LINE-R 1200 causing my PSU to buzz with electronic static noise?

[Anonymous user]

I have a desktop computer that uses a Corsair AX860 PSU. The PSU is directly plugged into an LINE-R 1200 from APC. That in turn, the LineR is plugged into a Monstor Surge Protector. (into the PC slot).

Basically, after powering up the computer, at first it is quiet but later I hear a faint electric buzzing static noise coming directly out of the back of the PSU and it gets louder over time.

Do you think that me connecting the PSU to an LINE-R which in turn connects to a Monster Surge Protector ( Monster GreenPower Digital PowerCenter MDP 900 ) might cause some issues?

This is not coil whine and it is confirmed not coming from the graphics card. I'm curious, anyone else have a GTX980 that encountered a very faint "buzzing" noise that is sounding like an electronic buzzing noise (not a fan issue or something getting stuck) coming from the actual PSU itself!?

Bought a GTX980 last year around October or November, along with a COMPLETELY new build, new parts everything all at the same time. All quality parts. And a Gigabyte Z97 FORCE motherboard. No issues whatsoever except for the GTX980 that will sometimes black out my entire monitor by not sending a signal to the displayport when getting to the Windows 7 login screen. (this is well documented GTX980 issue), other than that it worked perfectly I get good benchmarks and everything. Not overclocking and all temps are well below normal. Use cpu-z, coretemp, gputemp, 3dmark, etc

Then early this year, about 3 or four months after my initial build, I notice this very low level "buzzing" sound coming out of the PSU. I am sure it is the PSU. It took me a long time to isolate the exact source of the low level buzzing and it was driving me insane. Sometimes the buzzing would be louder, other times more quiet,. other times it would completely go away on its own. It was intermittent, and with no solid pattern other than the fact that I noticed more often than not, it would usually typically be completely silent when I first boot up the computer, then after the computer was used for an hour or so, it will gradually start the buzzing noise getting louder until it reached a peak. This happens even when I just idle the machine or surf the web, nothing with me loading the CPU too hard or playing games etc. After a few more hours, sometimes the sound goes away, then only to come back later. This is not 'coil whine' and it is not the fan hitting anything or the bearings wearing out. This is distinctively an electronic sort of buzz.

As this progressed I noticed that it would happen sooner. Eventually it got to the point that it would only be silent for the first five minutes, then after that shortly after bootup it will start manifesting that noise again. .

I thought about everything from the PSU fan needing to get more lube, to some capacitor going bad, etc... Eventually I just got feed up and went out and purchased another brand new PSU (AX860) to replace the Corsair 850 and immediately after swapping the PSU the noise was gone for good and never came bad. So I attributed it to the PSU and never gave it another thought.

Now, less than a few months after that, I recently started to notice the same buzzing noise coming back, this time on my new PSU! This can't be a coincidence. I don't operate in a dusty environment it is very cool, clean, this can't be something to do with a broken fan or needing more lube. I don't have any performance issues with the computer, specs and benchmarks are as they always were. I am not infected with a virus, to be sure I even low level reformatted my computer, got a new SSD to make sure there wasn't a firmware infection, and switched to a new BIOS (my motherboard has a switch that flips to a backup/dual bios) to make sure my motherboard wasn't somehow compromised.

I can't imagine why. I'm using a quality Monster surge protector and also running an APC Line-R rated at 1200+; I am feeding it the best quality power possible.

My speculation is that like the Displayport /dark monitor /lost of signal at login screen issue that is the result of GTX980; I think my graphics card is actually the culprit that causes for whatever reason(s) my PSUs (two of them now) to develop a buzzing over time.

I'm not sure what affects this has long term on physical use and performance, if any, but the sound is annoying and buzzing is bothering me. I built an otherwise very quiet system and this is irritating.

Anyone else encounter this?

[BillP]

Hi Mike,

The Line-R device does feature lightning and surge protection with an EPP of $25000.  With this protection, we do not advise plugging this device into a surge protector.  While I cannot say if this is the cause of the noise, I do urge changing your setup.

Regards,

[Terry_Kennedy_apc]

Unless the power in your area is very bad and you don't want to risk damaging your computer, you could plug it directly into the Monster surge protector or even the wall outlet directly and see if the buzzing sound still happens. It might take a while for the problem to manifest, so you might have to wait for a few days to make sure the problem does / does not happen in that configuration.

Aside from the computer power supply, it could also be the CPU voltage regulators on the motherboard - they handle a lot of current and occasionally make odd noises. High-frequency sounds are notoriously hard to pinpoint, and the power supply is ome of the larger openings where the sound can get out of the case. Other possibilities would be the CPU or video fans, but since you say it doesn't sound like fan noise and I would expect those fan speeds to vary, that seems unlikely. Do you have a case fan? It could be that the fan is vibrating and causing something in the case to rattle or buzz.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Okay thanks I will try that advice...

BTW, This is what it sounds like up close as if your ear was right up next to the PSU:

https://soundcloud.com/user804241519/corsair-ax860-psu-buzz-ing-noise

How worried should I be? (It is not actually this loud, my mic just picked up everything as it is super sensitive)