PSU is making a scary noise. Need replacement advice

[JagVandenPlasV8]

Hi,

This is my current build:

Hd: HGST Deskstar 2TB 7200rpm HD
HD SSd: Kingston HyperX 120GB
Mobo: MSI 990XA-GD55
CPU: AMD Phenom II 720 (with 4th core unclocked)
Ram: 12GB, 2x2GB,2x4GB
GPU: MSI Geforce 8800GT 512mb 2x SLI
Fans: 3 Case fans


My current PSU is a Raidmax Rhino 450W
http://www.frys.com/product/5366448

While running Furmark, HWinfo reports the following ranges:

12V: 11.58V-12.144V
5V: 5.03V-5.129V
3.3V: 3.12V-3.216V

The system doesn't crash or freeze while gaming, but I do get BSOD while under light loads, and I am occasionally getting drive errors (On the 2TB Hd).

I do not O'C this system at all, and I only occasionally game on it. I also do not do anything CPU heavy light video conversion and etc.

The noise I hear from the PSU sounds like a faint noise of a hard drive that is constantly seeking that is constant and doesn't change with load.
What PSU should I get? I keep reading horror stories of underpowered PSUs and I'm worried about the one I have powering this rig. I want the cheapest decent PSU that is strong enough for this current build. Any future upgrades will be with video cards that use far less power, and I don't plan on keeping this rig for very long.

I know some might want to make a "you need a $300 2000W PSU" recommendation, but my budget is extremely low, and I built this rig for only $350, so I can't justify spending huge amounts on a PSU.

btw, could an underpowered PSU cause BSOD, and random drive errors? (it never crashes while gaming, only under light loads)


Thanks for your help!

 

[kleinkinstein]

You can let loose of $40 right? If not, hock your Jag on ebay and splurge for that 2000 watter.

 

[JagVandenPlasV8]

You can let loose of $40 right? If not, hock your Jag on ebay and splurge for that 2000 watter.

Haha. I have spent all my "fun" $ on car upgrades, so my computer budget is tiny. Thanks for the recommendation!

Do you think my BSOD and drive errors could be due to my current PSU? Do the voltages (they were not done with a multimeter, only via HWInfo) seem terrible? I hope nothing has been damaged.

 

[tweakboy]

Gotta be the fan for sure. That is what seperates the good PSUs with the ultra good PSUs... gl

 

[JagVandenPlasV8]

Gotta be the fan for sure. That is what seperates the good PSUs with the ultra good PSUs... gl

That is a good point since the noise doesn't change with the load. Should I keep this PSU or junk it with those voltages I posted and it's 21A to the 12V rail?


I keep seeing people post in other forums about having a 8800GT SLi and the responses are essentially "You need 650W MINIMUM. Do you have a wife and kids? If so, give them your last good bye kiss if you get a PSU <600W b/c daddy won't be able to make it to anymore birthday parties or little league games after his PSU explodes. Consider upping your life insurance plan NOW for the sake of your family".


Well that might be an exaggeration, but how worried should I be with a single 21A 12V rail on this rig?.......


FAQ I get for this rig:
1. yes, it can run crysis.
2.Yes it will blend, but i'm not going to try to find out.

 

[tracerbullet]

I'm thinking the noise is just the fan. Normally I'd say replace it.

Those voltages seem kinda all over the place though. I'd want someone who truly knows to say for sure but my opinion is if they are bouncing around and you're blue-screening then you could very well have PSU issues. LOTS of things can cause BSOD's, but this could be one of them.

If it were my machine, Id try to grab anything I could find (any extra case fans laying around? Maybe a floor fan?) and try to cool off the PSU. If that solves the problem then you know what to fix (the PSU fan or your case's airflow). If that doesn't do it, next I'd try to nail down the BSOD's - are you seeing a certain process fail, or anything that happens right before it (opening a program), to make it repeatable? If so you may just have a Windows issue (assuming your'e running Windows). Lastly I'd get a new PSU.

Try the cheap / free stuff first though. The noisy PSU fan itself won't cause a BSOD - an overheating PSU might, but so can a zillion other things.

 

[Fallengod]

Raidmax? The only thing I can say there is, id never use one....

You can find decent quality psu's in the $30-50 range all the time so...

And umm, to answer your question, if a psu was made poorly and wasnt supplying sufficient power, it could ruin data on a hard drive or the hard drive itself, as well as other components. One reason why you shouldnt go cheap on a psu... Ive had it happen to me before. Ive lost gigs of mp3's(and other data) because of a failing psu.

 

[Eureka]

The one klein picked out is a good choice, it's $30 after rebate and coupon actually. If you have discover, now's the time to get another 10% off.

 

[bryanl]

Those voltages look perfectly normal, but readings taken by motherboards are untrustworthy unless first verified a multimeter. However Raidmax power supplies are of such poor quality that they should be replaced even when operating normally, preferrably sooner.

Good replacement power supplies include Antec, Corsair, and Seasonic. Testing done by Anandtech indicates you do not need anywhere close to 650W minimum:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2365/13

Very likely your 450W Raidmax is limited to 250-300W.

 

[Joje]

Come on. guys :/

 

[Fallengod]

Newegg has Corsair builder series on sale for like $25.... and $40 for the 500 watt.

And yes, Raidmax is terrible..... I would never put that in one of my systems....

 

[tracerbullet]

Come on. guys :/

How does one report a spammer / spambot here? Look at this person's / thing's other posts.