another coil whine thread

[CharlesLam]

My girlfriend's PC is experience massive coil whine while playing any videogames. it doesnt bother her, just everyone around her. it is not emitting through speakers, headsets, or anything audio. its coming straight through the machine. fairly certain its gpu related as it only does this during visually intensive games. since its the girlfriend's machine, adjusting the power settings is a no-go. im debating if a 380w PSU will handle this am3 board and nvidia gtx 285. ive done my reading over it, and im fairly certain of what i am going to do to fix the solution. just documenting my symptoms for others to follow.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

A GeForce GTX 285 needs at least 46 amps on the 12v rail and a 550 watt power supply.

Here's a high quality SEASONIC , that will get the job done.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $49.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-16 22:52 EDT-0400)

 

[ko888]

First determine exactly where the coil whine is being produced. It could be from the graphics card's VRM circuit components or it can be from the PSU or it can be from both the graphics card and the PSU.

For a system using a single GeForce GTX 285 graphics card NVIDIA specifies a minimum of a 550 Watt or greater system power supply that has a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 40 Amps or greater and that has at least two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors.

Total Power Supply Wattage is NOT the crucial factor in power supply selection!!! Sufficient Total Combined Continuous Power/Current Available on the +12V Rail(s) is the most critical factor.

 

[CharlesLam]

minimum requirements http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp state that the range is between 340w and 400w. still, i would prefer not to experience BSOD on the gf's computer anytime soon. i like that the spare 380w PSU's i have lying around are 80+ bronze, but in the end, i might just need more power.

I have a spare one of these lying around.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/ultra_x2_connect_550w_power_supply,1.html

Think i will swap to this and the videocard to a radeon hd 7770 .