Weird buzzing sound?

[ElvenRed]

Hello,

I have a Corsair TX850V2 PSU, and just today I noticed a very quiet "electrical buzzing" sound coming from it's back. I have read already about this "coil whine", but after looking up on youtube, that's not the sound, that one sounds more like those fancy Powerball Gyros LOL

It sounds like some sort of irregularly continuous electric shock, very quiet and can almost be mistaken for those HDD sounds that at least the older ones made.

After fiddling around, I noticed a few things:

1. If I push the power cable against the PSU, it goes away;

2. Once I let go, it comes back;

3. Depending on how I arrange my comp, I can get it to do something that is either go away, or become a tad bit away from inaudible, I can't tell which one, because of next point;

4. It has been engraved on my brain. After just a few minutes of listening to it, I can hear it when it's not there if I'm not paying attention to my comp :sillygrin

 

Thing is, I can't tell wether it has always been there and I just never noticed it, or if it just started today. I only noticed it because I just opened my case to fix some problem with the video card power cables, and since I'm not really confident with myself about handling computer hardware, I'm jumpy as hell ^^

 

I could just go and buy a new power cable and see if that fixes the problem entirely, right now I just moved my case a bit and got it to stop. That, or maybe there is an actual issue with the power connection thingy (I'm at loss for words right now, sorry), or it's something normal that happens to any PSU and I should just man up :laughing:

 

Thanks ^^

[Entomorph]

Hey there, I registered just so I could reply to you. Let me explain the issue I was having, and then I'll tell you what I JUST did to fix it. (LONG POST INCOMING!)

 

I just built a new PC and I went with the Corsair HX850 (Plus 80 Gold whatever) for my PSU. So skipping past problems with other PSU's and whatnot the biggest "issue" I had with this build was a buzzing sound.

 

Actually let me go into a bit more detail. Basically as you know, these PSU's will sense heat or power usage, and then kick the fan on in order to cool things down. This happens sometimes it seems at random, but personally doesn't annoy me to much. HOWEVER, every time this happened for the last few weeks (every 20 minutes it seems) The fan would quickly wind up, sounding not unlike a car engine revving up as I press the gas. But then, as it would quickly wind down, I would hear a buzzing sound. I do not think this is coil whine. It's not a high pitched noise, and it sounds nothing like the coil whine I get from my gtx 670. Instead it sounds/sounded more like the fan was loose, or something was maybe rattling I guess? It's hard to explain honestly, but the best way would simply be to say "It was a buzz. NOT a whine."

 

The other time I would notice this, was during certain games. The PSU would get it's fan going as the game pushed my video card and whatnot, which is fine. But every now and again I'd get that buzz. Now I only figured out a fix just now, so I do NOT know if my fan is maybe loose, or if the PSU is going to take a dump on me soon. I'm no expert. However, here is what I did.

 

I simply flipped the PSU upside down. My case is made so that the PSU goes near the very top. However I do have a tiny vent above the PSU. In my head I thought if something was shaking or getting hit, maybe flipping it over would make the fan sit better.. I don't know. But either way, I turned off my PC. Unplugged everything. And simply pulled out my PSU, and turned it upside down. In other words, the Fan used to face the bottom, open area of my PC. Now it faces the very top. Usually I wouldn't suggest trying this because you're restricting air flow, however I do have a small area and vent above the PSU as I said before.

 

Not only am I not hearing the buzz at all so far, but the fan isn't kicking on as often. AT ALL.

 

I'm about to run some more tests, like trying out more games and stuff to see if I can't get it to buzz at me again. If by chance the buzzing happens again, I'll be sure to let you know. However you might want to try this yourself if it's possible with your rig.

 

Also if I'm doing anything that can hurt my PSU, or PC. Somebody please post and let both myself, and the OP know. I wouldn't want to give him my "fix" only to find out I'm doing something I shouldn't. I do want to say however, from what I've been told, and read, PSU's are made to be flipped depending on the case.. So it really shouldn't hurt anything in theory. GOOD LUCK!

 

EDIT: I've started and stopped a few more games to get it spinning and stuff. I've noticed that while it's no longer "buzzing" there is still a bit of a.. How do I explain it.. A very slight whine as it slows back down. If I didn't know to listen for it, I wouldn't hear it at all. Though the fact that flipping the PSU over changed it from a loud vibration or buzz to a whine tells me it had to do with something that's maybe loose, or the fan itself. Either way, this is much more tolerable. I'm probably going to try and forget this problem myself since a whine doesn't bug me like the buzzing did. Once again, I hope this works the same for you if you choose to try flipping your PSU over. Though, I do want to ask anybody in the know if maybe I shouldn't be ignoring this. Is this a sign of a bad fan or bearing? If so, should I be worried about my PSU going out on me, maybe taking expensive new parts with it? Thanks in advance, and once again good luck to you OP. I honestly hope what worked for me, works for you. Or that you find a better solution, or help from somebody that's able to ramble on a lot less than me! ;)

[ElvenRed]

Hello, just a quick update ^_^

I just bought a new power cable. The sound is still there, but it's half as loud as the other one. The other power cable was getting a bit loose, this one is tighter. Once again, I can get it to stop by moving the cable and the case around.

I'm starting to think it has always been there, and I just never noticed it, since it can be so easily mistaken for regular computer work sounds.

 

This video has about the same noise I have:

At the start there is a crunching buzz, that is about the sound I hear, but mine is much quieter ^^

 

@Entomorph I'm not sure this would be a good idea on my setup. The PSU goes on the bottom on my case, and while there is grating on the bottom, there isn't this air filter mesh like all the other air vents of this case, and the outside bottom of this case collects insane amounts of dust; now I don't know if the PSU fan blows air inside or outside, if it takes the air inside, all that dust would end up inside the PSU and cause me quite the headache. If it blows the air outside, I think it'd help the dust get all inside my case XD

But thanks for the help =D