Question PSU gets randomly louder

[AaronKyle]

As the title suggests my PSU randomly gets louder. It's a 400W psu, I don't know which company made it. I don't play a lot of video games or do anything heavy duty often. The problem started happening around 3 weeks ago. I was using my PC normally when I heard the PSU get louder. I restarted my PC and I worked for around 24hours until the noise started happening again. Every time it happens I restart my PC and it does the job. Sometimes it doesn't get louder for 2-3 days, sometimes twice a day.

I've had my PSU for about 2.5-3 years and it hasn't been properly dusted so that might just be it but I'm not 100% sure so I'm asking. Could it be something else and are my other components in danger of permanent damage? I've haven't had any crashes and error yet and there are no signs of failure of my PSU.

 

[jonnyguru]

Fans in power supplies are thermostatically controlled. The hotter the PSU gets, the faster the fan spins. If there's a bunch of dust and crap in the PSU, it's going to act like a blanket and the fan is going to spin faster to try to cool it down.

So if it hasn't been "blown out" in over 2 years, time to clean it up.

 

[AaronKyle]

Fans in power supplies are thermostatically controlled. The hotter the PSU gets, the faster the fan spins. If there's a bunch of dust and crap in the PSU, it's going to act like a blanket and the fan is going to spin faster to try to cool it down.

So if it hasn't been "blown out" in over 2 years, time to clean it up.

Is there a special recommended procedure for cleaning PSU's? I know that they store enough voltage to kill me and I'm not an electricians expert so opening the PSU is out of the question.

Will opening my PC case and gently blowing it with Air Dust Spray do the job?

 

[jonnyguru]

Is there a special recommended procedure for cleaning PSU's? I know that they store enough voltage to kill me and I'm not an electricians expert so opening the PSU is out of the question.

Will opening my PC case and gently blowing it with Air Dust Spray do the job?

Don't open it.

Do you have an air compressor?

Blowing canned air from the back (exhaust) of the PSU may be adequate. Have a vacuum running over the fan grill to capture whatever flies out though. Don't want to make a mess.

 

[AaronKyle]

Don't open it.

Do you have an air compressor?

Blowing canned air from the back (exhaust) of the PSU may be adequate. Have a vacuum running over the fan grill to capture whatever flies out though. Don't want to make a mess.

No compressor, but Air Dust Spray is basically a less powerful compressor. So dusting in from the back with a Air Dust Spray will do the job I assume?

 

[jonnyguru]

So dusting in from the back with a Air Dust Spray will do the job I assume?

What did I just say?

Blowing canned air from the back (exhaust) of the PSU may be adequate.