Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W Single 'Click' Sound when PC is ON/OFF

[numcapsule]

Hello everyone

So I got Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W. Everytime I turn on/off my computer. The PSU will have a SINGLE 'Click' sounds. Is it normal?

So when I click on the Power Button it will 'Click' then boot and when I shutdown the PC, then It will 'click' then shut down. The PC is running just fine. Should I be worried?

[fuzz0r]

I have a Seasonic X-850. It clicks when shutting down too, I don't know if that's 'normal' for Seasonic PSU's?

I am hoping someone with some more experience can chime in.

[Stefan Payne]

Electro-mechanical switch aka Relais...

[Jurrunio]

22 minutes ago, Stefan Payne said:

Electro-mechanical switch aka Relais...

that makes sense, but why use that? not all PSUs give that click so I guess its not necessary

[Morgan MLGman]

22 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

that makes sense, but why use that? not all PSUs give that click so I guess its not necessary

My previous XFX Pro 650W XXX Edition did not make that sound, but my current Corsair TX 650M (2017) does, it's the same clicking sound when turning the PC on or off, and I'm not sure what causes it to be fair

[numcapsule]

5 minutes ago, Morgan MLGman said:

My previous XFX Pro 650W XXX Edition did not make that sound, but my current Corsair TX 650M (2017) does, it's the same clicking sound when turning the PC on or off, and I'm not sure what causes it to be fair

How long has it been like that?

 

Thanks.

[Morgan MLGman]

Just now, numcapsule said:

How long has it been like that?

 

Thanks.

Since I got it, out-of-the-box. It seems like it's just the case with some PSUs due to their internal design. It's a very good quality PSU and works like a charm so I'm not worried at all

[Murasaki]

My EVGA G3 makes an audiable click when it shuts off and a small one when turning on. I don't think it's something to worry about unless it's super loud

[numcapsule]

2 minutes ago, Morgan MLGman said:

Since I got it, out-of-the-box. It seems like it's just the case with some PSUs due to their internal design. It's a very good quality PSU and works like a charm so I'm not worried at all

Thanks for the reply. And how long have you been using this PSU?
 

Thanks.

[Morgan MLGman]

Just now, numcapsule said:

Thanks for the reply. And how long have you been using this PSU?
 

Thanks.

Almost half a year now. It's a 650W unit, though my PC does draw quite a bit of power with an overclocked 6700K & an overclocked 980Ti, so I suppose if anything was wrong with the PSU I'd already know

[OrionFOTL]

37 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

that makes sense, but why use that? not all PSUs give that click so I guess its not necessary

To bypass the NTC thermistor during startup, so it doesn't get needlessly hot and to increase efficiency.

[Jurrunio]

41 minutes ago, Morgan MLGman said:

My previous XFX Pro 650W XXX Edition did not make that sound, but my current Corsair TX 650M (2017) does, it's the same clicking sound when turning the PC on or off, and I'm not sure what causes it to be fair

My old Cooler Master extreme power plus 500w also didnt make that sound, but since it's so badly rated by every serious reviewers, I should be glad it doesnt welcome me with a bang.

[Stefan Payne]

10 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

that makes sense, but why use that? not all PSUs give that click so I guess its not necessary

It bypasses the inrush current limimiter (NTC) and gives you a bit more efficiency.

One of the first PSU that did that was the be quiet Dark Power PRO P8.

 

My previous XFX Pro 650W XXX Edition did not make that sound, but my current Corsair TX 650M (2017) does, it's the same clicking sound when turning the PC on or off, and I'm not sure what causes it to be fair

There is no 80plus Bronze unit that I know of that has one of those inrush current bypass Relais.

If we ignore the Dark Power P8 then you'll find it more commonly  in 80plus Gold units.

 

And no, not all 80plus Gold units do have this relais, there are a couple that don't have one.

[DragonTamer1]

Using a transistor as a switch to control current flow makes no mechanical noise but comes with the drawback of losses efficiency and added heat to the unit since all of the power for a rail would go through that one part. The voltage drop for them is typically 1.4 or 0.7V depending on how it is configured. This doesn't sound like a lot until you apply ohms law and start pushing +15A through it. That voltage drop multiplied by the current is wasted power across the component. This option is also a bit cheaper than a relay.

 

MOSFETs are a type of transistor but they have a fixed junction resistance where a transistor has a fixed junction voltage drop. MOSFETs suffer from the same problem as transistors and in some cases can be worse (depending on the part used).

 

A relay has a very high (near 100%) efficiency since it is basically a switch with two low resistance electrical contacts allowing the current to flow. There is still heat that builds up but it is not nearly as much as there would be through a transistor. The drawback to a relay is that since it has moving mechanical parts, it will eventually wear out, though we are talking about hundreds of thousands of cycles.

 

Basically, there is nothing to be concerned about. It is just a choice that the engineers made when working up the design with a focus on different markets. Since relays are a more expensive product, it makes sense that it would be used in more expensive power supplies.

[CrippledROBOT]

On 3/5/2018 at 2:42 AM, numcapsule said:

Hello everyone

So I got Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W. Everytime I turn on/off my computer. The PSU will have a SINGLE 'Click' sounds. Is it normal?

So when I click on the Power Button it will 'Click' then boot and when I shutdown the PC, then It will 'click' then shut down. The PC is running just fine. Should I be worried?

My FOCUS Plus Platinum 650 w does the same thing! I've found that higher end PSUs tend to do this!