Antec 550 TruePower Squeal when off

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drizek

Golden Member
Jul 7, 2005
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My TP 550 started squealing as soon as I plugged it in, and continues to do so while the computer is on.

I emailed Antec about it and they didn't respond, just sent me an RMA. I spent 4 hours putting my computer together yesterday, and I don't want to have to take it all apart again and wait for a replacement. Is there any chance that the squeal will go away after a couple of days? Any other potential causes?

I ran the OCCT PSU test (but with integrated graphics, for now) and I was surprised to see the 12V remain perfectly stable. My Earthwatts 380 would have a 1-2% Ripple, but this one is 0.00%. Is it really that much better or is it just not measuring it correctly? I think I'm putting about 150W of load on it during the test(I'll add another 250 to that once I get my GTX 460 in).
 
Engineer

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
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Every power supply that I've used that had coil whine dropped it completely when loaded up more. In one case, I picked up 3 power resistors, wired them in series and attached them to the back of my case attached to a molex connector. Warmed up a bit but no more coil whine.

Now I'm worried that my new 550 TruePower New will have a damn whine! (*sigh*).

Of course, YMMV and good luck.
 
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drizek

Golden Member
Jul 7, 2005
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So I just started folding on my GTX 460 and the whine is going crazy. It's not just a matter of adding or reducing load.

I'm assuming you got it from the newegg deal like I did? Protip: plug it in to see if it whines before you rebuild your whole computer around it.

I, for once, took the time to tidy up all the cables and make a nice looking case, and now it will all be for nothing.
 
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drizek

Golden Member
Jul 7, 2005
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If this was the only time I hbeard a whine, I would consider it, but it was whining even before the card was installed. Also, msi says their military grade components are specifically designed not to whine.
 
M

mosco

Senior member
Sep 24, 2002
940
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not a single person mentions whine on the newegg reviews, except for the guy that says there is no whine. Maybe you just got a bad one?

I also got in on this deal at newegg and should have it on Tuesday.
 
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drizek

Golden Member
Jul 7, 2005
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I'm sure I did get a bad one. The anand review specifically says that it doesn't whine. I was just wondering if the problem would go away. I think I am just going to have to suck it up and deal with the RMA.
 
Meghan54

Meghan54

Lifer
Oct 18, 2009
11,684
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drizek said:
I ran the OCCT PSU test (but with integrated graphics, for now) and I was surprised to see the 12V remain perfectly stable. My Earthwatts 380 would have a 1-2% Ripple, but this one is 0.00%. Is it really that much better or is it just not measuring it correctly? I think I'm putting about 150W of load on it during the test(I'll add another 250 to that once I get my GTX 460 in).
Click to expand...


First, coil whine is annoying and is a valid reason to RMA the power supply. Corsair, for instance via their forum reps, encourages RMA'ing their power supplies if there's a coil whine problem.

Second, what you're seeing from OCCT is not ripple but voltage regulation. Ripple can only be discerned with an oscilloscope.....it's too small a voltage (ATX spec allows a max. value for ripple of up to 120mV on the +12V rail) and is measured in very short time durations, such as 25millisecond intervals. Longer time durations between sampling than that and the very low voltage fluctuations between the peaks will, for all intents and purposes, disappear.

Since OCCT's shortest sampling time is 1s, there is only voltage regulation that's able to be represented, not ripple/noise generation.

But, NEVER TRUST SOFTWARE READINGS for power supplies.....software is notoriously inaccurate at best, downright wrong at worst. If you really want to know how stable your rails are under load, you need to use, at minimum, a DMM.
 
C

Concillian

Diamond Member
May 26, 2004
3,751
8
81
Coil whine can be fixed by manipulating the coils, or by forcing some silicone sealing in between the copper coils.

However, that's something to do on a supply that's out of warranty. On a new supply, opening it will void your warranty. You have a warranty, just RMA it. A pain, but the best scenario.

The whine is not going to get better with time.
 
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drizek

Golden Member
Jul 7, 2005
1,410
0
71
Thanks. I was just issued an advance RMA today, but I do have a couple of questions. First, can I cut the UPC off of it before sending it in? Also, do you cover or credit the return shipping?
 
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Antec_Jessie

Junior Member
Sep 20, 2010
15
0
0
www.antec.com
drizek said:
Thanks. I was just issued an advance RMA today, but I do have a couple of questions. First, can I cut the UPC off of it before sending it in? Also, do you cover or credit the return shipping?
Click to expand...

Yes - feel free to remove the UPC for your rebate. There's no problem there.

We cover shipping costs for the replacement PSU. You're responsible for shipping costs to us.
 
nevdawg

nevdawg

Member
Dec 31, 2004
31
0
66
Just want to say you're not alone. I'm having the same problem with my TP-650 that I received a few days ago. Installed it, spent hours making all the cables look clean and nice, plugged it in, and immediately heard squealing coming from it. Currently going through the RMA process. Quite a pain, and makes the mail in rebate less worth it because of the RMA shipping costs.
 
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drizek

Golden Member
Jul 7, 2005
1,410
0
71
So I got a "new" one from Antec and while the squeal when powered off is quieter, it is still there. More importantly, the squeal when running f@h on the GPU is still there.

To add insult to injury, the replacement they sent me is a previous revision and is inferior in several aesthetic ways to the original I got from newegg(the motherboard cable isn't sleeved as nicely, the PCIE connectors have ugly lettering on them, and the finish is glossy instead of speckled/matte).

I'm not sure what to do now. The replacement is hardly better than the original and is worse in many ways.
 
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drizek

Golden Member
Jul 7, 2005
1,410
0
71
So I've been experiencing quite a lot of bluescreens since installing it. With the original PSU, I never once had my system crash. Granted, I should probably test at stock clocks, but even with my video card OCd too high it never crashed, just artifacted.

Update: its not the PSU. I took the HSF off and on to install the power supply and now it is not making contact with the CPU anymore. My processor was just overheating during games.
 
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Antec_Jessie

Junior Member
Sep 20, 2010
15
0
0
www.antec.com
drizek said:
So I've been experiencing quite a lot of bluescreens since installing it. With the original PSU, I never once had my system crash. Granted, I should probably test at stock clocks, but even with my video card OCd too high it never crashed, just artifacted.

Update: its not the PSU. I took the HSF off and on to install the power supply and now it is not making contact with the CPU anymore. My processor was just overheating during games.
Click to expand...

Glad you got your bluescreens taken care of but contact me at VIP@ANTEC.COM and we'll get the issue with your PSU sorted out.

=->Jessie
 
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