[SOLVED] PSU noise fixed by GPU fan replacement?

[biirf]

PC specs

Gigabyte B365M DS3H
i5-9600kf no oc with Cooler Master H412R
Zotac GTX-970 - 7y old
EVGA 500W PSU - 7y old
2x 8GB DDR4
1x 500GB M.2 SSD
1x 2TB HD
Windows 10

Context

A few weeks ago my computer started making a very loud fan noise coming from the PSU, it sounded like it was spinning at 100% already on boot.
I ignored the issue because I couldn't find what exactly was causing it.

Fast forward to last Sunday, I come back home and my GPU fan is making bird noises LOL, I attempt to disassemble it to clean but I end up breaking it. I immediately bought a new fan online, which would arrive in 2-3 days. Anyway, I plugged my GPU back in to see if it would run fine with just one fan, and it did, still noisy PSU fan.

Today, Wednesday, I got the new fan and installed it, after that I noticed that the new fan starts, and keeps spinning, immediately after the computer turns on, while the old one is in an infinite loop of start and stop every 3 seconds. Also, the PSU fan noise simply stopped now!

Questions

• Which of my GPU fans is running correctly? The one that starts and stops or the new one that keeps spinning?
• If the old GPU fan is an issue, how did the GPU not melt while I played hogwarts legacy, which brought it to 100% and 80ºC? Was it my case cooling that saved the day, or was the GPU simply throttling? I played on medium graphics downscaled resolution to 80% with AI upscale at a very smooth frame rate.
• Is it possible that the PSU issue was related to the GPU fan or was it just a coincidence?

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

EVGA is the brand of the PSU while 500W is the advertised wattage of the unit. What is the model of the unit? As for your noise, might want to include an audio and video clip of what you're experiencing. To me it seems like you're suffering from coil whine, either that or your PSU is trying to say goodbye or that's bene clogged with dust over the past 7 years, from what you've described above.

Have you tried borrowing a reliably built PSU from a friend or neighbor that has at least 550W of power at the entire system's disposal? To note, a PSU that's advertised to output 500W when brand new, won't output that number after 7 years...due to internal wear and tear.

 

[DSzymborski]

80 degrees simply isn't that hot to a GPU.

It's unlikely the issues are related, though you may be putting your GPU at eternal risk if it's one of the worse of EVGA's 500W PSUs (and they have very little that's any good at 500W precisely).

 

[biirf]

Hi!

Thank you both for your replies, answering a few questions back:

What is the model of the unit?

It's a 100-W1-0500-KR

Might want to include an audio and video clip of what you're experiencing

I won't be able to since it just stopped.

To me it seems like you're suffering from coil whine

I watched some videos about it, it's hard to tell from them, but the noise was different, it really sounded like a fan on 100%, at first I didn't even know it was the PSU to be honest, I had to check all case fans.

either that or your PSU is trying to say goodbye or that's bene clogged with dust over the past 7 years

Why would it suddenly stop if that was the case? Also, could a coil whine also suddenly stop?

Have you tried borrowing a reliably built PSU from a friend or neighbor

I have asked a friend of mine, but we couldn't meet yet.

Forgot to mention
When I figured the noise was on the PSU I tried booting up with 1 stick of ram, switching between them. And I also tried booting it up without the GPU installed, which was silent as far as I remember.

To note, a PSU that's advertised to output 500W when brand new, won't output that number after 7 years

Makes sense! I'm planning on upgrading the GPU in a few months, I might just start that project sooner with a new PSU, a good one this time.

80 degrees simply isn't that hot to a GPU.

I agree, that's why I was so confused, if I was missing a fan why didn't it get hotter? Is the fan there just to look cool?

 

[DSzymborski]

Hi!

Thank you both for your replies, answering a few questions back:


It's a 100-W1-0500-KR

Eek, that's an awful one; only the N1 is worse among EVGA's basement-tier PSUs. I'd just replace it and not worry why the junk one suddenly stopped making sounds.

 

[biirf]

Eek, that's an awful one; only the N1 is worse among EVGA's basement-tier PSUs. I'd just replace it and not worry why the junk one suddenly stopped making sounds.

Haha, ok! Thank you for your time, I'm gonna look for good PSUs to prepare the ground for my next upgrade.