Electrical noise from PSU. Coil whine?

[Frogbox]

Hey guys,

I'm looking for a little bit of help. Firstly, here's my spec:

Case
CORSAIR OBSIDIAN SERIES 500D SE CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12 Core CPU
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-Plus Gaming
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
12GB ASUS ROG STRIX GEFORCE RTX 3080 Ti - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB HYDRO SERIES HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 16 to 19 working days
Promotional Item
Get Resident Evil Village with select Samsung SSDs
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland

The issue I am facing:

I've only just picked the PC up this afternoon. Got home around 4pm, and I've been installing updates and configuring since then. I've had a couple of apps crash or refuse to open, but I'm chalking that down to the system being in the process of updating etc, so it's bound to be a bit flaky.

I haven't had chance to test the PC under full load yet. The 3DMark that came preinstalled was refusing to work at all, so I uninstalled it. I did manage to download Witch It just to give the system a spin while I wait for FFXIV and Forza Horizon 4.

I've noticed the PC makes a fair bit of fan noise, which is fine. However, there's one noise that I don't really recognise. To try and describe it, it's sort of like an electrical buzz. I snooped around the back of the PC, and I'm fairly certain that this noise is coming from the PSU, which is a CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET.

This noise is present while the computer is idle on the desktop. It's not unbearable, but it's definitely annoying.

However, when I opened Witch It, a non-demanding game, the noise amped up massively. It became almost like a scratching electrical buzz. It was worst when the screen was active, so I'd presume under a higher power draw. Between games it was much quieter, but still very noticable.

An odd quirk, when I was playing with the in game settings, the noise got louder as and when I moved my mouse.

I did a quick Google search and results suggest that this may be coil whine from the PSU. I had a look for a video displaying the exact same noise as my PSU, and I found the following:

.

Does anyone know of any potential fixes for this? Is it a defect, is it dangerous?

Any help or advice would be wonderful.

Thanks.

 

[Frogbox]

As a side note, it turns out that Witch It on max settings with a frame rate of 144 is actually quite demanding.

I checked CPUID HW Monitor and GPU usage was going up and over 90% at times. Temps weren't too bad, but the fans were on full load. I think around 70 degrees c.

When I finally get some other games installed, I'll update with relevent info.

Does anyone know if PSU coil whine is known to go away on its own, after bedding in?

Thanks

 

[SpyderTracks]

As a side note, it turns out that Witch It on max settings with a frame rate of 144 is actually quite demanding.

I checked CPUID HW Monitor and GPU usage was going up and over 90% at times. Temps weren't too bad, but the fans were on full load. I think around 70 degrees c.

When I finally get some other games installed, I'll update with relevent info.

Does anyone know if PSU coil whine is known to go away on its own, after bedding in?

Thanks

Often PSUs will have coil whine that settles after some bedding in time, we’re talking maybe a week.

If it persists after that, I’d contact PCS. Could whine is due to capacitors “leaking” hot air, and it’s generally not accepted.

 

[Frogbox]

Often PSUs will have coil whine that settles after some bedding in time, we’re talking maybe a week.

If it persists after that, I’d contact PCS. Could whine is due to capacitors “leaking” hot air, and it’s generally not accepted.

Thank you for the reply. I'll give it some time and give the power supply a thing or two to think about, and I'll see if the issue persists. If it does, I'll drop the guys at PCS a message.

I appreciate the response. Thank you

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thank you for the reply. I'll give it some time and give the power supply a thing or two to think about, and I'll see if the issue persists. If it does, I'll drop the guys at PCS a message.

I appreciate the response. Thank you

The other thing to check is make sure it's not the pump rather than the PSU.

You can test this with iCue, if the pump is on performance mode, turn it down, not to quiet, but to normal, see if that makes a difference.

 

[Frogbox]

The other thing to check is make sure it's not the pump rather than the PSU.

You can test this with iCue, if the pump is on performance mode, turn it down, not to quiet, but to normal, see if that makes a difference.

I've had a look, and everything is set to balanced.

Granted my ears are not what they used to be, but the closer I get to the bottom back of the case, the louder the whining noise is. That's what makes me think it's the PSU, along with the video noise being identical the noise I am facing.

As time goes on I'll run a few more tests and see if I can single any specific triggers out, and try and pin point the exact source of the noise.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I've had a look, and everything is set to balanced.

Granted my ears are not what they used to be, but the closer I get to the bottom back of the case, the louder the whining noise is. That's what makes me think it's the PSU, along with the video noise being identical the noise I am facing.

As time goes on I'll run a few more tests and see if I can single any specific triggers out, and try and pin point the exact source of the noise.

Yeah, that kind of noise would normally be associated more with PSU, just being doubly cautious.

 

[B Poot]

It could be the PSU, or it could be the GPU. Sometimes it can be hard to pinpoint the source of noises. Also, everything is connected together in a computer, so one part might be the source of the noise and then the vibrations are hitting another part of the computer that happens to be resonant and the vibrations get amplified and sound like they are coming from that part.

Just in case it is the GPU, this video might be of interest:

 

[Scott]

I was going to suggest to also single out the GPU in the ear tests. They are prone to a bit of coil whine too. It should reduce with some use though, if not I would want something done about it.

 

[Frogbox]

To update everyone, impatience got the better of me and I reached out to the tech support team at PCS.

I singled out the issue as PSU coil whine by covering the back of the PSU with a cork coaster. When the back grille was covered, the sound was significantly dampened. When removed again, the noise fully returned.

PCS asked me for a video of the coil whine, and after confirming the issue, then offered me a replacement at the door if I felt comfortable making the switch myself.

DPD delivered the power supply, I handed mine over, got it installed, and everything is back to working perfectly.

God bless modular power supplies, as my cable management looks something like a pigeon nest.

There's definitely some coil whine with the GPU when under a heavy load, but it's nothing too distracting. I had the same issue with my GTX 1080Ti which resolved itself after a few weeks.

So all in all, touch wood, all seems to be sorted!

Thanks again for the advice, guys.