power supply noise

I

iamtherat

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 20, 2004
Messages
174
is the fan the only thing that causes the noise in a PSU? or are there other stuff that causes noise?

i mean, if i remove the fan, would the PSU be perfectly silent?
 
In theory the fan should be the noisy part. It is possible that a lower quality PSU could have some transformer noise but that should be very low.

I can’t recommend you take the fan(s) out of your PSU. The output of your unit is based on given temperature range and too much heat will cause you to not only lose PSU capacity and stability but endanger your entire computer, not to mention possible fire hazard.

Buy a low noise or fan-less PSU if that’s what you need.
 
i was just wondering because i just replaced the fan with a quieter one...

but yet, the noise didn't drop. i am slowly pin pointing where the noise is coming from by shutting down the other fans...and it points to my psu.

which i think is odd because the fan i replaced it with shouldn't be that loud...since it's close to perfectly silent in my other computer.
 
What does it sound like? A fan will "whirr"... power supplies will give off a high pitched squeal, with some louder than others.

They dunk the transformers/inductors used in power supplies into varnish during manufacture, to hold the windings in place. Every once in a while a part won't go the full way into the potitng tank or sometimes a manufacturer will forget entirely... the loose windings and loose transformer core will "dance around" a bit and cause noise.

This doesn't cause any reliability problems, but it can be annoying as fuck.

Does the sound change depending on what you're doing on your computer? if so, this is your problem.
 
thanks for the replies...

i found the problem, it's a combination of the transformers/inductors and vibration. what i did was unplug all the fans. the psu transformer noise is slightly louder then my hard drive with no fan. but the extra noise is caused by vibrations of the fan inside the psu, even for silent fans. appearantly the psu has aluminum housing, which causes the extra noise when the fan is on.

so glad i didn't get an aluminum case.
 
nweibley said:
In which case a hot glue gun will fix it once you completely discharge the PSU.
Click to expand...
it might not fix the main power transformer... you might have to actually desolder and varnish that to get it to shut up. :D
 
iamtherat said:
thanks for the replies...

i found the problem, it's a combination of the transformers/inductors and vibration. what i did was unplug all the fans. the psu transformer noise is slightly louder then my hard drive with no fan. but the extra noise is caused by vibrations of the fan inside the psu, even for silent fans. appearantly the psu has aluminum housing, which causes the extra noise when the fan is on.

so glad i didn't get an aluminum case.
Click to expand...
Hey hey! I have an aluminum case and it does not rattle... but its a Lian Li :p

You might want to put some silicone washers inbetween the fan and casing, or just some actual silicon :p
 
gee said:
What does it sound like? A fan will "whirr"... power supplies will give off a high pitched squeal, with some louder than others.

They dunk the transformers/inductors used in power supplies into varnish during manufacture, to hold the windings in place. Every once in a while a part won't go the full way into the potitng tank or sometimes a manufacturer will forget entirely... the loose windings and loose transformer core will "dance around" a bit and cause noise.

This doesn't cause any reliability problems, but it can be annoying as fuck.

Does the sound change depending on what you're doing on your computer? if so, this is your problem.
Click to expand...

My OCZ PowerStream 520w makes a digital noise when i put the system under heavy load with like Prime95. I dont hear it any other time. Its not very loud but i can hear it coming from the inside of the PSU. I asked an OCZ rep about it and he said it was probably just load noise and nothing to worry about.
 
burningrave101 said:
My OCZ PowerStream 520w makes a digital noise when i put the system under heavy load with like Prime95. I dont hear it any other time. Its not very loud but i can hear it coming from the inside of the PSU. I asked an OCZ rep about it and he said it was probably just load noise and nothing to worry about.
Click to expand...

I could be wrong here, but I believe any noise you might be hearing would be analog.
 
BillR said:
I could be wrong here, but I believe any noise you might be hearing would be analog.
Click to expand...
"a smartass is a kicked ass, okay?" - my grade 11 math teacher
 
gee said:
What does it sound like? A fan will "whirr"... power supplies will give off a high pitched squeal, with some louder than others.

They dunk the transformers/inductors used in power supplies into varnish during manufacture, to hold the windings in place. Every once in a while a part won't go the full way into the potitng tank or sometimes a manufacturer will forget entirely... the loose windings and loose transformer core will "dance around" a bit and cause noise.

This doesn't cause any reliability problems, but it can be annoying as fuck.

Does the sound change depending on what you're doing on your computer? if so, this is your problem.
Click to expand...


Would this sound also be characterized as a high pitched squeal that remains even after removing the power cord?

The PSU I'm using for my A64 setup will squeal really loud and the sound will remain for a few minutes after I have removed the power cord.
 
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