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Power Supply - loud click

L

Loaded Glove

Weaksauce
Joined
May 15, 2016
Messages
65
When I power the system on/off, reboot and also sometimes in certain load scenarios, the power supply makes a single loud click. The sound is not continuous or sustained, just a single loud click.

I've Googled and get mixed opinions on the issue and it's driving me crazy so I hope to find some help and info here.

First I bought a Corsair HX1000 and had this issue so I returned it to MicroCenter and since they had no more in stock, I swapped it for an EVGA SuperNova 1000 P2. Both units have the same issue so I have to think it's either normal, being caused by something other than the power supply directly or I just have terrible luck.

The issue persists with or without the graphics card installed. Since the 1080 is power hungry, I thought taking it out and using the onboard would be a good variable to try.

I'd like to know what this is, if it's normal or not and either way, if I should get another unit immediately.

Thanks in advance for any help and information!

Specs
intel i7 6700k (no OC)
Asus Maximus VIII Hero* (bios 2001)
Corsair Vengeance ddr4 xmp 2666 32gb (16x2, qvl*)
msi GTX 1080 Gaming X Twin Frozr VI
Samsung 950 Pro M.2 NVMe 512gb
Hitachi Deskstar 7K4000 2tb x 2 (independent)
NZXT S340 matte black/blue
EVGA Supernova 1000 P2
BeQuiet! Shadow Rock Slim (135mm slim fan)
Cougar CFD120 x2 intake, NZXT FN V2 120 x2 exhaust

Windows 10 Pro 64bit
 
It is probably just a relay.

I have an AX850 (Corsair) and a X750 (Seasonic), they are AFAIK based on the same design and made by Seasonic.

Both these power supplies click when the computer turns off, goes into sleep etc. I believe it has to do with powering down as much of the PSU as possible, in order to save power.

I can however say that the click is far from "loud" as you describe.
 
Thanks for replying.

So it sounds like you're saying it is basically normal and a function on that internal component, but in my situation it seems way too loud to be "normal" and this is what worries me. The sound is about as loud as cracking knuckles sometimes, that is the only comparison I can think of right now. lol Not always, but sometimes. The fact that the volume of the noise is not consistent makes me think the component may not be functioning within normal parameters.
 
I contacted EVGA support and the guy I spoke with suggested it could even be a motherboard issue. Can anyone weigh in with thoughts, ideas and suggestions about this?
 
I'm on my 3rd psu now, a Cooler Master V850 and this unit also exhibits the click, but it seems to be the worst with this unit. Was just running the Heaven benchmark and it clicked very loud several times during. It's never many clicks in quick succession, just a single loud click at a time, but during the bench run it did it maybe 3 or 4 times in the time it took to run it which is like 4-5 minutes I think.

At one point I touched the case and it did it while my hand was on it and it felt like the whole case creaked. Kind of like the sound and sensation of how plastic or metal expand and contract when temperatures change.

Since 3 psus in a row have exhibited this behavior, either I'm truly unlucky or there is something other than the units themselves that is causing them to exhibit this behavior. There is no way this can be normal.
 
Loaded Glove said:
I'm on my 3rd psu now, a Cooler Master V850 and this unit also exhibits the click, but it seems to be the worst with this unit. Was just running the Heaven benchmark and it clicked very loud several times during. It's never many clicks in quick succession, just a single loud click at a time, but during the bench run it did it maybe 3 or 4 times in the time it took to run it which is like 4-5 minutes I think.

At one point I touched the case and it did it while my hand was on it and it felt like the whole case creaked. Kind of like the sound and sensation of how plastic or metal expand and contract when temperatures change.

Since 3 psus in a row have exhibited this behavior, either I'm truly unlucky or there is something other than the units themselves that is causing them to exhibit this behavior. There is no way this can be normal.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's the PSU, then. At first I thought you had a loose wire inside your PSU periodically striking the fan blades.
But now that you're on your third one, I gotta ask - did you try a tube against your ear or something to narrow down the source?
And now that you say the case is acting up, I would propose two scenarios:
Either it's the case contracting and expanding and causing the noise, or, you have a wire somewhere near your CPU or case fan that is being hit by the blades, or one of your fans' bearings is out and they click when they change RPMs.
 
With three completely different PSUs, I can't believe it's the PSUs. Look elsewhere. There's lots of things that can click during startup and if your ears are telling you it's the PSU, your ears may be deceiving you.

Disconnect the hard drives. Maybe one of them is clicking during bootup. If not that, then disconnect the SSD as well and start up on a USB stick, as part of a process of booting up with as few things as possible.

You have four case fans. Maybe one of them is making the click when they start spinning. Disconnect them too. You'll be fine without them if the side is open and you aren't running endurance torture tests.

