New S12 550W ticking noise?

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 5:19 am

I am getting all the parts together for my new PC and was planning to cut most of the mesh of the back of the power supply and remove the fan grill, but wanted to make sure it works before voiding the warranty.

So I just got the Seasonic S12 550W out of the box, put it on my desk, plugged it in to the wall and nothing happened. Searched the net, shorted out 2 pins on the 24 pin connector and it span up, woo hoo.

Apart from the surprisingly loud noise of the fan, (not really, but I had high expectations! Will be ok when in the case under the desk) there is a ticking noise, maybe 5 - 10 ticks per second. Pretty loud. I plugged in 4 120mm fans to the PSU and the ticking got progressively quieter with each new fan, but still slightly audible with all 4.

I stuck a piece of rubber through the grill to stop the fan and the ticking changed it's frequency.

Is this normal and will the ticking go away when everything else is plugged in, or should I RMA it now?

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 5:31 am

I don't think your PSU should tick. You could mail Seasonic about it and inquire bit.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 6:53 am

I think your tests have established that it is load related and not dodgy fan bearings. Recommend using at actual load before RMA attempts. I do not have the expertise to say as to why the ticking occurs, but there should be none if the PSU operates as intended in the environment it's made for.

burebista · Post by **burebista** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 7:00 am

Agree with Das_Saunamies. 99% your ticking goes away with everything plugged in.

ck8-04 · Post by **ck8-04** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 7:43 am

Nothing is supposed to happen when you plug a PSU into an outlet with nothing else connected to it. The PSU turns on only when you short pins 4 and 6 or connect it to a mobo and press the power button.

I would inquire about the ticking noise with Seasonic. I have a Corsair 520HX and I notice no ticking coming from it at any load.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 9:37 am

Just off the top of my head: did you remove the short-circuiting device you used to start the PSU after it started? If you left it in, do try without.

charonme · Post by **charonme** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 11:57 am

my s12-430 ticks too, but sounds like the fan

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 2:15 pm

Thanks for the replies guys.

I shorted pins 4 and 6 to start it. Didn't try removing the short once running. At work now, will try tonight.

I emailed Seasonic but no reply yet. I emailed shopping square about RMA just incase I have to.

Tonight I will try plugging it all in to my current PC, replacing the PSU in it now and see if the noise stops. Will be a pain in the butt though, big noctua in the way of the mobo.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 3:02 pm

You don't have to screw it in to plug it in. Just disconnect the leads and plug in your new PSU to see if it checks out after all. Would be a waste to install a faulty unit.

I asked about the short-circuiting after reading some material online where short-circuiting was named as the cause of ticking(in the material I read, no one quoted as to why, exactly, short-circuiting caused the ticking... guessing it's a small breaker or such that keeps resetting). Also, I assumed the start power is intended as a momentary connection, as the power button on a PC doesn't stick; based on the assumption that the most simple construction has been used, involving nothing but a direct connection on the motherboard.

charonme wrote:my s12-430 ticks too, but sounds like the fan

You could easily verify it by stopping the fan while the PSU is operating.

Edit 1: double-post fix.
Edit 2: /quote fix.
Edit 3: typos fix'd... have to get more sleeeepp...

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 3:05 pm

Edit: Accidental double-post, pardon.

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 7:09 pm

I just plugged into my old (current) PC and the ticking noise vanished but it is till quite noisy. I stopped the fan and it was very quiet. Is it ok to swap the fan for a nexus and control that fan with a digital thermal sensor from my mcubed t-balancer bigng? I guess it would work ok, but would removing it's fan upset the PSU?

The Aussie Seasonic distributor, powerhousepc.com.au called me in response to my email, they are out of stock of S12 550w until 10th July, at which time they will pay half for me to ship it to them and they will send me a new one straight away. Really excellent service. I will just keep it if I find out it is possible to swap fans, otherwise will try for a quieter one.

Thanks, Steve.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:23 pm

Board needs Delete button...

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:26 pm

Surprised to hear that the S12II would be noisy. S12 won praise for exactly the opposite. I've got an S12II-430 I'm picking up today, let you know how it compares to my SmartPower 2.0. What are you comparing your S12II to, and do you have RPM readings from the fan?

