XFX TS 550 - weird clicking sound under full stress.

[BambOOs]

Hello!

First of all, I would like to thank you so much for answers in this thread: http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/hd-7970-ghz-r9-280-r9-280x-failure-rate.210299

Finally I bought brand new Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming and I don't have any problems with it.

The card arrived today, and I wanted to test my whole system.

I started OCCT Power supply test and 20 seconds after start, heard this noise from PSU: (pls listen this video in 2.0 or 2.1 sound system)

http://www.mediafire.com/watch/8rrei6i1uwk2ufo/VID_20150622_211952.mp4

What's that noise? It's present only at full PC load (occt PSU test). I started this test a few times more, and "clicking" sound was not present...or it was present for couple of seconds. It is not fan for sure.

Also I noticed this voltage behaviours (measured from MOLEX connector):

12.35 V - IDLE
12.20 V - START TEST>>>> *click click click* sound from PSU >>>> 12.28 V >> click sound stop
12.35 V - STOP TEST.

While ~20 first seconds of test, the FPS meter in OCCT show ~300 FPS, and then only 80 FPS - I think it's related to LinPack CPU test start - and here voltage raise to 12.28 V.

What's that noise from PSU?

Thanks in advance.

Greetings.

 

[Batou1986]

Coil whine/chokes/rectifiers etc
Mine does it too, if OCCT don't crash it don't worry about it.

 

[AsRock]

Maybe this will help @XFXSupport , anyways kind of odd sound and take it your on about that odd popping \ crackling sound ? ( maybe the fan ? ).

If your on about the very faint buzzing that probably a coil whine, how audible is it when your a few feet away from it ? ( as i hear that popping like sound much more than a buzz ).

 

[BambOOs]

On my video, there are two sounds: this "clicking" in PSU, and sound of fans, especially these three on GPU.

This "clicking" noise is audible even if I sit ~3 meters from PC. (there is no other sound/voice in room). Clicking is present for ~5 seconds from time to time - in this case, while OCCT power supply test, when LinPack CPU starts/stops, also in this moment there is voltage raise from 12.20 to 12.28, as I wrote before.

And don't know why, but first time when I heard that, clicking was present till test/load stop.

 

[Bill_Bright]

In my experience, coil whine is more consistent and "whines", not clicks like that. I recommend you take a wooden glue or Popsicle stick and carefully insert it through the grill and onto the center hub of the fan to slow or stop the fan for just a couple seconds. That will give you plenty of time to determine if it is fan noise or not. If the noise goes away as the fan stops, and if you don't see anything getting in the way of the spinning fan blades, then the fan bearings are going.

The first big click near 1 sec. by the way is probably a relay and not a problem. I don't know what that HUGE clunk at 8 seconds is. But the tiny little clicks happening through out sound like the fan to me - at least from here through my speakers.

If the clicking sounds continues when fan held still, then, yeah, the choke coils, transformer windings, or caps are making noise. And when coils, windings or caps start making noise, the PSU could fail tomorrow - or last 10 years!

Note that if something other than the fan, the noise often changes when the PSU goes from full load to idle.

 

[BambOOs]

At 8 second there was not sound from PSU, it was propably my hand, or something. I'm 99,9% sure, that these clicks are not fan's fault.

These clicks are present, when OCCT starts/stops linpack cpu tests, so when load is changing.

 

[st2000]

hi there
glad to see that problem with 280x solved and now you got even better gpu
for me this sound feels like some issue with fan - not sure, but feels like
also it can be

Coil whine/chokes/rectifiers etc

 

[BambOOs]

Okey, and If it is something with whines, chokes etc, should I send psu to RMA?

It seems, that is common issue with XFX psu. I done some research, and yes - in some cases it was fan failure, but clicking of fan was "regular", not like clicking in my PSU.

I don't have any crashes, or something similar. Voltages are good. OCCT PSU test passed 40 minutes yesterday without any error.

It seems, that these clicks are present while load changes, and voltage raises. In IDLE or typical load like games I don't hear anything.

