System info: Board: xfx nForce780i SLI CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo PSU: Antec 400w RAM: 4GB DDR2 Storage: 300GB Optical Drives: 2 GPU: GT520 i currently have a 400w antec but its a 4 pin and a 20 pin, the board requires a 8 and 24 pin + why im querying about this is due to the psu making a bit of a noise, also it completely shutted down a few times, i think it might be the psu fan? also when i boot it its fine for a moment and then the noise starts, im sure that its the psu as i kept a close ear to the back of the case, it also did something else, but only one time, when i booted it it only gave running code at the bottom of the screen nothing else, so i dont know whats actually the problem, its been powered down for more than a month now as i dont want the system to get completely busted, i have tons of photoshop work and 3D work on it as well as some of my study material. At first i thought i need to replace the psu due to the low wattage but according to newegg my system will run fine with a 300w psu, i know the power connecters are a issue as you are taking a risk with having not enough pins so i dont know what the exact problem is and i dont wanna waste money. If anyone can assist me i would really appreciate it
@mjc65: A good way to choose a power supply is to take the power consumption of the MoBo, Graphics card, and any hard drives you have in the system and add them up. Then, add about 25% of the sum. An example (arbitratry, using made up numbers) MoBo: 250 Watts. GFX card: 150 Watts. Hard drive: 75 Watts (SSDs are a lot less) Total 475 Watts. about 125 watts as fudge factor. For these made up numbers, I see a little more than 600 Watts needed. I would then bring it up to 650 Watts. Remember: You might want to install a card at a later time, so, leave yourself room for growth.
ive had many power supplies act same way.. a humm high pitch.. change it to a 400 or higher and see power outs go away. (unless board is damaged)
Anything PSU related is a good idea to replace the bugger. It goes it takes victims with it, CPU, RAM, MOBO, VIDEO, HDD's. Any of them or all can go boom from a PSU failure. PSU's are cheap, especially considering the expense you will pay if it goes and takes its victims with it. If just a fan, replace the fan. That is simple enough, but heed MJ's warning if not familiar with internal PSU parts. They can bite you not so dissimilar to a TV's vacuum tube still holding large amounts of juice. bbzzzzzztttt!!!.
@MystikAl3 Thanks for the reply, just a few days before this happened i updated all the drivers but its been a month, can i make a system image as it is now or should i not fiddle with it anymore untill i have a new psu? also earlier today i booted the system again and found that the rpm of the fan on the bottom of my psu is slower than the backs? btw the model number is SL400 if you'd wanna have a look at it, its boots fine now but takes longer than it use to to shutdown, idk why that might be? also i had a look at the evga psu, the suppliers here in SA doesnt seem to have them i use wootware (cant link you directly sorry, forum rules), its not a bad price either at R600, but obviously thats not what i'd pay for it here maybe you could have a look there and recommend a similar psu to the evga?
its not really a humm pitch its like a soft scraping sound but after i unplugged my opticals it seems to have gone away?? but might i add only after the 2nd reboot after i unplugged the opticals
Thanks i'll check them right away, but as i mentioned to LatinMcG the sound stoped after the second reboot after i unplugged my opticals, also the fans are working as i mentioned to MystikAl3 but the bottom fan on the psu's rpm is lower than the backs so idk why that is and i doubt thats how its suppose to be, the sound is gone but i only had it booted this afternoon for about 5 min then powered it down and thats how it still is i dont want anything else to get busted, but ill boot it later on to hear if it does that again and if so i"ll record it and post it back here. thanks again!!
@mjc65: My guess is that you are overloading the PSU, but not enough to force it into protective shutdown (Current Limiting). That sounds like the "whistling" that I was talking. It might be a hissing sound whose pitch you can kind of recognize. Power fluctuations are -NOT- healthy for a computer system. I strongly suggest that you replace the PSU with another one of a higher rating, but, before that, inspect the cables on the drives. Especially on the drive that made the PSU whistle (hiss). :MJ
Thanks, its not quite a "whistle" sound its more like scraping, also its not dust as i already checked for that, the psu is fairly clean as is the rest of my system, but thanks for this info, i'll look it up.
i will definitely be looking at another psu i think 650 should be right?? but i'll do the calculations as you suggested. thank you very much.
i had a look at the caps on the mobo and they are all fine but the ones in the psu, idk they look fine but to the images in the link you gave me there are 2 that looks bulged but theyre not leaking i'll post a photo as soon as the forum lets me
sounds like the bearings in the fan. replace the fan or get a new PSU. I have an Antec just get another one for cheap and back up your data.