Going Insane Over Identifying PSU Humming Noise- Can Anyone Help

[LeSandwich]

so I've noticed that there's like a humming "mrrrr mrrrr mrrrr" sound from my PC, and it's definitely more pronounced when my ear is close to the PSU vent or near the bottom of the case, so I'm pretty confident it's the power supply (Phanteks Revolt 1000w)



it's not a buzz, it's more of a hum. it is primarily when under load, and definitely loudest when getting off a game, but it's not really high pitched and it doesn't strike me as coil whine; it's also not the fan exactly, I've been able to hear the fan separately from this noise

I'm going mad trying to figure out if this is just normal operating sound or if it's always been here (which it might've been, but it seems to be louder, especially today), or if something is up. the reason I'm posting about this is because usually when I have my ear close to the back of the PC vent, I can hear the GPU buzzing like normal very clearly, but sometimes this separate hum from the PSU is drowning it out, or at least existing very prominently alongside the GPU's typical coil whine



I took 2 videos while on a game, would recommend turning the volume to 100 to listen; it's a very constant and prominent hum like a "mrrr". important note is that it isn't ALWAYS present or noticeably loud; I sat on Elden Ring for a bit and never heard the noise, got on Roblox with some friends, heard it, got back on Elden Ring, heard it, got back on Roblox, couldn't hear anything

https://imgur.com/a/iqsUhrl

https://imgur.com/a/Unf09Tp

 

[P4-630]

Get a different PSU, get a Be Quiet! one if you're serious...

 

[LeSandwich]

Get a different PSU, get a Be Quiet! one if you're serious...

is that implying that this PSU is making a bad noise or...? I know very little about what noises I should be hearing from a PC, and with a power supply I want to be extra careful

this noise does not make me want to replace it if it's harmless, I just want to know if it's a normal 'operating hum' or if it's something else

 

[P4-630]

is that implying that this PSU is making a bad noise or...?

Just because you said:

so I'm pretty confident it's the power supply (Phanteks Revolt 1000w)

 

[LeSandwich]

Just because you said:

sure that makes sense but that doesn't answer whether or not it actually could be a bad sound. I'm just saying where I believe I've pinpointed it to and given further context on the noise.


if I identify something I'm not knowledgeable about with my PC, I check if it's harmless or an indication of something going wrong. if it's harmless or just annoying, I'll leave it. if it's an indication of something bad, then I worry further

 

[Bill_Bright]

Listening for sounds in videos is pretty pointless - at least for me because it is impossible from here for me to determine if the source is your computer, your microphone, ambient noise in your room, my computer, my speakers, my room or my ears and that's assuming I can hear the noise you are talking about.

If I were to guess, I would say it is transformer hum - which is not uncommon. It typically hums at 50 or 60Hz (depending on your mains) or a harmonic thereof (such as 100/120Hz).

The hum comes from the plates vibrating. Sometimes, it can be fixed by pressing epoxy putty glue (with considerable force) between the plates, then let it sit for at least 24 hours to cure. Some suggest super-glue. I've had better success with epoxy.

I agree with P4-630 and try a different supply - if you have one you can swap in to try. Beg/borrow from a friend if necessary. If you don't have one available and want to be sure before spending more money, VERY CAREFULLY remove the 4 mounting screws and VERY CAREFULLY "hang" the PSU outside the case. You should then easily be able to verify the sound is coming from the PSU and not somewhere else. Listening through the paper tube from a roll of paper towels, think "stethoscope", may help isolate the source too.

It is pretty easy to verify if a noise is coming from a fan. Just momentarily touch the center hub of the spinning fan. That will change the rotation speed for a second or two. A change in speed will change the tone or pitch of the noise - if the noise is coming from the fan. If the hum remains constant, it is not that fan.

For hard to reach PSU fans, use a wooden Popsicle/glue stick. That said, if you discover it is the PSU fan, unless you are a qualified technician, I do not recommend you replace the fan yourself because anything that plugs into the wall can kill - and that includes PSUs. Once unplugged, any deadly voltages "should" (in theory) quickly decay to safe levels. But that assumes the PSU is not faulty. A qualified technician would never make that assumption.

