Power supply warble?

Towermax · Post by **Towermax** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:31 pm

My Truepower II 430 has begun making a high-pitched warbling sound when booted for the first time. After it warms up a bit--5 to 10 minutes--the warble is gone and sound returns to normal.

It appears to be the power supply fan--when I stop the fan, the warbling sound also stops.

There have been no changes made to the system configuration in the past few months. In normal use, the fan runs about 900RPM, according to SpeedFan.

The power supply is not quite one year old. Is this anything to worry about?

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 8:52 pm

Hello,

Hmmm, a high pitch noise, you say? If the PSU is out of warranty (or even if it isn't), you might look into replacing the offending fan. If it has a bearing that is getting worn, then I would expect a low-to-midrange noise.

Towermax · Post by **Towermax** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 12:45 am

Thanks for the comments, Neil.

After quieting the rest of the system--suspended drives in Antec Solo, fanless Ninja, Zalman VF900 on the vid card, and Nexus intake/exhaust fans--the Antec Truepower is now loud enough that I've been thinking of replacing it with one of SPCR's recommended power supplies.

But before I do that, I'd like to try replacing the fan. Since it's a horizontal 120mm, I have the impression that I should use something with ball bearings or fluid bearings like a Panaflo. What fan would you suggest?

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:48 am

What fan would you suggest?

Globalwin NCB (from svc.com). Ceramic bearing should last a long time.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:52 am

Seconded:

Here are two places to get the GlobalWin NCB:

http://www.coolerguys.com/840556025054.html

http://www.svc.com/1202512l.html

Both are $6 + shipping -- this is a quiet fan.

Towermax · Post by **Towermax** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:49 pm

Thanks for the suggestions.

After some googling, I found the specs on the fan used in the Truepower 2 430: TopMotor DF1212BB-3, 2200RPM, 87CFM, 39dBA.

The recommended Globalwin is 1300RPM, 41.7CFM, 19dBA.

Certainly a big improvement from a noise perspective. But what about power supply cooling? Even at full speed, the Globalwin will be moving a lot less air than the OEM fan.

I rarely push this system, so I doubt the lower airflow have any significant effect on power supply life/performance, but then, I'm new at this.

Your thoughts?

System specs:

- Asus A8N5X (NF4) with 3800X2 overclocked at stock voltage to 2.4 GHz. CnQ enabled
- 2 X 1 GB Corsair RAM
- 74GB Raptor and 160GB Seagate 7200.9 (both SATA)
- 1 Sony DVD writer
- Audigy 2
- Radeon X1800GTO (25W idle, 48W peak) with VF900
- 120mm Nexus at 5V exhaust
- 93mm Nexus at 5V intake
- Antec Solo case
- USB memory card reader

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 5:33 pm

Hello,

The stock fan runs at less than top speed, right? If it warms up (which is unlikely), then the fan will speed up.

I would not worry about the numbers -- they are almost all bunk anyway. The fan will move enough air to cool the PS; and the fan controller will speed it up if it needs to be cooler.

Towermax · Post by **Towermax** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:26 pm

Mmm -- I just ran two hours of dual Prime95 plus rthdribl and the power supply fan never went over 1100RPM. Amd that's with the case fan at about 500RPM. So, the Globalwin should do just fine. OK, I'll give it a try.

Thanks again.