screaming power supply?

[Hicks12]

noticed recently my powersupply screams in certain games, noticed it in crysis(think everything struggles there xD) and tabula rasa and then a few other random ones. Dont notice it till i turn sound off, with crysis its the loudest and i thought it was feedback from my speakers but im wrong. Is this a worrying issue? because i only bought the psu at the end of jan this year, could it be faulty? its been fine with stability but id rather not take a chance.

Any ideas?
thanks.

[shadowmaster]

Thats strange, I've had a quick look at your system and your psu should more then easily handle it.

It could be a sign that its on its way out, so I would not take a chance, rma it if possible.

[TAKTAK]

Hmmmm, as shadowmaster says, it is strange.

+1 for an RMA, but i don't think it is major... i think it is just the fan... but i could be wrong, it's best to be safe

edit: a linky here

when the PSU becomes under more load (i.e. in a game), it becomes hotter and the fan will spin quicker.... so i'm sticking with my guess of it being the fan

[Hicks12]

when i first got the psu i noticed a rattling from the fan as if a ball bearing was dieing or something but it went away a few days later so thought nothing of it(since it was still spinning etc), im not sure if its the fan or what but i dont think i could get an replacement/refund as it is still working and so i would pay more postage to scan (wish they had a store near me).

[TAKTAK]

you could try changing the fan yourself (only if your competant with electronics otherwise you might get a nasty shock ), but i would have thought that the fan was covered under warrenty terms aswell (that is, if it is actually the fan that is doing it)

It might be worth getting in touch with xclio HERE and see what they think (cos afterall, it is one of their PSU's)

[da_ging]

noticed recently my powersupply screams in certain games, noticed it in crysis

Any ideas?
thanks.

when does it do it in crysis, is it while playing or just in the menus? as it's well known that the 8800gt/gts cards will scream quite loudly in some cases in certain instances (something to do with high frame rates/v-sync and tends to happen in game menus mainly)

[Hicks12]

at the loading screen, whenu start the game. Will double check when i reinstall crysis, normally have music onm so dont notice it much.

[Hicks12]

hmm on futher testing it seems that it could well be the fan, at the moment my psu is coldish (hasnt been on long/stressed) so when playing a game it isnt screaming but i noticed it last night when it had been on for awhile and its normally hot then so could well be. Still warrants a rma or something?

[Saracen]

I know this'll sound daft, and it may well be wrong, but ......

..... when the PC is off, have a look at the fan blades. If you've been using it a while and a lot of dust has blown through, it can build up on the blades. A couple of times, I've had this, and just applying a vacuum cleaner from the outside has shifted a lot of dust and the fan has quietened. it seems to be because too must dust unbalances blades, or something.

Anyway, it's quick, easy and cheap .... and if you RMA it and it turns out to be dirt, well, who knows, you may well get charged. So it's worth ten seconds to check it out.

Oh, and dirt can also slow the fan down, meaning it isn't cooling the PSU properly, so it's a good idea to clean like this periodically anyway.

[Hicks12]

yeh, it shouldnt be that though as i did do a quick clean(compressed air ) when i changed cases a few weeks ago but i will double check.
Thanks for the tip xD.

[LuckyNV]

depends what sort of noise it is, some components do make a noticeable loud whining and buzzing.

run fraps and see if there is any correlation between fps and the loudness of noise

[aidanjt]

XCilo?.. Surprises anyone?

Get a 400W real PSU. Truth be told, you wouldn't even need a 300W PSU, but anyway.

[Hicks12]

i havent heard anything bad about xclio, i know that getting a cheap psu=fail but i havent seen anything bad from xclio so i bought it.

[aidanjt]

You have firsthand experience now

[Hicks12]

well so far id say its definitly worth the cash as its stable and provides good power with little difference, this is just a minor hiccup in my experience. I hear alot of psu scream when crysis is on.

[aidanjt]

A 700W PSU shouldn't be even close to screaming, running any program at all, unless you have it powering all the lights in your neighbourhood.