Only first time when I heard it, clicks were audible longer, till I stopped a test manualy.

 

[Bill_Bright]

should I send psu to RMA?

What are your voltages? The required tolerance is no more than ±5%.

Jam you nose into the back of the PSU - smell any "burning electronics" smell.

For sure, it would not hurt to contact XFX warranty support and go on record with this problem. They are a good company, they may just send a new one without question.

 

[BambOOs]

My voltages are:
12V - 12.34 IDLE, 12.20-12.28 LOAD (OCCT PSU) - depending on LinPack times.

There is no any burning smell from PSU, also today while OCCT there is no clicking noise, and even FPS was better (80 vs 110).

 

[Bill_Bright]

Then clearly the problem was gremlins.

 

[GorbazTheDragon]

If the coil whine is noticeable under normal workloads or is bothersome you should ask for an RMA. I have a 760 that had pretty heavy coil whine, but it was only under very specific current loads, which I could only get by tuning to a certain clock/voltage ratio (increasing the voltage by ~10mV stopped it completely) and running synthetic benchmarks so I didn't bother giving it any trouble.

BTW, don't rely in software voltage monitoring. It's rubbish.

 

[BambOOs]

I measured voltage with voltage meter, from MOLEX connector

 

[GorbazTheDragon]

I measured voltage with voltage meter, from MOLEX connector

Smart fellow you are eh

 

[BambOOs]

So mates, is there anything to worry about at this time? Do you think, my PSU is faulty?
Already submitted a support ticket to XFX. We'll see what they say.

In addition - unfortunately, my PC is connected to not grounded socket in the wall... I know, that is bad. Will have to re-built nearly the whole electrical installation in house.

 

[Bill_Bright]

In addition - unfortunately, my PC is connected to not grounded socket in the wall... I know, that is bad. Will have to re-built nearly the whole electrical installation in house.

That is common in older homes. The only thing I would recommend is that you ensure everything connected to your computer is powered through that same wall outlet. This will put everything at the same "floating" ground potential. It is not really for safety but can eliminate, or at least minimize problems with RFI/EMI - interference that cause buzzing in your audio or "noise" on your monitor, in particular is using an analog connection.

 

[XFXSupport]

Reporting in via PM, we're probably going to RMA it and have it tested here. we're still a little skecptical about the lack of a ground, but our options for testing are limited.

Sorry for the delay, i was on holiday

 

[BambOOs]

Answered via PM

So, it could be lack of ground fault?

 

[XFXSupport]

Answered via PM

So, it could be lack of ground fault?

it could be, but i wouldn't be willing to bet on it.

 

[Bill_Bright]

If a two wire outlet is properly wired (not reversed polarity) the lack of a separate ground will not cause this.

Note too it is the lack of a separate ground "wire", not "fault". Ground "fault" refers to "ground fault interrupts" - outlets typically found in bathrooms and kitchens to "interrupt" service when you drop your corded electric razor or toaster in a sink full of water.

 

[BambOOs]

I have one more question about temperature of my PSU.

While gaming, back of my PSU (surface with holes) is pretty warm... Fan works OK, even while gaming or other heavy load is silent and I don't feel much airflow from back of PSU.

Maybe PWM is corrupted or something? What do you think? Is it normal or not?

 

[st2000]

@BambOOs i got corsair rm650 and it's silent under any load, temperature is going up to 40-50°C(from my opinion) and fan doesnt work(i've got filter on fan PSU so it's clear for almost a year despite other filters i clean every 2 weeks)
may be this could help

 

[BambOOs]

Does surface with holes in your PSU is warm at load?

My XFX is really very quiet, I think fan's rpm is low. If I put my hand on back of psu, I can't feel any airflow.

 

[st2000]

Surface with holes in mine PSU is warm at load.
If I put my hand on back of psu, I can't feel any airflow.
Working about a year with no problems/accidental shutdowns or something like this - a bit warm but 100% quiet(thinking fan is not starting)

 

[BambOOs]

Okey, so it seems that's normal.