Hopefully the PSU is still under warranty.

 

[Assimilator]

Probably just vibration from something inside the PSU.

 

[LeSandwich]

Listening for sounds in videos is pretty pointless - at least for me because it is impossible from here for me to determine if the source is your computer, your microphone, ambient noise in your room, my computer, my speakers, my room or my ears and that's assuming I can hear the noise you are talking about.

If I were to guess, I would say it is transformer hum - which is not uncommon. It typically hums at 50 or 60Hz (depending on your mains) or a harmonic thereof (such as 100/120Hz).

The hum comes from the plates vibrating. Sometimes, it can be fixed by pressing epoxy putty glue (with considerable force) between the plates, then let it sit for at least 24 hours to cure. Some suggest super-glue. I've had better success with epoxy.

I agree with P4-630 and try a different supply - if you have one you can swap in to try. Beg/borrow from a friend if necessary. If you don't have one available and want to be sure before spending more money, VERY CAREFULLY remove the 4 mounting screws and VERY CAREFULLY "hang" the PSU outside the case. You should then easily be able to verify the sound is coming from the PSU and not somewhere else. Listening through the paper tube from a roll of paper towels, think "stethoscope", may help isolate the source too.

It is pretty easy to verify if a noise is coming from a fan. Just momentarily touch the center hub of the spinning fan. That will change the rotation speed for a second or two. A change in speed will change the tone or pitch of the noise - if the noise is coming from the fan. If the hum remains constant, it is not that fan.

For hard to reach PSU fans, use a wooden Popsicle/glue stick. That said, if you discover it is the PSU fan, unless you are a qualified technician, I do not recommend you replace the fan yourself because anything that plugs into the wall can kill - and that includes PSUs. Once unplugged, any deadly voltages "should" (in theory) quickly decay to safe levels. But that assumes the PSU is not faulty. A qualified technician would never make that assumption.

Hopefully the PSU is still under warranty.

I feel like the videos would've been more of a help if I didn't have a broken phone and didn't need to rely on an old ipad microphone but eh, it was still worth trying to get some videos. definitely don't have any other power supplies, nor do I have nearby friends to swap with

like I said, I am quite confident it is the PSU, due to the volume of the noise based on the positioning of my ear; however, I don't think it's the fan. it's tough to explain but I can hear the fan under load and it's separate from this noise, and doesn't match up with when the humming happens either; for example, when turning my PC on or during Heaven Benchmark, I can typically hear the fan quite clearly, yet the humming is not present


let's just assume it is transformer hum for the moment; it's not uncommon, but is it harmless? like how coil whine is a bit of a frightening noise, despite being harmless

Probably just vibration from something inside the PSU.

which is normal or worrisome?



(also further context for the replies- PSU does not feel warmed up at all, CPU and GPU temps are normal, and the wattage/power draw for everything is the same as always. I checked that when I heard the noise just in case, because you might as well)

 

[Regeneration]

First of all, isolate the source of noise. Open the case and place it horizontally.

Try to slow down the suspicious fan (either unplug it or hold in its center so it will slow down - don't touch the blades!).

If its the PSU fan, and its too much annoyance, its time to upgrade PSU.

This Thermaltake 700w is on discount, just $54.95:

Amazon.com

If it's just a case fan or CPU fan, use the BIOS to setup a silent profile, or replace the fan if its still too loud.

 

[LeSandwich]

First of all, isolate the source of noise. Open the case and place it horizontally.

Try to slow down the suspicious fan (either unplug it or hold in its center so it will slow down - don't touch the blades!).

If its the PSU fan, and its too much annoyance, its time to upgrade PSU.

This Thermaltake 700w is on discount, just $54.95:

Amazon.com

If it's just a case fan or CPU fan, use the BIOS to setup a silent profile, or replace the fan if its still too loud.

strong belief that it isn't the fan; I highlighted why in other reply but essentially I can hear the fan while the humming is not present and even when it is, they seem like very distinct, separate sounds. due to the position of the noise, I don't think it's any fan in the case at all, really. but yes I do have a fan profile already set in Bios which has been active for a while; everything in this rig is only about 5-6 months old

 

[P4-630]

I agree, sounds like a fan; I replaced the fan in my power supply with a Noctua fan, but that was more for fun than anything.

