High pitched noise from psu during stress testing.

[tensai27]

Okay so I am in the process of overclocking my CPU and I am doing some stability testing using OCCT. I noticed a high pitched (almost like a squealing noise but not quite) coming from my PSU. First time I heard that and although it's not that loud, it raised some concern. I immediately stopped stress testing and turned off the computer and switched off the psu. Not sure if I should RMA it or if this is normal for stress testing on some psu. By the way I have only had this psu for 3 months so it's still well under warranty. So anyone have some insight? Am I over-worrying? Just paranoid it will blow up on me.

 

[ddbtkd456]

Not normal at all what is your psu?

 

[tensai27]

Not normal at all what is your psu?

Wow that was fast. Thanks for the quick reply!
500w generic no name brand called PCPark. I know the obvious response to that is get a corsair or antec..etc. But before I do, just wanted to say that it only does this when running occt. Never heard it make any noise gaming or anything else. Is it really that big of a problem?

 

[ddbtkd456]

It's too much stress on the psu, i would get rid of it and get a better brand before it explodes. Seriously I am not joking there, or starts on fire one or the other. Here:


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $39.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-30 04:50 EDT-0400)

Also they don't I didn't earn that Warp 9 badge for nothing (fastest and top level). Also please remember to pick your best solution so other people may learn from your thread. Thank you for your time, and have a good day. I hope this helps, also i would stay away from corsair's CX series or Antec power supplies as well. Seasonic, XFX, Rosewill (Fortress or Hive only), or Corsair (everything except for CX builder series)

 

[tensai27]

It's too much stress on the psu, i would get rid of it and get a better brand before it explodes. Seriously I am not joking there, or starts on fire one or the other. Here:


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $39.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-30 04:50 EDT-0400)

Also they don't I didn't earn that Warp 9 badge for nothing (fastest and top level). Also please remember to pick your best solution so other people may learn from your thread. Thank you for your time, and have a good day. I hope this helps, also i would stay away from corsair's CX series or Antec power supplies as well. Seasonic, XFX, Rosewill (Fortress or Hive only), or Corsair (everything except for CX builder series)

Thanks, I haven't seen xfx over here. Sorry I should have mentioned I am in Taipei. We do however have Seasonic , Corsair, and cooler master. Could you recommend any good budget friendly ones from those companies? Thanks

 

[Cons29]

you should not be doing stress test using a cheap psu, you might end up ruining your other pc parts.get a better one, its well worth it

 

[benjii]

The high pitch squealing is most likely coil whine. It's the sound of the electricity resonating in the components, while it sounds awful, it's not a sign of impending doom and doesn't have an effect on anything. You hear it during stress testing because the PSU has to work overtime, thus has more electricity flowing through it.

Despite this, I still agree with those above suggesting you get a higher quality PSU, as it's just not worth the risk.

 

[palladin9479]

Your drawing too much power from the PSU and it's getting ready to explode / burst into flames. Immediately change it out. There are two components that you should never go cheap with, Motherboards and PSU's.

 

[tensai27]

The high pitch squealing is most likely coil whine. It's the sound of the electricity resonating in the components, while it sounds awful, it's not a sign of impending doom and doesn't have an effect on anything. You hear it during stress testing because the PSU has to work overtime, thus has more electricity flowing through it.

Despite this, I still agree with those above suggesting you get a higher quality PSU, as it's just not worth the risk.

I thought it was coil wine too thus the reason I didn't run out the door buying a new psu. But I also agree it's not a good idea to use a no name brand cheap psu so if anyone could recommend a good quality psu that is not too expensive from one of the companies I mentioned before, I would be more than grateful.

 

[benjii]

Sure. It would help if you gave a site you prefer to use and a budget or at least where you're from and a budget.

 

[tensai27]

Your drawing too much power from the PSU and it's getting ready to explode / burst into flames. Immediately change it out. There are two components that you should never go cheap with, Motherboards and PSU's.

Motherboard is fine(m5a97 r2.0). Although I don't think it's necessarily going to blow up, would you recommend a psu with more watts?

 

[ddbtkd456]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Power Supply: SeaSonic 400W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $50.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-30 05:16 EDT-0400)

 

[ddbtkd456]

or your next best guess:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($70.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $70.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-30 05:17 EDT-0400)

 

[palladin9479]

Your drawing too much power from the PSU and it's getting ready to explode / burst into flames. Immediately change it out. There are two components that you should never go cheap with, Motherboards and PSU's.

Motherboard is fine(m5a97 r2.0). Although I don't think it's necessarily going to blow up, would you recommend a psu with more watts?

Without knowing your build I couldn't say. When PSU's are getting near their top end they start to act funny and there is a big risk of it damaging something. Thing is when someone breaks it'll be loud with smoke and possible damage to system components. I've never heard a PSU make that sound that didn't end up breaking badly.

