Is something wrong with my power supply? (Noisy Fan)

[CK011885]

I thought the issue was my CPU fan and have been toying around with the Q-Fan controls in my BIOS with no luck, but I decided to put my ear to the case just now and it seems the noisy fan I've been hearing is actually coming from my power supply. It only gets noisy when I start to run a game, when I'm browsing or on the desktop it's pretty silent. I opened it up and felt it, it's very cool even while noisy. My system has been running very stable without issues, I have a slight 4.2ghz overclock going.

Is this something I should be concerned about? It's not a fantastic power supply from all the things I've read, it's 2-3 years old. Should I look into replacing it sooner than later? Also, my case has ventilation to aim the power supply's fan downward, it sits on a wooden desk and has about 1cm of standoff space, is that fine or should I look into turning it around and having the fan blow into the case?

Edit: This is the exact one I ordered, it'll be 3 years old in July.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171054

Edit 2: If I need to replace it, I don't have much in the way of spare monies at the moment. Will this one suffice as a budget PSU?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EON40CS/?tag=tec06d-20

 

[Bill_Bright]

Also, my case has ventilation to aim the power supply's fan downward

Downward? Not sure what that means. Are you saying the fan blows air downward? That is not normal. But most importantly, it should be blowing the heated air out the case. Not into the case interior. So as long as it is exhausting heated air out the case, just leave it.

Gaming is pretty tasking on the computer, and thus on the PSU. So it makes sense the PSU would heat up more during gaming, causing the fan to run faster. It sounds (no pun intended) like the bearings have started to wear and fail. So when spinning faster, they make more noise.

Eventually, the bearing will either seize, or the noise will become unbearable. So you should plan on replacing the PSU before it does get to either point. While some may recommend you either replace the fan, or oil the fan, I don't recommend either. As far as replacing, it typically is difficult to find an exact replacement - that is, one that moves the same amount of air that fits properly. As for applying oil, that is generally not a good idea (except for a very temporary patch) because these fans use permanent lubrication. They are not meant to be re-lubed. And more importantly, the oil can actually break down the lubricant making the problem even worse.

I happen to like EVGA power supplies and while I prefer 80-Plus Gold, Bronze is better than no 80-Plus certification.

That said, if you plug your specs into the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator, you will see even 600W is way more than need. I came up with a recommended 393W and that was with buffering the calculator to give you more headroom by changing CPU utilization to 100%, computer utilization to 16 hours/day, and adding 3 120mm case fans in the mix too. A 500W supply will do you fine.

 

[Jetster]

He means the intake is from the bottom

Just run it. Or buy a descent PSU. The EVGA 500B is probably just as loud and I wouldnt run tha 970 with it. Its not the best PSU by far

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

The fan on this psu packed up so i just opened it up and fitted one that matched the rest of the pc.

The power cable comes out on the right hand side by the fan.

I plugged it into the motherboard because the original fan was soldered on.

Then it went in there.

I think the fan i fitted was probably better than the one i took out, it certainly doesnt get too warm.
If you are going to throw it out its worth a stab first.

 

[Bill_Bright]

He means the intake is from the bottom

I don't like to assume.

The EVGA 500B is probably just as loud.

I would not assume that either. While I have no experience with that specific EVGA PSU, I have used many other EVGA models and all have very quiet fans. But also, the OP's post implies this noise from the PSU fan is something new - suggesting the bearings are failing. Even if this Bronze EVGA uses a lessor quality fan than they do on their Golds, it likely is quieter than a fan making noise from worn bearings.