Could a buzzing sound in your PSU indicate an issue?
Could a buzzing sound in your PSU indicate an issue?
About a month prior, I assembled my initial computer using these components:
Asus PRIME B550M-A/CSM
Ryzen 5 5600X
T-Force Vulcan Z 16 GB (2x8) DDR4 3600MHz
Sapphire Pulse RX 7600 OC
1TB Kingston NV2 4x4
512GB Intel SSD 3x4
MSI MAG A650BN
After replacing the cooler with the Deepcool AG300, it began emitting an unusual buzz during Windows 11 operation.
I accessed the BIOS and observed no fan noise except for the usual hum, but upon booting into Windows, the system immediately started making a buzzing sound.
For instance, during startup or reboot sequences, it mimicked the sound of an old SCSI drive, while in idle mode it produced random buzzing noises.
Uncertain about the cause, all components were new and still within warranty. I verified that the PSU fan wasn’t obstructed and inspected the PSU from behind to ensure no interference with the fan.
Here is an audio recording of the issue during boot and idle states.
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!
Try this method: take an A4 sheet of paper, roll it into a cylinder, and hold one end to your ear while using the other to pinpoint the sound's origin. If the only change was the CPU cooler, the noise might come from the cooler's fan, though I'm not positioned in front of your PC.
A video with audio would be useful, but you could identify the source more quickly by listening carefully.
In reality, I managed to improve the situation even more. I turned off all the fans connected to the computer, silenced any external noise sources, and started the PC in that manner.
Don’t worry about the heat—both the CPU and GPU stayed cool at 45°C and 40°C respectively, while the room temperature was around 24°C.
I’m fairly sure the issue lies with the power supply unit rather than the fan, since the noise comes from the top of the PSU, not the bottom where the fan is located. I would consider opening it up, but based on what I read in this forum, it’s risky and I shouldn’t attempt it without prior experience.
The absence of noise during BIOS setup and its presence upon booting to Windows indicates the disturbance occurs under stress. Even when idle, Windows runs background tasks continuously, resulting in a higher load compared to BIOS. The sound is likely produced by moving components such as case fans, CPU fans, GPU fans, PSU fan, or occasionally PSU coil whine which stands out in terms of noise. Your PSU appears to be of average quality, possibly Tier C, and may be contributing to the problem.
In my opinion as a newcomer, the best I can do is submit an RMA claim and check if the replacement PSU behaves similarly.
I'm really anxious about this; I'm worried it might go wrong.
I started a stress test with cinebench and began checking the PSU for any issues, but it smelled fine despite the noise.