Noise from power supply fan?

martin57

Hi there,

I have an old mesh computer bought 2000 going fine with 700 athlon 2 hard drives 20gb and 60 gb 640mb ram win xp. Its my main computer and does most things that I want it to do.

There has been a sort of high pitched noise (which vairies in pitch) which comes and goes for the last 2-3 years, seems to be coming from the power supply fan. I wonder if it is this and if a compressed air can I have just bought on ebay might help to clean a bit of the accumulated dust out. The power supply fan is definately working at the back you can feel the hot air coming out.

If I did decide to change the power supply is it a difficult job to do, Its a midi tower so do most power supplies comes as standard to fit the tower case, and do they all have the same number of power connectors on it to power the stuff inisde the computer?

Any advice appreciated.
many thanks

Martin57

barksdale

A high pitched whine is a bit odd, fans usually start making grinding, scraping or rattling noises towards the end of their life. There are various bits inside a power supply that could make a high-pitched whine, but would more usually hum or buzz. If you've any doubts about your power supply fan then get it changed, if the fan suddenly fails there's a very real chance that your PC could set your house alight - older computers with an accumulation of dust and fluff are a particular hazard.

Replacing the power supply isn't particularly difficult, just a little fiddly as it involves disconnecting lots of small, oddly shaped and very stiff connectors. Basically you need to unplug all the internal power connectors, undo the four screws on the back of the supply, slide it out and do the reverse with the new one. in some machines other components may need to be removed to get proper access to the PSU, but nothing is at all complicated in there - if you aren't doing anything involving the processor it's just like meccano, everything just bolts to the chassis. As long as you abide by proper anti-static procedures you can't really go wrong. Power supplies come with different numbers of power connectors. There's the main connector for the motherboard and a molex connector for each disc drive, case fan or weird accessory, for example if you've got two hard drives, a CD burner, a DVD drive and a neon light you'll need a power supply with at least five molex connectors. You'll want an ATX power supply of at least 300 watts.

wolfman

Could possibly be coil noise. One of my old PSU's (a Tagan) made a very feint sound like a bee or insect was stuck in there flapping its wings.

The PSU was fine, it was just annoying. Although be warey, it can make that noise when under quite a lot of stress, or edging towards full load.

Replacing a power supply is quite easy. I'm not yet saying you need to, but for a good quality one, maybe think of spending £40+. They're quite easy to install, and come in a standard size, so virtually all should fit.

spakkker

I would try and blow the cobwebs out before buying another psu. Never used comp. air myself -I use a small paintbrush and a vacuum. The fact that its blowing out 'hot' air may indicate that its full of dust. I just recently cleaned out the cpu cooler and my pc was instantly quieter!

martin57

Thanks for all replies. Will have a look inside and give it a clean and if I need to replace the psu then I will get one with right number of connectors.

I was wondering is it a false ecomomy and maybe dangerous to buy a cheapish one on ebay, or should I head down to pc world or maplin to buy one?

Thanks again

martin57

needaspirin

If you decide to replace it I'd advise looking at Q-Tec gold dual fan low noise power supplies. I always use these when replacing PSUs. Make sure that the rating is 27 db or less if you can find it. Don't go for the big single fan as I've found these are considerably noisier.
I normally pay about £17 at a computer fair.

spakkker

You should be able to get a new psu for 15 quid local. Your system is modest and does not have the power needs of a multi-core cpu ,twin graphics carded ,overclocked beastie.I would ask more about noise levels- that is 'if' you do need a psu.

barksdale

Don't spend £15 on a PSU whatever you do. Every component in your system depends on the quality of power being supplied to it. I can't count the number of computers I've seen with niggling stability problems or that have been completely trashed by bad power supplies. You don't need anything fancy and by all means go on eBay, but get something from a good quality brand name.

wolfman

I would agree with barksdale. The Q-Tec ones are exactly the ones I would avoid. If you spend wisely you can not only get a better psu for your components, but also one that's more efficient (if you're into being green).

This is a very good psu for £30, and would suit your system specs:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/120375

ormus

a tiny drop of oil on the fan bearing can do the trick sometimes. must be small drop, use a cotton bud.
or you can get an old PSU off freecycle for nowt.
check you motherboard, you may just have the older type connector. count the pins.

needaspirin

wolfman wrote: »

I would agree with barksdale. The Q-Tec ones are exactly the ones I would avoid. If you spend wisely you can not only get a better psu for your components, but also one that's more efficient (if you're into being green).

This is a very good psu for £30, and would suit your system specs:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/120375

Hi wolfman,

On what do you base your advice on avoiding Q-Tec PSUs?

I've bought a couple of dozen of these over the years - mainly as replacements for the dreaded Mercury PSUs. I've only had one Q-Tec failure in about 7 years and it was during the warranty period so was replaced at once.