PSU on and off ticking

[don_svetlio]

Hey, I've used this forum to solve some issues before so I figured I'd post my plea for help here.

So I bought a brand new Seasonic S12G 750W PSU about 2 weeks ago. It was meant to replace my whining TT Smart SE 630W for several reasons, including the voltage instability here (voltage generally is between 190V and 250V for the most part). Recently, aside from the buzz which has been there since day one and I do not regard as an issue, recently I started noticing a few ticking or clicking sounds on and off. Some days, nothing of the sorts is hear, others it happens for a bit and then disappears. I have not noticed instability, the PC does not miss POSTs and generally have not had any issues with workflow. My question is, can this be the result of spikes in the power line? I have some form of surge protection but I'm not sure how effective it is. The noise is quite quiet btw, I need to have the exhaust of the PSU facing me and be within about 50cm of it. My question is, can this harm the PC/PSU in any way? I took it to the place where I bought it (whole PC) and it was dead silent, they stress tested with furmark for about an hour and still nothing. Maybe I just have too sensitive hearing? Idk, I'm a bit paranoid.

[Jon Gerow]

Can't imagine what would be ticking unless it was the fan.

I suppose there could be an arcing noise, but that wouldn't be normal even if voltages fluctuated wildly.

[cheapie]

I have a different Seasonic power supply (Platinum-660), and it seems to be quite sensitive to the input waveform. For example, when my UPS (modified sine wave) is on battery, it buzzes. I've also had another time where it was buzzing (but not as loudly) for seemingly no reason, but then I went into the kitchen and found the lights (LED) buzzing, and the fridge was making slightly strange noises when it cycled on. All of those came and went together, so as far as I can tell, it was a power issue.

I imagine sudden voltage changes, spikes, or dips could cause clicking/ticking sounds.

[don_svetlio]

I have a different Seasonic power supply (Platinum-660), and it seems to be quite sensitive to the input waveform. For example, when my UPS (modified sine wave) is on battery, it buzzes. I've also had another time where it was buzzing (but not as loudly) for seemingly no reason, but then I went into the kitchen and found the lights (LED) buzzing, and the fridge was making slightly strange noises when it cycled on. All of those came and went together, so as far as I can tell, it was a power issue.

I imagine sudden voltage changes, spikes, or dips could cause clicking/ticking sounds.

I actually now think it might be the fan running at low RPM (my system maxes out at 450-500W with a R9 280 and i5 4590 and it's a 750W. When idle i use about 10-15% of the power and thus maybe since the fan is spinning slowly the ticks are audible. I say this since when I powered it off last night while listening, I noticed the ticks slowly stop. Powered it back on and they ramped up then became semi-audible. It could be the way the fan works I guess. I stress tested for about 15 minutes today with aida64 and nothing unusual could be heard. The people where I bought it from used Furmark for about an hour and said nothing weird was coming out of it.

But it may as well be the power. It also explains it since with them it had no sound issues (power there is stable and probably had a UPS hooked up. Here, there are spikes, the village delivery system uses Aluminum conduits and our house has 3-phase power. 1 is low, 1 cannot be taxed else it catches fire and 1 is high-ish (goes up to 250 regularly) so yeah. Everything is running normally though and I doubt I damaged the PSU by turning the case sideways 2 or 3 times, even though 1 of which times it slipped my grip about 0.8-1cm above the floor while running. Still, no crashes, no random reboots, no missed POSTs, normal voltage readings from software (I am unable to use a multimeter to check), no odd temps. No signs of anything being wrong.

EDIT: Also, when the washing machine was on before when I used a stabilizer with my TT PSU, both would buzz loudly in synch with the washer doing it's cycles. I guess it's probably our crappy house wiring here. Should I be worried/attempting to exchange or just ignore it if it's not dangerous?

EDIT2: Scratch that, not the case fans. Prevented them from spinning and it was still there.

EDIT3: Tested without extension cord, not that. 3 options remain - I damaged the fan, that's how the fan is supposed to work (with a quiet tick) and unstable power/spikes being removed by VRMs.

EDIT4: I tested by putting the PC in sleep mode 4 or 5 times and 1 shut down. It looked like it followed the fan starting and stopping but now it's gone again. Can't hear it. This leads me to believe it's either not the fan and the the cause is the input inconsistency or me moving the case 2 inches forward somehow changed something, which I doubt.

[don_svetlio]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/20396...-bad-news.html
The wire in the fan they showcase here is definitely NOT like my ticking noise. This means a wire contracting the fan is almost out of the question. That leaves either the bearing being slightly off from time to time, which I think is harmless, or the power fluctuating too wildly. Sorry for the double post btw.

[Jon Gerow]

Well.. the DBBs in the Adda fans can make a clicking noise at low RPMs.

I don't imagine there's any way you can record the sound and upload it to Youtube?

[don_svetlio]

Well.. the DBBs in the Adda fans can make a clicking noise at low RPMs.

I don't imagine there's any way you can record the sound and upload it to Youtube?

Last time I tried to record anything with my phone, it wouldn't even pick up the quiet electrical buzz. It's safe to assume the air moving through will probably muffle any sort of sound made by the bearing. I am honestly inclined to believe it's probably dried up or like you said typical behaviour for Adda fans. I did notice it while playing Shogun II which put my GPU at about 55% load and 1 CPU core on 80% load with the rest at 10-20 for a total of 40% displayed by task manager. Considering at that point in a 21*C room with good case airflow (1 intake 2 exhaust) and me using about 300W of a 750W PSU I am almost constantly running low RPMs.

If that's really a know thing for Adda fans I am inclined to drop the issue as a whole since it doesn't mean impending doom for my system (hopefully)

EDIT: It's pretty similar to this. Only slightly less frequent for the most part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NGMXrA1PJ4

That one is XFX and from what I've been told it could be made by Seasonic (thus using Adda fan as well)

EDIT 2: This youtube comment seems to make some sense. Could it work?
"I managed to fix the noise (at least temporarily) Here's what I did. 1) Turn off your PC 2) Remove your Power supply (if the fan side is not accessible) 3) take a thin plastic implement (like a chopstick or plastic pencil) and push down on the center of the fan. You should be able to do this through the grill. 4) push down on it a few times. It makes a bit of a squeaky noise probably because it is not well enough lubricated... I did this and now the ticking has stopped. Hopefully it stays."

Is it even worth trying (if it remains unlubricated, can it be damaged potentially?)
Plus it would require opening the PSU and that voids my warranty.

[Behemot]

Just stop the fan and you'll know.

Often it comes from PFC area. Regarding UPS output waveforms, http://www.hardwareinsights.com/wp/d...put-waveforms/

[don_svetlio]

Just stop the fan and you'll know.

Often it comes from PFC area. Regarding UPS output waveforms, http://www.hardwareinsights.com/wp/d...put-waveforms/

Can it be caused by the PFC?

EDIT: I found this
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/120826

Since the ticking actually is when the voltage goes above 230 (235-250) maybe that also explains why it's rarely present during daytime when it drops to 200V.
Still, that's from 2005 now that i look at it. Idk

[Behemot]

Yeah may be possible for sure, the PFC frequency/duty cycle changes depending on how much it has to boost which than affects the manifestation of this problem.