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.

 

[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

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.

Yeah that makes sense. Both you and benjii have really convinced me. I'm gonna pick up a Seasonic. Would it hurt to go with the 520w instead of the 550w? I'm asking that because I don't have an optical drive(dvd/bd burner) installed and really only have what I listed before. I was thinking about going for this one as it is cheaper unless it's a bad idea http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290355

 

[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

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.

Yeah that makes sense. Both you and benjii have really convinced me. I'm gonna pick up a Seasonic. Would it hurt to go with the 520w instead of the 550w? I'm asking that because I don't have an optical drive(dvd/bd burner) installed and really only have what I listed before. I was thinking about going for this one as it is cheaper unless it's a bad idea http://www.isunfar.com.tw/product/product.aspx?prodSeq=290355

Okay so I got the Seasonic 520w s12II and I am really liking it. Not only does my system seem more stable but running occt no longer results in any coil whine whatsoever. This seems like a really solid psu for me so thanks for all the help and suggestions! Never again will I get a generic PSU.