Buzzing power supply
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As the title of the post suggests the power supply in my computer makes a buzzing sort of sound.
I used to be able to give it a quick tap and it would go away, but the last few times it hasnt gone away until after i've left my computer of overnight.
Ive already opened it up and cleaned out all the fans, including the psu fan, and double checked there were no cables getting stuck in the fan. so fairly sure its nothing mechanical. Apart form that im completely stuck for ideas.
What do the great minds of SCF think?
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Play your Ipod while on computer it will drown out the sound.
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tried that one already, i think id go deaf before i stopped noticing the sound, though.
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One of the typical causes of buzzing in power supplies is the plates inside the transformer loosening and rattling around as the magnetic field oscillates. Sometimes it is possible to tighten things up again if there are screws anywhere (safely) accessible. Generally I wouldn't mess with the rather cheap and nasty power supplies in most PCs. There tend to be big scary capacitors in just the right places to zap you if you put a finger or screwdriver in there.
If it really bothers you it might be worth obtaining a decent quality aftermarket PSU. No idea of good brands but searching for 'quiet PSU' etc should help.
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Cheers for the tip. Would i be less likely to get zapped if i took the power supply out tonight and left it until tomorrow to have a poke around?
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close your eyes tim
Opened up the power supply for a little poke around and found the spring thats meant to hold the fan blade in tension was loose. Swapped it for an old fan i had lying around and all is well again.
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@remus said:
close your eyes tim
Opened up the power supply for a little poke around and found the spring thats meant to hold the fan blade in tension was loose. Swapped it for an old fan i had lying around and all is well again.
Oh, well spotted. I completely forgot to mention fan noises. I had a 'wind tunnel' powermac for a while. Perhaps that experience made me want to completely forget forever anything to do with fans...
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