PSU is...buzzing. help!

[pinwi]

every once in a while (once every minute or so) i hear a buzzing sound coming from my computer

So i buuilt my first comp about two weeks ago. It works fine (no error messages, CPU temps are normal under load) however about two days into using it it started making a weir buzzing sound every once in a while. Now it does it once every five minutes or so. The sound usually lasts about 1-2 seconds and fades. After spending some time lying with my ear on the case i came to realize that the sound is coming from my PSU. It sounds like something were hitting the PSU fan or as if it were an electric buzzing (not sure how to describe it) but it is loud enough to be annoying.

My comp specs:
Intel i7 3770k
EVGA GeForce GTX670
Corsair 16 GB( 8x2 ) LP
Collermaster 212 EVO
ASUS p8z77-v
Crucial M4 128Gb SSD
Seagate barracuda green 2TB HDD
PCP&C MKII 750W PSU

if anyone has some insight in what could be causing it, it would be really appreciated. I'm scared that the PSU turned out to be a time bomb D:

 

[smorizio]

if you cqan use a led flash light or a high powered light look inside the power supply as see if a wire wrap is being sucked into the fan or one of the ps wires are hitting the fan. if it not hitting the fan then it may be a bad cap in the power supply. you better off email company you bought it from to to an exchange. I would also look into spending a few dollars more for a level 80 bronze power supply. the problem with low end power supply is they use cheap parts...your lucky the power supply is working fine..cheap power supply can toast parts if they fail.

 

[halfblazed]

What you are most likely experiencing is known as "Coil Whine" or "Coil Noise."

I had the same thing happen with my OCZ PSU whenever I would put my system under full load.

I'm not trying to be a jerk but a lot of times cheaper brands tends to have Whiney products. Coil Whine can also occur in Video Cards as well, so I would double check and make sure its not that.

I don't know whether PCP&C is a quality brand or not but you should definitely give them a call and see about an RMA because I'm almost positive you can't do anything about a whiney PSU from your end and I guarantee it will end up driving you insane. Especially when you just built the thing and most likely want everything perfect (thats how I am at least)

As far as I can tell your system is well within the 750W so its not that you are overloading the PSU.

You said you've only had your system for two weeks, I would take advantage of the 30-day return policies. I HIGHLY recommend Corsair PSU's, I won't buy anything else, they are phenomenal.

Hope this helps and I hope I am wrong.

Laterz.

 

[adamdbz]

i think it's the psu fan check if you can rma it

 

[master_chen]

Probably another case of whiny drossels (or "coils", how they call them in USA and Canada).
It's usually an RMA deal, so I suggest that your return this PSU to the store where you bought it (probably newegg?) and demand for a change on the same model, or ask for your money back (I suggest doing second option, because in that case you can buy yourself a much MUCH better PSU for the same amount of money). Warranty is fresh, I presume? Anyway, post results here, after you try RMA'ing it. If they'll give you your money back, then we'll see what other PSUs we could recommend you.

Anyway, I'll already recommend changing to any of these ones:
Corsair AX 750 (Very best, if you can afford it), Corsair HX 750 (Almost as good as AX), Corsair TX 750 (Very good, but HX is better).
Antec "Earth Watts"/ "Earth Watts Green" 750, Antec "High Current Game" 750.
KingWin "Lazer Platinum" 750.
Enermax "Platimax" 750 (Overpriced as FU*NK, but definite top tier nonetheless).
Each one of those are absolutely top-quality, you won't regret if you take any of them (but Corsair AX and KingWin "Lazer Platinum" are the absolute BEST, even among their kind - top dogs, TOP OF THE TOPS, cream of the crop, if you're wondering...but they'll cost a leg...and a kidney, if you're buying Enermax "Platimax"...lol).

Also, I highly recommend that you read this, to broaden your experience and vision of the PSU market.

Alright, let's see how it would go for you.

 

[pinwi]

Taking a look inside whit a light I don't seem so be able to take a good look to the PSU fan. It is an 80+ silver PSU rated on tier 2 on eggxpert 🙁
Looking through videos on youtube from whining components i can't find anything that sounds like my PSU, it does more of a low buzz rather than a high pitched noise. Any way of discerning if it is in fact coil whining?
I think RMA is a no-go coz I did buy it on newegg buuuut i imported it back here (in latin america) so mailing it would be quite expensive (I'm unsure about how the RMA process work exactly, info or link about this would be most helpfull) but could be easily mor expensive than the PSU itself
My question now is if it could be harmful for my computer or just plain annoying?

 

[bkoop]

Here is a link to their support page:

http://www.pcpower.com/contact/

They have an Internation Sales email that can answer your warranty questions for your country. intlsales@pcpower.com

Hopefully someone else can answer your last question, because I don't know.

Added for completeness:
My question now is if it could be harmful for my computer or just plain annoying?

 

[pinwi]

Browsing through the forums I found someone for whom turning the pc power settings to high performance made the problem go away. I tried it myself and strangely enough it hasn't made a single buzzing sound in an hour or so in circumstances where it would normally do. Will update if it reappears. Kinda baffled right nao :lol:

 

[master_chen]

Hmmm...maybe it was buzzing not because of the whiny drossels, but rather because your PSU has self-correcting mode (almost all modern PSUs has them), in which it goes when the power consumption does not met required parameters in power saving settings of the BIOS/OS.
If I'm correct in my thoughts, what happened is, basically: you had power saving mode ON, but your PSU has higher minimal power output value, and thus your system/motherboard tried to lower your PSU's power values to match them to the chosen power saving settings, but your PSU could not go into such low values, so system were restraining it. Your PSU kept rushing forward, raising values, but system kept automatically lowering them under undesirable heights, thus pacing your PSU back and forth in some kind of a nasty loop (creating almost throttle-like wave, which created the buzzing noise), it's like a "St. Bernard" dog that you're trying to restrain with a dog-lead, but it keeps rushing forward heavily...

...

...what in the hell did I just wrote? %))

 

[halfblazed]

If you do end up replacing the PSU I highly recommend either an HX750 or HX850 by Corsair.

They are not Gold rated but they are very close; about 2% short of the gold rating. And you won't have to pay the Gold rated price.

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that the PSU isn't as important as other components in a build which is not the case at all.

I don't work for Corsair or anything I am just a very happy customer of theirs. I have never had a problem with anything I've purchased from them which is saying a lot when you are involved in this crazy hobby.

I hope everything works out and you don't have to replace anything, I am simply making a recommendation from one enthusiast to another. I know how frustrating these things can be.

Enjoy your system and maybe we'll get the chance to kill each other in Battlefield 3 one of these days 😀

Laters

 

[pinwi]

SOOOO the buzz returned but is barely audible and rarely happens (even under load, had prime 95 and 3dmark w/o a single buzz) so it has something to do with the VRM of the PSU. So i'd say that it's 'kinda' solved as long as it doesn't burst into flames...:lol:
got an e-mail from PCP&C and RMA'ing it will coste more than the PSU itself so i'm gonnna hold on to this one and save for a better one next year when i go to the states (sad living outside the US...a crappy PSU can cost easily $200 and not even 80+ D
Thanks for all the help and unless this thing explodes it's solved!...sorta anyways

 

[pinwi]

Best answer selected by pinwi.