SPCR

Hi there

I have a Seasonic P-520FL. I bought this, because I wanted a silent system. But instead I have a PC which makes my ears hate me after a couple of hours. It has a very strong whining/fuzzing/sizzling noise which is easily audible several meters away. The PSU is in a biiiig tower with the side off. So heat should realy not be a problem even though the system is 100% fanless. I've got a 5450 graphics card and the CPU is a 9450 locked to the lowest multiplier. To me, noise is a much bigger issue than speed.

Is this a common issue? It was there from the beginning, but it has grown much worse over time.

Immanuel ♪♫

This should be embarrassing to Seasonic. I just swapped the p-520FL with a cheap fanned LC Power 6420, and this one is considerably LESS noisy, and the noise it makes is way more easy on the ears.

Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that the platinum series fanless units have a higher rate of abnormal whining. I just sent back my ss400fl2 unit for whining. I have a first-gen x-460 that is dead silent.

That being said, some units are perfectly quiet. MikeC got three units, one of which was very quiet. Electrical environment and components may factor in. Haha sorry if this seems like a long post of inconclusivity. Without thoroughly testing all possible variables, I can only make educated guesses...

Seems it really is the PSU in your case. You could try some of the often mentioned BIOS tweaks concerning CPU idling state, or simply send it in for a replacement.

Are the active-cooled Platinum PSU's also known for abnormal whining? I'm in no rush to buy a new PSU, but I've been considering a P-520, P-660 or X-650 for the last few weeks. The P-520 so far seemed top be the best pick, but this is yet another bad experience...

Please have a look at this post and the rest of the topic, this info is from Seasonic and has been shown to help for many users:
viewtopic.php?p=573354#p573354

At the end of the day it's not really Seasonic's fault if the motherboard is not set inline with their recommendations and those required for regulatory standards.

edh wrote:At the end of the day it's not really Seasonic's fault

Maybe... some users solved the whining issues swapping the PSU with a new (no-Seasonic) unit.

quest_for_silence wrote:Maybe... some users solved the whining issues swapping the PSU with a new (no-Seasonic) unit.

That's not solving the problem, that's avoiding it. If they had their motherboards set according to the manufacturers recommendations then they would also have solved the problem. Not running something according to the manufacturers recommendations and still complaining would be pretty stupid wouldn't it?

edh wrote:Not running something according to the manufacturers recommendations and still complaining would be pretty stupid wouldn't it?

I'd rather to call it sort of "first sale doctrine": I do anything I want of what I've bought (not to mention that equally ErP certified products do not whine, even when I'm wrong: I call that occurrence as successful "quality control" processes).
Please take also note that I was used to be a loyal Seasonic customer: now I'm a bit more agnostic about PSUs.

By the way, the PSU also had this whine when the PC was off. It was so bad (even when the PC was off), I would notice it when I entered the room - 4 meters away from the PC. I tried it in two different PCs. The shop replaced it right away.

Also, I wouldn't consider a post in an external internet forum to be official recommendations by the manufacturer. Such recommendations should be readily available at the official site for the product - or at least in the FAC.

I've had two of these PSUs. The first had a bit of buzzing - nothing extreme but it was there. The second has no buzzing at all... so perhaps there's some variance with them, or maybe they revised the design a little?

Just received my P-520FL and noticed the whine/buzz. Not sure if it would be audible from inside a case, but it is going back anyway. My current Fanless Gold SS-460FL is much quieter.

Audio sample: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/118 ... s_buzz.mp3

Ambient/mic noise in the beginning, turning on at the 2 second mark and turning back off @13 s.

maukka wrote:Just received my P-520FL and noticed the whine/buzz. Not sure if it would be audible from inside a case, but it is going back anyway. My current Fanless Gold SS-460FL is much quieter.

Had my buzzing Seasonic replaced with a Corsair AX760i. Audible whine and a annoying clicking sound from the fan when in idle. Back it went.

Today I received an EVGA Supernova P2 1000 W. A total overkill capacity wise, but the semi passive operation (fanless to over 500 W) and a Superflower Leadex platform got me to order one. And boy, is it quiet. Almost no noise at all even when I put my ear right against the vents. Totally inaudible from 30 cm away on an open bench. My quest is finally over. Totally recommended.