 

[tensai27]

Sure. It would help if you gave a site you prefer to use and a budget or at least where you're from and a budget.

Well being that I am in Taiwan sites typically tend to be in Chinese. 😉
Here's a few that are in my price range. Are any of these any good?
http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290A09
http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290A26
http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290100
http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290A01
http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290362
http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290355

 

[tensai27]

Your drawing too much power from the PSU and it's getting ready to explode / burst into flames. Immediately change it out. There are two components that you should never go cheap with, Motherboards and PSU's.

Motherboard is fine(m5a97 r2.0). Although I don't think it's necessarily going to blow up, would you recommend a psu with more watts?

Without knowing your build I couldn't say. When PSU's are getting near their top end they start to act funny and there is a big risk of it damaging something. Thing is when someone breaks it'll be loud with smoke and possible damage to system components. I've never heard a PSU make that sound that didn't end up breaking badly.

FX 6300 w/hyper 212 evo
m5a97 r2.0
8gb ddr3 1333mhz (4gbx2)
500gb 7200rpm hdd
MSI radeon hd 7850
500w pc park psu

 

[palladin9479]

Definitely go with a quality 550~600W PSU, you should be fine then.

 

[tensai27]

Definitely go with a quality 550~600W PSU, you should be fine then.

Thanks for the input that is what I am planning on doing. If you don't mind, can you tell me if I should avoid any of these or if any of them are any good?
http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290A09
http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290A26
http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290100
http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290A01
http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290362
http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290355

 

[benjii]

Out of the ones you listed, I'd personally pick this one:

http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290362

 

[tensai27]

Out of the ones you listed, I'd personally pick this one:

http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290362

That's great! Thanks for all the help. They have in store pickup so I will be getting it first thing tomorrow. Thanks a lot to you and everyone else who provided input! I am really liking this forum

 

[tensai27]

I know I already picked the answer but just an update. I found this video on youtube and the guys noise is similar to mine only mine is actually a lot quieter and only during stress testing. Is this just simply coil whine? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FdCKZ8qaUU

 

[benjii]

I know I already picked the answer but just an update. I found this video on youtube and the guys noise is similar to mine only mine is actually a lot quieter and only during stress testing. Is this just simply coil whine? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FdCKZ8qaUU

Yep, that's coil whine.

 

[tensai27]

I know I already picked the answer but just an update. I found this video on youtube and the guys noise is similar to mine only mine is actually a lot quieter and only during stress testing. Is this just simply coil whine? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FdCKZ8qaUU

Yep, that's coil whine.

Hmm...now I don't know if I should be that alarmed by it since it only happens during stress testing(not only that but it's quieter than that youtube video when it does). During normal usage and gaming its silent as can be. I still feel slightly uncomfortable running my system on a generic psu but it is tempting.
By the way here is a link to my PSU to anyone who is interested
http://www.dragon.com.tw/pg_dgproddetail2.aspx?prod_no=290483

 

[benjii]

I know I already picked the answer but just an update. I found this video on youtube and the guys noise is similar to mine only mine is actually a lot quieter and only during stress testing. Is this just simply coil whine? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FdCKZ8qaUU

Yep, that's coil whine.

Hmm...now I don't know if I should be that alarmed by it since it only happens during stress testing(not only that but it's quieter than that youtube video when it does). During normal usage and gaming its silent as can be. I still feel slightly uncomfortable running my system on a generic psu but it is tempting.
By the way here is a link to my PSU to anyone who is interested
http://www.dragon.com.tw/pg_dgproddetail2.aspx?prod_no=290483

What it comes down to is this. Your PSU might be fine and live a long life until you decide to upgrade it years from now. Alternatively, it could blow up and take everything else out with it. It's a lot more common for generic PSU's to blow up than good quality ones, I've had it happen to me before.

So I guess the decision is yours, do you want to take the risk?

 

[palladin9479]

I know I already picked the answer but just an update. I found this video on youtube and the guys noise is similar to mine only mine is actually a lot quieter and only during stress testing. Is this just simply coil whine? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FdCKZ8qaUU

Yep, that's coil whine.

Hmm...now I don't know if I should be that alarmed by it since it only happens during stress testing(not only that but it's quieter than that youtube video when it does). During normal usage and gaming its silent as can be. I still feel slightly uncomfortable running my system on a generic psu but it is tempting.
By the way here is a link to my PSU to anyone who is interested
http://www.dragon.com.tw/pg_dgproddetail2.aspx?prod_no=290483

Thing is, PSU's in PC's shouldn't ever give you coil whine. It means your loading it beyond what it can safely handle, it won't explode immediately but it'll wear out much faster then normal. PC's are super sensitive to voltage fluctuations and too much load on a rail will cause it to go out of tolerance and thus cause instability. In your situation daily usage is within the PSU's' tolerance but using your PC at full load is right outside it's limit.