Question Power Supply electrical buzzing noise. Is it normal?

[claytonscharf]

My power supply, when under a large load like Modern Warfare, makes an audible, high pitch buzz. I'm thinking it could be the sound of the electricity going from the outlet to the cable. Honestly, I don't know.

 

[Darkbreeze]

EXACT model of your power supply? How long it has been in service?

Exact model of your graphics card?

Most likely this is coil whine, and can be either the power supply or the graphics card.

 

[claytonscharf]

EXACT model of your power supply? How long it has been in service?

Exact model of your graphics card?

Most likely this is coil whine, and can be either the power supply or the graphics card.

My power supply is an EVGA 500W 80 Plus and has been used for about 2 years and 7 months
https://www.newegg.com/p/32K-004B-0...tSDQFntZf9tm3Nbd4ExoC_WUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

My graphics card is an EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER SC ULTRA GAMING
https://www.newegg.com/evga-geforce...0 super-_-14-487-460-_-Product&quicklink=true

I'm aware 500w is a little low for a 2060 super. The 2060 super I have only uses one 8 pin connector. Still, a 2060 super should be able to run off of 500w and it does.

 

[Darkbreeze]

That unit cannot supply 500w on the 12v rail. It can support 40 amps on the 12v rail which means it can support up to 480w, maximum. Considering the quality and the known problems with those 500w W1 80plus white rated units, I'd guess you're probably lucky if that unit can actually consistently support 450w for long periods without problems. Plus it has very high levels of ripple and the voltage regulation isn't terrific either.

EVGA 500W (W1) Power Supply – Page 6 – JonnyGURU.com

www.jonnyguru.com

Considering that unit scored a 7.5 for performance, and any unit we'd call "decent" would at least score a 9 in that area, it's not promising. Since those have only a three year warranty, you are just about at the point where the manufacturer believes the unit begins to stop being reliable, if you could ever call it that to begin with. In truth, this is a unit that should have never been used with anything more demanding than a basic internet box or light office machine. It simply isn't good enough to support the rigorous demands of a gaming card. ANY gaming card. Or at least any gaming card that requires supplemental 6 or 8 pin auxiliary power. Well, for that matter I've seen tens of users, at least, that have had problems with these power supplies even with slot powered cards like the GTX 1050.

My advice, SERIOUSLY consider replacing it NOW, before it is able to do any damage to the rest of your hardware, IF it hasn't done so already with those high levels of ripple. For what it's worth, high ripple levels cause capacitors to overheat, and basically kills them sooner or later. It's not desirable at all and using cheap power supplies is one of the biggest reasons why people have premature failures on motherboards and graphics cards.

I'd recommend something in the 550-650w range, and I'd lean towards the 650w range, from among the recommended units on my guide here:

Discussion - PSU recommendations and power supply discussion thread - Tom's hardware

Below you will find MY standard list of recommended power supplies and beyond that this thread is intended as a landing place for questions or discussions regarding specific units, platforms or related PSU tech, all of which are all welcome to be discussed here. If it's related to power supplies...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[claytonscharf]

That unit cannot supply 500w on the 12v rail. It can support 40 amps on the 12v rail which means it can support up to 480w, maximum. Considering the quality and the known problems with those 500w W1 80plus white rated units, I'd guess you're probably lucky if that unit can actually consistently support 450w for long periods without problems. Plus it has very high levels of ripple and the voltage regulation isn't terrific either.

EVGA 500W (W1) Power Supply – Page 6 – JonnyGURU.com

www.jonnyguru.com

Considering that unit scored a 7.5 for performance, and any unit we'd call "decent" would at least score a 9 in that area, it's not promising. Since those have only a three year warranty, you are just about at the point where the manufacturer believes the unit begins to stop being reliable, if you could ever call it that to begin with. In truth, this is a unit that should have never been used with anything more demanding than a basic internet box or light office machine. It simply isn't good enough to support the rigorous demands of a gaming card. ANY gaming card. Or at least any gaming card that requires supplemental 6 or 8 pin auxiliary power. Well, for that matter I've seen tens of users, at least, that have had problems with these power supplies even with slot powered cards like the GTX 1050.

My advice, SERIOUSLY consider replacing it NOW, before it is able to do any damage to the rest of your hardware, IF it hasn't done so already with those high levels of ripple. For what it's worth, high ripple levels cause capacitors to overheat, and basically kills them sooner or later. It's not desirable at all and using cheap power supplies is one of the biggest reasons why people have premature failures on motherboards and graphics cards.

I'd recommend something in the 550-650w range, and I'd lean towards the 650w range, from among the recommended units on my guide here:

Discussion - PSU recommendations and power supply discussion thread - Tom's hardware

Below you will find MY standard list of recommended power supplies and beyond that this thread is intended as a landing place for questions or discussions regarding specific units, platforms or related PSU tech, all of which are all welcome to be discussed here. If it's related to power supplies...

forums.tomshardware.com

How would I know if any serious damage was done by my power supply? Everything is working fine right now. No problems.

Also, what would be a good 650w power supply for under 120ish dollars? Are there any "cheap", but reliable power supplies? I don't have a ton of money ready to drop on this problem right now.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Did you read the recommendations guide I linked you to? There are plenty of "good" power supply models listed there. If that isn't helpful enough for you, there is also this that might help as well.

Article - [psucultists] PSU tier list rev. 14.8 (Final Update Jul '21)

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (outdated) Last Update: 12-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue...

forums.tomshardware.com