Seasonic very loud under load? why?

[Smartazz]

I have the Seasonic power supply in my sig powering a 6870 and an overclocked 8800gts that folds. I understand that the power load is tough with the computer at full bore, but it should be well within its 620 watt spec. Is it loud under load because of the heat or is this normal with a nearly 400 watt load? At idle the PSU is very quiet. The air being pulled into the PSU is pretty warm, any tips to exhausting the hot air most effectively? Lastly, am I wrong to assume the power supply can handle this? Thanks.

 

[lehtv]

Is it loud under load because of the heat or is this normal with a nearly 400 watt load?

I don't think your system uses that much power. More like 300W.

At idle the PSU is very quiet. The air being pulled into the PSU is pretty warm, any tips to exhausting the hot air most effectively?

It's also a bit hard to believe it's getting too hot. From HardOCP: "There was no time during our load testing or working with the unit that it became audible in our test environment." Their testing environment involves an 80% load at 45C ambient - the PSU exhaust air was up to 70C.

You can test whether temperature is really causing the fan noise. E.g. open up the side of the case - it should now be pulling most of its intake air from outside the 'hotbox'.

At this point I'd hypothesize that its fan controller is defective.

Lastly, am I wrong to assume the power supply can handle this? Thanks.

It can definitely handle your system easily.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

If you stress a PSU by over 50-70% of its rated continuous requirement, it may become audible. If you want it to be completely silent, you may need to buy much more power than your future requirement.

 

[Smartazz]

I don't think your system uses that much power. More like 300W.

It's also a bit hard to believe it's getting too hot. From HardOCP: "There was no time during our load testing or working with the unit that it became audible in our test environment." Their testing environment involves an 80% load at 45C ambient - the PSU exhaust air was up to 70C.

You can test whether temperature is really causing the fan noise. E.g. open up the side of the case - it should now be pulling most of its intake air from outside the 'hotbox'.

At this point I'd hypothesize that its fan controller is defective.

It can definitely handle your system easily.

I figure close to 100W when the CPU is full bore, the 6870 draws nearly 130W, the 8800GTS draws at least 120W, add in fans, motherboard, hard drives, etc and I'm probably around at least 350W.

 

[Smartazz]

If you stress a PSU by over 50-70% of its rated continuous requirement, it may become audible. If you want it to be completely silent, you may need to buy much more power than your future requirement.

So, a much more powerful power supply would remain quiet under a similar load? I'm not going to replace this PSU since it's fine, but in the future I might go for 850W+ or something of this is the case.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

So, a much more powerful power supply would remain quiet under a similar load? I'm not going to replace this PSU since it's fine, but in the future I might go for 850W+ or something of this is the case.

PSUs tend to become noisier once you cross 50% load and especially after 70% load. A more powerful and quiet PSU may do wonders there.

 

[Fallengod]

This is one of the reasons smart builders buy PSU's over and above their wattage requirement. If you a buy a PSU that is close to the limit of wattage you use, then you risk having it operate at higher temps and higher fan speeds more of the time.

Also, just fyi, Seasonic units are known for being loud at load so...... All units are different, you kind of have to do your homework. Some units are significantly louder at normal usage than others, some are louder at load than others.

I would have thought 620 would be plenty for that system for the fan to not jump up but.... Part of your issue there is an 8800gts is old process and consumes more power than newer cards.

 

[Smartazz]

This is one of the reasons smart builders buy PSU's over and above their wattage requirement. If you a buy a PSU that is close to the limit of wattage you use, then you risk having it operate at higher temps and higher fan speeds more of the time.

Also, just fyi, Seasonic units are known for being loud at load so...... All units are different, you kind of have to do your homework. Some units are significantly louder at normal usage than others, some are louder at load than others.

I would have thought 620 would be plenty for that system for the fan to not jump up but.... Part of your issue there is an 8800gts is old process and consumes more power than newer cards.

Yeah, without the 8800 it's quiet, but the noise isn't annoying, I was just curious. The 8800 is coming out of the system when it starts to get warm out.

 

[Rvenger]

Yeah, without the 8800 it's quiet, but the noise isn't annoying, I was just curious. The 8800 is coming out of the system when it starts to get warm out.

Is the 8800 towards the bottom of your case? If that is so, then the PSU is sucking all the heat from the 8800 which is taking it over the 40c threshold to throttle the fans at the highest speed setting.

 

[Smartazz]

Is the 8800 towards the bottom of your case? If that is so, then the PSU is sucking all the heat from the 8800 which is taking it over the 40c threshold to throttle the fans at the highest speed setting.

Yeah, the 8800 also exhausts a lot of heat directly into the case, however there is a soundcard between the 8800 and the power supply. Maybe a bit off topic, but is it bad if my sound card is basking in heat constantly?

 

[Topweasel]

Yeah, the 8800 also exhausts a lot of heat directly into the case, however there is a soundcard between the 8800 and the power supply. Maybe a bit off topic, but is it bad if my sound card is basking in heat constantly?

Can be, I have had terrible trouble with the main processing chip on every sound card I have ever purchased over heating and glitching out. This from everything from a AWE, Live, Audigy, and even an add on adapter on an Asus for the Nforce 2 Soundstorm chip. I have gotten much better in going after full case cooling since the last one I purchased, but they run hot and if you are exhausting a GPU onto it, then yeah that can be bad.

 

[Rvenger]

Creative chips run hot too so yeah, your PSU is getting choked with a ton of heat from your components. Does your case have the ability to run the PSU fan facing bottom?

 

[tato27]

ineed to ask u cuz i wanna get psu like u have is it audible come frome fan noies or its loud come frome the componets of power cuz i have couger cm 700 under havey load iwas hear some voice like train when stop verey bad sound not frome fan sure it come frome the power him self i stop the fan with my finger and its stil ther so what kiend of voice u mean fan or its power components under havey load ?​

 

[Smartazz]

Tato, what parts do you have and are they overclocked? I don't know much about the brand Cougar. I've stuck with Corsair and Seasonic.

 

[lehtv]

I figure close to 100W when the CPU is full bore, the 6870 draws nearly 130W, the 8800GTS draws at least 120W, add in fans, motherboard, hard drives, etc and I'm probably around at least 350W.

Fans, motherboard and hard drives combined don't use 120W... more like 70-80W

 

[Smartazz]

Leh, 100W(cpu)+130W(6870)+120W(8800) is 350W before fans, hard drives and motherboard. Adding those is probably pushing 400W.

 

[Ketchup]

Seasonics are built to last. One of the ways you make electronics last is keeping them cool. Seasonic knows this, hence the noise you are hearing. You are pulling over half the PSU's max under load, so I don't see a problem here. As others have said, get a larger PSU if this bothers you.

Remember too, that noise reference without db figures is subjective. Some might consider your PSU quiet in the same scenario.

 

[Smartazz]

Seasonics are built to last. One of the ways you make electronics last is keeping them cool. Seasonic knows this, hence the noise you are hearing. You are pulling over half the PSU's max under load, so I don't see a problem here. As others have said, get a larger PSU if this bothers you.

Remember too, that noise reference without db figures is subjective. Some might consider your PSU quiet in the same scenario.

Doesn't bother me as long as the PSU is going to last. I'm confused about the warranty though. The back of the box says 3 years but the front says 5.