPS, I can tell that it typically pulls 275w at idle, and only 600w at full load (Prime95 + 3dMark Vantage).

As a side note...if that's what is being pulled by the PSU, does that mean the computer is using around 85% of that? The rest would be the loss due to inefficiency, right?
 
These are my specs:

Asus P6T Deluxe (Bios 1605)
12GB Corsair C8 DDR3-1600
Intel i7 920 C0 stepping
EVGA GTX260 (Core 216) Superclocked
LG GGC-H20L HD-DVD/BluRay Rom/DVD Burner (Firmware 1.03)
Samsung SH-S223F DVD Burner
Western Digital 300GB Velociraptor SATA HDD
Western Digital 1TB Black SATA HDD
3 x Seagate 1TB SATA HDD
Corsair HX850w PSU
Gigabyte Aurora 570 case

At Idle, using a Kill-a-watt measuring device, mine pulls 216W from the wall. Under load it pulls 550W. I dunno about your logic regarding the efficiency. It sounds correct though.
 
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