PSU question

[don_svetlio]

 Okay, so since this is my first post here, I'd like to say "hey" and ask a question.

Recently (3 months ago) I bought my new rig and a month ago I changed the way things were positioned and now the case's rear is facing me in a way and about 2 weeks ago I noticed a faint high-pitched noise, somewhat resembling a whilstle. It's not really loud enough to annoy me but enough to make me poke my ear to see where it's coming from. I believe it's the PSU that is the source and thus I started doing some research. For the most part, people seem to say it's coil whine and that's its nothing to worry about. I also came across several people saying it's a leaking capacitor but that contradicts other sources, including my father, who is a electrical enginner. They all say that were it a leaking capacitor, the system would not be stable (I have had 0 random reboots or failed start-up attemps, some minor issue with Witcher 3 and 2 crashes in that game but mostly because I hadn't updated drivers + it's a new release, bugs are bound to be present). According to some articles I found, leaking or otherwise faulty PSUs and components in general fail rather fast, within days and certainly not after 3 months of regular use.

My power supply is a Thermaltake Smart SE 630W. I know that some people will call it cheap/poor quality but I'd beg to differ. Without going too far off topic, the few places I've been able to find information about it have 90% of the time been positive. It's a unit made for Europe specifically thus the 87% efficiency rather than the official 80+ rating. I agree, it's a bit sketchy how it's labelled but the efficiency curve is present and it's made by Channel Well Technology (same manufcaturer of a decent amount of Corsair PSUs)

My question, what do you think the noise is caused by? Is it coil whine, in which case I have nothing to fear, or is it something else. I know that accruacy is not always 100% since you cannot see or hear it yourself but I an estimate would also help put me at ease. Normally, I would simply open it and check but I do not wish to void the warranty.

Thanks in advance.

[nanowatt]

It's just coil whine and it happens when certain parts start to move.The movement is so fast it starts to sound pitched like white noise and that's the reason most of the parts in expensive psu's are covered in that yellow glue so they don't move.Coil whine is not necessarily an indication of a faulty psu but it might be close.My last psu died 3 years after coil whine started.

[don_svetlio]

I did take a peak, as much as I could, through the the grate and all I really saw was the green adhesive used by CWT and a bit of grey/white substance, probably glue or silicone used to dampen coil whine. As for the lifespan, after the warranty ends I might end up simply chaning the PSU so if it lasts 3 years I'd be okay. The GPU is an R9 280 btw and some people say R9 280/280Xs cause coil whine. Not sure how much I believe it but idk.

[W-L]

I did take a peak, as much as I could, through the the grate and all I really saw was the green adhesive used by CWT and a bit of grey/white substance, probably glue or silicone used to dampen coil whine. As for the lifespan, after the warranty ends I might end up simply chaning the PSU so if it lasts 3 years I'd be okay. The GPU is an R9 280 btw and some people say R9 280/280Xs cause coil whine. Not sure how much I believe it but idk.

 

It's not a bad PSU for the most part decent power quality and components:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Thermaltake-Smart-630-W-Power-Supply-Review/1481/1

 

The sound is most likely coil whine and they do use a potting substance to help lessen it or dampen the noise but even with potting it can occur on any PSU. Between the GPU and PSU some combinations can create coil whine while others won't it's mainly a trial and error sort of thing.

[don_svetlio]

It's not a bad PSU for the most part decent power quality and components:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Thermaltake-Smart-630-W-Power-Supply-Review/1481/1

 

The sound is most likely coil whine and they do use a potting substance to help lessen it or dampen the noise but even with potting it can occur on any PSU. Between the GPU and PSU some combinations can create coil whine while others won't it's mainly a trial and error sort of thing.

 The one hardware secrets reviewed is an earlier model. I seem to remember SE standing for Second Edition or something, not entirely sure but I do know that theirs is pre-haswell whilst mine is Haswell compatible. Though I'd suppose reducing quality in the 2nd itteration wouldn't make too much sense.

Thank you for the responses, it really helps put my mind at ease.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, during the first month the input wall voltage was rather incosistent with spikes up to 245V. It is now within spec of 200-240V and does not exceed those bounds. My bad.

[W-L]

 The one hardware secrets reviewed is an earlier model. I seem to remember SE standing for Second Edition or something, not entirely sure but I do know that theirs is pre-haswell whilst mine is Haswell compatible. Though I'd suppose reducing quality in the 2nd itteration wouldn't make too much sense.

Thank you for the responses, it really helps put my mind at ease.

 

Ah well noted.

[don_svetlio]

I just remembered something and am curious whether it could be the culprit. Since my GPU is R9 280 DirectCU II TOP - meaning factory overclocked to 980 MHz from the reference 870 MHz, could that be the cause of the coil whine?

EDIT: GPU voltage is 1.250V

[W-L]

I just remembered something and am curious whether it could be the culprit. Since my GPU is R9 280 DirectCU II TOP - meaning factory overclocked to 980 MHz from the reference 870 MHz, could that be the cause of the coil whine?

EDIT: GPU voltage is 1.250V

Overclocking can potentially cause coil whine but the main thing is GPU's and PSU have coils so they can whine there is no way around it. It's never easy to determine why they do, as said most times it's the combination of that particular PSU and GPU.

[don_svetlio]

Overclocking can potentially cause coil whine but the main thing is GPU's and PSU have coils so they can whine there is no way around it. It's never easy to determine why they do, as said most times it's the combination of that particular PSU and GPU.

But for the most part it should be safe right? I mean it's new, I've known about the whine for roughly 2 weeks and everything is stable (no black/blue screens, no random reboots, no missed POSTs)

EDIT: Ran 3D Mark: Fire strike as a sort of stress test and while playing it noise was somewhat quieter, guessing it was going above human audible levels. No crash or anything. Guessing I'm good?

[W-L]

But for the most part it should be safe right? I mean it's new, I've known about the whine for roughly 2 weeks and everything is stable (no black/blue screens, no random reboots, no missed POSTs)

EDIT: Ran 3D Mark: Fire strike as a sort of stress test and while playing it noise was somewhat quieter, guessing it was going above human audible levels. No crash or anything. Guessing I'm good?

Yes coil whine is perfectly safe, a bit annoying but nothing to worry about.

[don_svetlio]

Yes coil whine is perfectly safe, a bit annoying but nothing to worry about.

Thank you for your time and patience with me