Did this once as well in the past, I had the fan connected to the motherboard, it worked... Not sure if I would do it again though...

 

[LeSandwich]

I agree, sounds like a fan; I replaced the fan in my power supply with a noctua fan, but that was more for fun than anything.

thanks Shrek. do you think it's any cause for concern? the humming and the fan spinning don't seem to have any correlation since I can hear the fan without the hum; the humming mainly gets louder under load but it is always there. if it were the fan, I would've assumed the sound wouldn't be such a consistent "mrrrr", I'd have thought a fan-related noise would sound a bit different but maybe not

 

[Shrek]

It's probably fine if you can live with it.

 

[LeSandwich]

ok so I did a Heaven Benchmark run just to see if I can hear the noise there, and I also launched 2 games that I know ramp up the PSU fan a bit which are Elden Ring and Nioh 2


it seems like the humming I'm describing fades out the faster the PSU fan spins. the fan itself doesn't sound irregular, or giving off buzzing sounds or anything like that, but the humming seems to fade in tandem with the fan speed. as soon as I closed the applications, and the fan slowed down, the humming noise became more prominent again


I have my PSU fan set to always spin, rather than turning on at specific temps, but it doesn't spin fast enough for me to hear it well until I'm playing games like the ones I just mentioned. I guess it might have something to do with the fan speed being slow until load...and by extension, the fan...despite what I've been saying

if anyone has anything to say about this little hypothesis then that'd be welcome as well, just something I observed

 

[maxfly]

thanks Shrek. do you think it's any cause for concern? the humming and the fan spinning don't seem to have any correlation since I can hear the fan without the hum; the humming mainly gets louder under load but it is always there. if it were the fan, I would've assumed the sound wouldn't be such a consistent "mrrrr", I'd have thought a fan-related noise would sound a bit different but maybe not

Contact Phanteks and tell them you are no longer confident in your power supply due to this aggravating sound it's started making. If it's only 6 months old it shouldn't be making any odd noises. Let Phanteks deal with the whys of this new noise.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I feel like the videos would've been more of a help if I didn't have a broken phone

No they wouldn't have - at least not for me with anything conclusive. There are just too many variables involved for me.

let's just assume it is transformer hum for the moment; it's not uncommon, but is it harmless?

Yes. It is harmless. Actually, nearly all transformers hum pretty much all the time. But with most small transformers, the loudness is just too low to be heard over the ambient noise of most rooms, not to mention the noise other devices in (fans, drives) make.

Ever walked near a power substation? The hum can be deafening.

it seems like the humming I'm describing fades out the faster the PSU fan spins.

More likely the fan noise drowns out the hum the faster the fan spins.

 

[Regeneration]

thanks Shrek. do you think it's any cause for concern? the humming and the fan spinning don't seem to have any correlation since I can hear the fan without the hum; the humming mainly gets louder under load but it is always there. if it were the fan, I would've assumed the sound wouldn't be such a consistent "mrrrr", I'd have thought a fan-related noise would sound a bit different but maybe not

It can be coil whine from the power supply or graphics card.

 

[Mister300]

Sounds like turbulent airflow with a pinch of coil noise. Nothing that spins is dead silent.

 

[LeSandwich]

More likely the fan noise drowns out the hum the faster the fan spins.

definitely possible but in regard to what I'm hearing, I don't think the fan is loud enough to really drown out the hum. it's tough to explain since videos aren't helpful and I'm obviously the only one who can hear and test in-person. it seems like the hum just generally decreases in volume when the fan becomes noticeable


sidenote- I am doing all this with my ceiling fan and headphones off; under normal circumstances I can't actually hear this noise. it's not bothersome, I'm just trying to gauge if it's a cause for concern

 

[Dan.G]

Try changing PSU position: have the fan facing upwards / downwards.