Resolved - Humming sound from Power Supply on load

[Dawson 1st MRB]

Name: Dawson

Rank: High

Type of issue:Hardware (Software, Hardware, Steam, Not sure)

Brief Description of Issue:

I've noticed that my power supply gives out a bit of a hum when gaming or under high processing loads. I'm certain it is not the fan. I just wanted to consult someone to see if this might be an indication of a problem. Maybe my PSU isn't enough watts for my computer.

***Medical Supply Staff ONLY Below this line***

Current Status: Resolved

Main Technician:

Supporting Technician:

[Lafy BAR]

It's very hard to say if this matters from the description of the sound. If you are certain it isn't the fan then it's probably a transformer or a capacitor. Transformer noise is common and nothing to really worry about, it just means the coil is vibrating. Capacitor noise is more worrisome. If it's a hiss from a capacitor then you could have one on the verge of failure. Depending on the power supply and the manner in which the cap fails this type of failure can either result in the machine powering off, or in the power supply running line-level voltage through your components, burning them out.

Insufficient wattage usually manifests in the form of video card crashes or system crashes from the GPU or CPU being power starved, not noise.

So, if you have a power supply that claims to have fault protection circuits (one that shuts itself down in the event of over-voltage) then I wouldn't worry too much unless you're experiencing crashes.

If the noise could be described as a hiss and your power supply does not have fault protection then replace it ASAP.

[Dawson 1st MRB]

nope, I think it's just the low hum of the transformer. Thanks!