Are there speakers, headphones, headsets, or microphones of any sort anywhere in the vicinity of the PC? I don't care what they're connected to, disconnect them and get them out of the room.

Same goes for anything that's externally connected to the PC except the mouse and keyboard. USB drives, USB hubs, printers, and so on. Are you using a monitor's USB ports for a USB hub? Using a different keyboard and mouse would be good if you can.

Speaking of the monitor, if it has speakers, are they definitely not in use? Have you connected by HDMI?

What is the PSU plugged into? Have a UPS system, or just a power strip or something? If so, plug the PC and monitor directly into the wall and see if that eliminates the click. Got any Ethernet over power lines or audio over power lines going on in the house?

Do you have a different case handy? I am thinking a case short might be making an electrical discharge that sounds like a click.
 
You clearly forgot the feed the hampster inside the psu. The clicking is him nibbling on the metal.
 
Lol.... what is that 3 or 4 PSUs now that you returned?
Try 10 PSUs.... try 417 PSUs.

Here's what you do, get a 3 pound hammer and keep hitting the computer.
Hit it enough times and it will stop making all noises.

.
 
Not sure why the trolling, but the jokes were lame.

Anyway I am an idiot though because it wasn't my psu after all. Turns out it is the de-pop relay on my motherboard. The thing is, I'm inclined to believe this relay may not be functioning normally because I would think it should only make this click when the system powers on or off, but it will occasionally make it at other times as mentioned in previous posts. In most of my bench testing of this system, I don't even have any speakers or headphones plugged in which makes it all the more odd why the thing clicks.

My luck with hardware lately has been pretty bad, but apparently so has my judgement and subsequent ability to properly troubleshoot and identify sources of issues.

Thanks for the replies guys (except the last 2).
 
Take the sides of the case off, listen carefully and turn on your PC. Try to identify where the noise is coming fro. For example it could be the PSU cover heating up and clicking as the metal pops out.
 
i7Baby said:
Take the sides of the case off, listen carefully and turn on your PC. Try to identify where the noise is coming fro. For example it could be the PSU cover heating up and clicking as the metal pops out.
Click to expand...
I already stated that I found the source of the noise in my previous post. This was accomplished by listening to everything outside of the case and running everything on my tabletop. As I also mentioned, I'm not sure if the de-pop relay is supposed to click as loud as it does or in some of the scenarios that it has, but others around the web and at Asus own forum have experienced these issues as well. Most people are claiming that while not typical to be so audible, it is most likely not malfunctioning. I can return it to my local store, but will likely just learn to live with it since it doesn't seem to be causing any problems. I usually have headphones on most of the time so hopefully I'll barely ever notice it.

Thanks to everyone who tried to offer insight and apologies for wasting a thread on an initially incorrect diagnosis of where the sound was coming from. If a mod sees fit, I have no problem with this thread being locked or deleted.
 
My PSU does that since day 1, never had a problem thou. It only does it when booting up into the windows desktop. I think it is the only time that does it, not when powering off. It's been an year, still works great. I was a bit concerned like you then i stopped caring lol.
 
Loaded Glove said:
I already stated that I found the source of the noise in my previous post. This was accomplished by listening to everything outside of the case and running everything on my tabletop. As I also mentioned, I'm not sure if the de-pop relay is supposed to click as loud as it does or in some of the scenarios that it has, but others around the web and at Asus own forum have experienced these issues as well. Most people are claiming that while not typical to be so audible, it is most likely not malfunctioning. I can return it to my local store, but will likely just learn to live with it since it doesn't seem to be causing any problems. I usually have headphones on most of the time so hopefully I'll barely ever notice it.

Thanks to everyone who tried to offer insight and apologies for wasting a thread on an initially incorrect diagnosis of where the sound was coming from. If a mod sees fit, I have no problem with this thread being locked or deleted.
Click to expand...
Check the shielding and ports around your front and rear IO for damage, and make sure the shielding is properly contacting the IO Shield on your case or the front panel of the case so it has a good path to ground. Also, make sure nothing is touching ground on the back of your motherboard (unless it's supposed to, of course).

If all that is good, I'd have to guess it's functioning as it should, unless I missed something.
 
I was worried about this when I got a refurb from Corsair to replace my HX. It had a similar click when I booted up and while turning off. I've had no spikes or any issues with the psu outside of this click sound so I assume it's probably something minor.
 
I have a similar issue with a Corsair RM550x that I bought recently. I have like 40 corsair PS in other machines. Anyway, I called Corsair and they just did an RMA for me.

It is for a NAS that is on 24/7 and I did notice that it shuts itself off ocassionally - I think the PS it to blame.
 
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