[blackdenton]

Like the title says, my power supply is making a high pitched whine almost all the time, it started when I got my GTX 560 Ti so I thought it was that, but my roommate finally got fed up with the noise so I decided to fix it, plugged in another graphics card and the noise persisted so I plugged in another power supply and the noise stopped. The power supply is a Silverstone Olympia 750, which I spent $170 on in June of 2007 so I guess I got my use out of it. Does anybody repair these or do I just have to throw it out and get a new one?

I have a Core i5 2500k
Asus P8P67 LE MB
EVGA GTX 560 Ti
4 WD Caviar Black 1 TB drives and a
Corsair Force GT SSD to power if anyone has a suggestion for a new one.

[bohb]

It's coil whine, there's nothing wrong with the PSU.

Just like mains transformers that make the 60 Hz buzzing sound, inductor coils inside the PSU also resonate, but at a much higher frequency. Usually between 15-25 KHz from the switching MOSFETs.

The resonate frequency changes with the load applied on the PSU (which is why it didn't whine before you added the new GPU.) If the coils aren't dampened properly, then they can start to audibly resonate. Manufacturers usually put high temperature silicone or glue across the coils to stop them from moving, but heat and age eventually causes the substances to dry up and break down.

You can try and fix the problem by opening the PSU and putting some more high temperature glue/silicone across the output inductors, but it would be easier to just get a new PSU.

[Drumdevil]

In my experience: the more power the system requires, the more noise the PSU will make.

[Metalcastr]

Sometimes different combinations of hardware make PSUs whine that otherwise wouldn't. After days of finding info about coil whine, the solutions include:

1. Changing the power supply
2. Changing the graphics card (some cards are reported to cause PSUs to whine, related to the voltage regulation circuitry on the card, and resonating chokes)
3. Disabling CPU c-states in the BIOS (First see if the whine stops by loading up the cpu with Prime95 or similar)
4. Opening the PSU and use nail polish/epoxy/hot glue/caulk/etc to cover the coils (Read up on switching power supply safety first)
And if I remember something else I'll update this list.

Make sure it's not actually the graphics card first by listening to it with the case open. Corsair will deny that their supplies have coil whine until the cows come home, but they do, unless they've actually improved them in recent years, so I'd go with another brand. Perhaps try Enermax, Seasonic, PC Power and Cooling, and check this thread: http://facepunch.com/threads/1179057 for more recommendations. Avoid cheap power supply brands like the plague unless you don't mind the supply taking out the entire computer, delivering bad power, and failing after only a few years.

[realmgen]

Mine used to do the same thing until it warmed up

[inconspicious]

Mine does the same thing, nothing to worry about, it even pitches up when I move the mouse

[bohb]

inconspicious posted:

Mine does the same thing, nothing to worry about, it even pitches up when I move the mouse

Thats crosstalk on the bus, it's most likely coming out of your speakers and not the PSU.

[inconspicious]

bohb posted:

Thats crosstalk on the bus, it's most likely coming out of your speakers and not the PSU.

That's not the case, even with my amp off and disconnected it still does it.

[blackdenton]

My girlfriend had roughly the same power supply laying around, put that in and no more noise. Saves me some money for now.