strange whine coming from 520HX, but only with sound card installed?

[deruberhanyok]

Hello,

 

I recently got an Asus Xonar D2X PCI Express sound card, which requires a 4-pin "floppy drive" style power connection to function.

 

When I have it installed my power supply (a 520HX) emits a high-pitched whine. This sound carries through the sound card and out to my speakers, though even without the speakers connected I can still hear it coming from the PSU. It happens if the sound card is on a cable with other devices and also if it is the only device on a cable.

 

I'm certain the noise is coming from the PSU and not another component, as I've just gotten the motherboard replaced and found that putting my hand over the fan opening on the bottom of the PSU muffles the sound to the point where I can barely hear it.

 

The thing is, I've never had a problem with any other number of components connected to this power supply. I've had it since January of 2007 and it has been flawless. But then, I've also never had to connect a power cable to a sound card before. :)

 

Which one seems the more likely cause of the problem? Without the sound card installed everything seems fine so I'm leaning towards it as the culprit. Any thoughts?

 

Thanks,

 

Matt

[deruberhanyok]

Update:

 

I am now experiencing this noise coming from my power supply without that sound card installed. It changes in pitch and it doesn't seem to carry through to my speakers from the onboard audio but it is definitely there.

 

Any suggestions, or should I just be looking to get the power supply repaired/replaced?

 

[edit]

 

In case it is needed:

 

Athlon X2 5400+ black edition (happens both overclocked and at stock speeds) w/ Xigmatek HDT-S1283 heatsink

Asus M3A79-T Deluxe

8GB (4x2GB) Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800 RAM

Sapphire Radeon 4850 Toxic

D-Link DWL-G520 wifi-g NIC

1x Seagate hard drive

1x Samsung hard drive

1x Samsung DVD-RW

1x 3.5" floppy drive / USB flash card reader combo (floppy drive is not connected to motherboard or power, only internal USB cable is connected for flash card reader)

2x120mm stock case fans from Silverstone TJ04 case

 

And the aforementioned HX520 power supply.

[RAM GUY]

If possible I would test the video card in a different system, or test a different video card in your system to make sure that the video card does not have anything to do with these issues. There have been a few people having similar issues with the 48XX ATI cards.

 

If it looks like the PSU is whats causing the problems then lets get it replaced. You can use the On Line RMA Request Form and we will be happy to replace it. Be sure to check the box that says “I've already spoken to Technical Support and/or RAM Guy.”

[deruberhanyok]

Interesting. I'd previously tested it with my backup video card, a Radeon X1600 Pro, and the issue continued, though that was with the sound card still connected.

 

Right now it isn't making the sound. I'll keep an eye - or ear, as it were - on it and see if it happens again, if it starts to occur frequently I'll try the older video card and then set up an RMA if necessary.

 

Thanks for the speedy reply!

[RAM GUY]

No problem, I would recommend loading optimized defaults in the BIOS any time you change the hardware configuration, just to make sure all the IRQ addresses are getting assigned correctly.

[deruberhanyok]

Well I tested the computer with a different video card (a Radeon XD1600 Pro) and it sounded like the noise was still there, although it was very faint.

 

I have ordered a different video card (a Palit Sonic 4850) in the hopes that the redesigned PCB, 8-pin power plug and 3-phase power delivery will not experience the problem, although at this point I think I will be requesting an RMA.

[RAM GUY]

If you have the same problems with 2 different video cards, then we can definitely try to replace the unit for you. I would just make sure that you test each video card without the sound card installed, and load defaults in the BIOS when you swap cards.

[deruberhanyok]

Ram Guy,

 

Well I've tried three different video cards now and have experienced the noise with all three - two of them Radeon 4850 cards (Sapphire Toxic 4850 on reference PCB with 6-pin power connection and Palit Sonic 4850, redesigned PCB, 8-pin power connection) and one an older Radeon X1600 Pro.

 

There is one last component I hadn't considered as the cause so I wanted to ask about it before starting the RMA process for the power supply.

 

Is it possible that the processor (Athlon X2 5400+ black edition) could cause this coil whine type of noise? I've heard it at default speed and voltage and also while slightly overclocked (3.2GHz, default voltage), and the processor hasn't failed any tests, but I thought I'd ask anyways since everything else has been eliminated.

 

Thanks,

 

Matt

[RAM GUY]

Its probably unlikely that the CPU is causing these issues. I think your best bet at this point would be to get the PSU replaced.

[deruberhanyok]

Thank you ram guy. I figured the CPU was an unlikely cause but would rather ask... better safe than sorry, and all that.

 

I just filled out the RMA form. Is an advance RMA possible or should I just ask about that when I get the e-mail? I'd rather not be without a PC during the shipping back and forth if possible.

[RAM GUY]

Once you receive an RMA number, I would suggest that you contact our RMA department at 888-222-4346 and dial "0", (510) 657-8747 or email rmaservice@corsairmemory.com and ask them what alternative options may be available for you.

[deruberhanyok]

Ram Guy,

 

I got the new power supply, hooked it up and still got the noise (even louder than before)! :( I started messing around with BIOS settings and it went away for several days - disabled memory remapping, which led me to believe the cause may have been an old wireless NIC that had a problem with that setting on a previous motherboard.

 

It came back earlier today when I changed other BIOS settings (cool n quiet support, C1E halt state) while troubleshooting an Ubuntu boot issue. I even pulled the wifi card (just to be certain) and it still made the noise. Currently it's either not making the noise or is very, very faint.

 

I guess the processor is the one thing left to check - I should have just gotten a new one when I got the motherboard RMA - because everything else has been replaced.

 

Anyways, I just wanted to post an update here. I still can't figure out the cause but appreciate the help Corsair provided. Now I guess I'm off to talk to a vendor about a processor. :/

[RAM GUY]

I would try booting up into safe mode, and see if you can duplicate the sound. If you can duplicate it, then I would suspect hardware/BIOS config/ or an issue with the Windows installation. If you are not able to reproduce the sound in safe mode, then you have a driver or software conflict that may be causing this.

[deruberhanyok]

Ah, yes, it happens in the BIOS and in Windows and in Linux. I'm going to try a different make of power supply and see what happens, perhaps it is some kind of incompatibility specific to the parts I purchased in September as it didn't happen before.

 

I will post here again with my results, whatever they may be.

[RAM GUY]

Let us know your results!

[deruberhanyok]

More information. I tried a different power supply: a Silverstone ST50EF-Plus, which as far as I could find is made by Enhance and so should be sufficiently different from the HX520 (which is based on a Seasonic design).

 

This power supply exhibited a very faint buzzing sound and, after a point, the same high pitched whistle/whine sound. I feel comfortable saying it isn't a power supply issue at this point.

 

I contacted my vendor and they're letting me return the motherboard for refund; AMD is going to test the processor as well. Unless AMD comes back with "strangely enough the processor IS causing it" I'm just going to chalk this up to a bad combination of parts and try to forget about it (and try different hardware when the 45nm Phenoms are released).

 

On the off chance the processor turns out to be the cause, I'll post something here.

[deruberhanyok]

I just wanted to post a final update here in case anyone is interested. AMD did a test RMA on the processor and it came back fine; I wound up going with a different motherboard/CPU setup (P5Q-E and e8500) and have had no problems since then.

 

My anecdotal experience leads me to believe the motherboard model was the problem, though exactly what part was the cause is beyond me.