Squealing Power Supply

[RandomFool]

My power supply (Antec TruePower 430) has recently started making a rather high pitched squealing noise. I stopped the fans on it and it still continued to squeal so it doesn't appear to be the fans. I contacted Antec but haven't heard anything back yet. Is my computer going to explode?

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

If it's in warrenty, RMA it, then sell it or keep it for a spare or use it to bench test fans 😉

If it's out of warrenty, open it up and find a bulging / leaking Fujyyu capacitor on the
output side, it will be amoungst the soldered ends of the wiring harness at the PCB.

http://www.theflyingpenguin.com/ > My Blog > 9/17/05....Read it and his links.

You could PM AntecCSR, he is a member here. David will help if it's in warrenty.

NOTE: Buy a better PSU.


...Galvanized

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

I need some breakfast 😱

Reviews and forums at http://www.jonnyguru.com/

 

[Operandi]

It's probably coil whine. All kinds of things can cause but if it's a new development thats probably not a good sign.

 

[RandomFool]

Well shat, Thanks for the help. Of course I didn't bring any of my extra computer parts back with me to college. One more quick question I've got an nforce2 AXP board. Is there a power supply that'' work with this and an AM2 board later on down the road?

 

[imported_stev]

Originally posted by: Operandi
It's probably coil whine. All kinds of things can cause but if it's a new development thats probably not a good sign.

What is this? While I was assessing the noise of my system, I noticed a small whining sound when my ear was within a foot of the back of the PSU in my sig. It didn't sound like a fan noise and I'm pretty sure it's been present since the day I installed it.

 

[excalibur3]

I might be mistaken, but I thought that opening power supplies was extremely dangerous. There are capacitors that convert the wall voltage to a much smaller amount that can kill you if you happen to discharge it. Even when they are unplugged they can still discharge it. Isn't this also why you don't open up CRT monitors and TVs?

 

[Oyeve]

Maybe the sound is a capacitor leaking or overheating. I had a CRT that did that and one day, BAM! it blew.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: excalibur3
I might be mistaken, but I thought that opening power supplies was extremely dangerous. There are capacitors that convert the wall voltage to a much smaller amount that can kill you if you happen to discharge it. Even when they are unplugged they can still discharge it. Isn't this also why you don't open up CRT monitors and TVs?

A PSU is NOT a CRT. Unplug the PSU from the wall, push the comp's power button,
the PSU is drained.

"the sky is falling, the sky is falling" 😛

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: RandomFool
Well shat, Thanks for the help. Of course I didn't bring any of my extra computer parts back with me to college. One more quick question I've got an nforce2 AXP board. Is there a power supply that'' work with this and an AM2 board later on down the road?

It seems the first needs a strong 5V rail, the second needs a strong 12V rail.
How much you wanna spend? The Silverstone ST56ZF is a hell-of-a-unit and will support
both systems well. Down side? It Froogles at $109. Up side? With 12V@38A it will be able
to deal with any future up-grade. This is a tier 1 unit.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103 Register and ask over there.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: stev

Originally posted by: Operandi
It's probably coil whine. All kinds of things can cause but if it's a new development thats probably not a good sign.

What is this? While I was assessing the noise of my system, I noticed a small whining sound when my ear was within a foot of the back of the PSU in my sig. It didn't sound like a fan noise and I'm pretty sure it's been present since the day I installed it.

Coil whine is the audible result of the various components resonating due to the electromagnetic fields present in all PSUs. Its always there but usually at low enough volumes and/or high enough frequencies that it's not noticeable.

I think I remember reading that some of the Enhance units produced coil whine in systems very little 5v loads.

Originally posted by: RandomFool
Well shat, Thanks for the help. Of course I didn't bring any of my extra computer parts back with me to college. One more quick question I've got an nforce2 AXP board. Is there a power supply that'' work with this and an AM2 board later on down the road?

Sure, but you'll probably want to find out if your nForce2 board draws power from the 5v rail or the 12v rail to power the CPU first before you buy.

The easiest way to know is to check if the board uses the square 4-pin "P4" 12v power connector. If it dose it's using 12v, if it' doesn't it's almost certainly using 5v power to drive the CPU.

If you end up needing a PSU with a strong 5v rail the 430 watt S12 would be a good choice and will cover you either way, 12 or 5v. Otherwise if all you need is a good amount of 12v juice the 380 and 330 watt S12s have larger portions of their output on the 12v.