[SOLVED] My PSU started defragging itself

[saudor]

ok not really but it's making the exact sounds of a windows 98 PC defragmenting its hard drive when the system is idling. I thought it might be fan bearings going out since the PSU is about 6 years old. However, under load, it becomes completely silent. Is this something of concern? Thanks!

EDIT; system has only SSDs so no chance of an actual defrag

 

[Juular]

Care to tell what PSU it is and what your PC specs ?

 

[saudor]

Care to tell what PSU it is and what your PC specs ?

Im not sure actually. It's what came with the computer so i reckon it's not the best quality though but it shoudn't be atrocious either

https://support.hp.com/ca-en/document/c03668430

It's a 460W that's currently powering a AMD FX 8350 and a GTX 660

 

[Juular]

Take a shot of PSU label, record the sound. This may be coil whine or failed fan bearing, no telling.

 

[saudor]

Take a shot of PSU label, record the sound. This may be coil whine or failed fan bearing, no telling.

Here's the PSU label. Im having a hard time isolating the sound from all the background noise so i'll have to try again when it's a bit more quieter.

 

[jonnyguru]

So, it probably IS the fan.

The fan in those Delta PSUs are ball bearing.

When the lube is "all gone" and the balls wear down, they tend to make clicking noises at low RPM.

Under load, the clicking goes away because centrifugal force pushes the balls to the outside of the bearing race.

 

[saudor]

So, it probably IS the fan.

The fan in those Delta PSUs are ball bearing.

When the lube is "all gone" and the balls wear down, they tend to make clicking noises at low RPM.

Under load, the clicking goes away because centrifugal force pushes the balls to the outside of the bearing race.

Ahh ok. good to know. Thanks! From the label, it looks like there's a few 12V rails so Im guessing the CPU is connected to one and the GPU is another? The GTX 660 draws 140W at max so spec wise, it seems like it'll be ok.

So it should be ok? Otherwise I was thinking of just replacing it with something like the grey label Corsair CX550M (2017 version)

 

[jonnyguru]

Ahh ok. good to know. Thanks! From the label, it looks like there's a few 12V rails so Im guessing the CPU is connected to one and the GPU is another? The GTX 660 draws 140W at max so spec wise, it seems like it'll be ok.

So it should be ok? Otherwise I was thinking of just replacing it with something like the grey label Corsair CX550M (2017 version)

It's actually a single +12V output capable of 30A (360W). They just split that up into three circuits, like you said, one for the CPU, one for the 24-pin and one for the peripheral/SATA.

If a bearings are going out, it's only a matter of time before it dies completely.

Fortunately, this is a standard ATX PSU in both shape/size and connector types. So you can buy an off the shelf PSU and it'll fit just fine.

 

[saudor]

It's actually a single +12V output capable of 30A (360W). They just split that up into three circuits, like you said, one for the CPU, one for the 24-pin and one for the peripheral/SATA.

If a bearings are going out, it's only a matter of time before it dies completely.

Fortunately, this is a standard ATX PSU in both shape/size and connector types. So you can buy an off the shelf PSU and it'll fit just fine.

All right. So I should be fine with waiting for a decent deal vs buying a new one right this instant? That being said, the board itself is abit weird. It'll crash when waking from sleep sometimes and occasionally, fail to boot by saying CPU fan not detected. I swapped the fan out but not much difference.

Anyways that's a whole different problem and is the 2nd HP desktop do that. May have to consider a ryzen build of some sort if the board goes.

 

[jonnyguru]

All right. So I should be fine with waiting for a decent deal vs buying a new one right this instant? That being said, the board itself is abit weird. It'll crash when waking from sleep sometimes and occasionally, fail to boot by saying CPU fan not detected. I swapped the fan out but not much difference.

Anyways that's a whole different problem and is the 2nd HP desktop do that. May have to consider a ryzen build of some sort if the board goes.

You need to stop buying HPs. :-D

 

[saudor]

You need to stop buying HPs. :-D

I was young and stupid haha. Now I have learned the error of my ways build my own