Question Louder coil whine = dying psu?

[Jeff_120]

My 5.5 years old XFX power supply always had some coil whine but yesterday it was louder than before, is it a sign it's living its last days?

 

[Metal Messiah.]

What's the exact make and MODEL number of this XFX PSU ?

 

[Jeff_120]

What's the exact make and MODEL number of this XFX PSU ?

It's a XFX Pro Series 550W Core Edition

 

[Metal Messiah.]

Is the coil whine TOO loud ? Not sure whether it's indeed a sign of a dying PSU, but power supplies do age with time.

 

[Jeff_120]

Is the coil whine TOO loud ? Not sure whether it's indeed a sign of a dying PSU, but power supplies do age with time.

It's a turning humming sound, it's not too loud but louder than before, you can hear it with PC in idle in a normal sound environment (not too silent nor street level)

 

[AllanGH]

Despite XFX having put-out a high quality 550W unit, power supplies do have a finite lifetime, and that lifetime is shortened by operating the PSU at the upper limits of its load handling capability. I don't know how hard you have run it, but it does sound like it's on the decline.

Singing coils (coil whine) will--eventually--short themselves out, because the noise that you are hearing is a result of actual physical movement of the wires in the coil windings. Constant movement like that will abrade the insulation away and allow adjacent windings to short together. Shorted coils usually result in increased ripple voltage, and that is hard on your motherboard and connected devices.

It is up to you....if it's been ridden hard, then you would want to make replacement a priority. If it has seen mild use, it may be fine...noisy, but fine...but it will fail, eventually. (Not necessarily catastrophically, but it certainly won't be meeting design specs, and that's bad for your hardware.)

 

[ElectrO_90]

but power supplies do age with time.

We all age with time, do you mean use?

 

[Jeff_120]

Despite XFX having put-out a high quality 550W unit, power supplies do have a finite lifetime, and that lifetime is shortened by operating the PSU at the upper limits of its load handling capability. I don't know how hard you have run it, but it does sound like it's on the decline.

Singing coils (coil whine) will--eventually--short themselves out, because the noise that you are hearing is a result of actual physical movement of the wires in the coil windings. Constant movement like that will abrade the insulation away and allow adjacent windings to short together. Shorted coils usually result in increased ripple voltage, and that is hard on your motherboard and connected devices.

It is up to you....if it's been ridden hard, then you would want to make replacement a priority. If it has seen mild use, it may be fine...noisy, but fine...but it will fail, eventually.

I think I will replace it these 2 days, I have also to make power room for a very potential used GTX 1080ti to replace my 1070

 

[ElectrO_90]

I think I will replace it these 2 days, I have also to make power room for a very potential used GTX 1080ti to replace my 1070

SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ is the current fancy one people recommend.
Solid quality

 

[AllanGH]

We all age with time, do you mean use?

Actually I do....good call.

Of course, letting a PSU sit in inventory for a long time does allow the caps to dry out slightly, but your point is valid and I'll not nit-pick at it....LOL

######## OOPS #########
I thought that was directed at me. (I need new glasses, obviously.)

Sorry MM!

 

[Jeff_120]

SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ is the current fancy one people recommend.
Solid quality

It's in shortage in my country they have only the Focus Plus Platinum 650w and the M12 II Evo Bronze 850w both at the same price

 

[Metal Messiah.]

Focus Plus Platinum 650w

Then just get this PSU. It's an excellent power supply. I'm surprised that both the Bronze and Platinum certified PSUs are of the same price in your country though.