As the fans in Seasonics are controlled by onboard electronics, I'd guess they're monitored internally as well, which might lead to emergency shutdowns if there's nothing there to report back. Option #1 is to wait a while for the PSU to break in and learning to live with it. Option #2 is doing the fan-swap routine, but if you do, I bet it'd be best if you could utilize the existing connections inside the PSU itself.

For now I suggest more testing be done: keep PSU running on normal load for a few days and then do a sound level comparison again.

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 1:26 am

Das_Saunamies wrote:Surprised to hear that the S12II would be noisy. S12 won praise for exactly the opposite. I've got an S12II-430 I'm picking up today, let you know how it compares to my SmartPower 2.0. What are you comparing your S12II to, and do you have RPM readings from the fan?

As the fans in Seasonics are controlled by onboard electronics, I'd guess they're monitored internally as well, which might lead to emergency shutdowns if there's nothing there to report back. Option #1 is to wait a while for the PSU to break in and learning to live with it. Option #2 is doing the fan-swap routine, but if you do, I bet it'd be best if you could utilize the existing connections inside the PSU itself.

For now I suggest more testing be done: keep PSU running on normal load for a few days and then do a sound level comparison again.

Yeah I was surprised by the noise too. Sitting on my desk on some foam and running my P4 3.2, seagate 7200.8 250GB, Noctua 800rpm 120mm, and radeon X600 vid card, it's not super loud, and there is no audible ticking but the fan is certainly audible from a few metres away. It is certainly louder than the stock acer PSU, an FSP300-60THA.

I fired the system up, unplugged the HD and the CPU fan (passive is ok for a while with the big Noctua HS), put my finger on the tiny vid card fan to stop it - so the PSU fan was the only source of noise apart from the background electrical noise of any PC. I don't know what that background noise is, I guess it's capacitors and stuff humming. Should go away when inside the well damped P180 and under my desk in a cupboard.

Anyway, when I stopped the S12 fan, it was very quiet.

I don't know how to tell the fan rpm, I don't think I have any software on this PC for doing that and am going to use a mcubed bigng for fan control in the new set up. Should I download speedfan maybe or something?

Is there any easy software I can use to tell the S12 fan speed?

I will let it run my current set up 12 hours a day and see what happens, but if stays the same there is no way it will be acceptable to me. I can record a short clip with my digi camera to try to show the noise, will do it later tonight. I would like to send it back anyway to see what another one sounds like but don't want to be without a PC for however long it takes to get here. I like your idea of just swapping the fans in the S12 with a Nexus but using the S12 wiring. Much simpler than using the BigNg and maybe upsetting the S12 by thinking it's fan is missing. Maybe I will just send it back and if it's no quieter, I will swap fans.

I should point out, my room is silent, I have good ears and am sesnitive to noise. I suspect I am going to be able to hear ANY pc in the same room as me but want it as quiet as possible of course.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 4:47 am

Alright then. The Fortron you had before is certainly a quiet PSU if the unit I put in my dad's PC a couple of years ago is any indication. It's inaudible from under a desk, although it must be said that the unit is low-power.

Only way to read the RPM would be for the PSU to have an RPM lead coming out of it, which is not the case here. My S12II-430 doesn't have one either. So, just trust the controls.

I swapped PSUs today to the aforementioned S12II-430, and I have to say it's as quiet as they get. There is a telltale hum in the back from the horizontal fan, but it's as quiet at idle as my Smartpower 2.0 and its small fan was. No clicking either. I use silicon grommets under the screws, so they may help to dampen the noise a bit, couldn't fit the ATX PSU grommet in due to case and PSU designs not playing well together.

Check out viewtopic.php?p=348514 for pics and whatnot.

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 5:06 am

Thanks for the update. I just recorded some video, in 1 you can hear the ticking clearly when nothing else is connected. In vid 2 ticking is gone when everything is hooked up, but fan is loud at idle, all goes quiet when fan stopped. I will try to post a link somehow. Trying to host the vid at putfile.

I may return the 550 for a 430 then, it should have enough power for a C2D 6700, 8500 silent VGA and 1 HD easily I guess.

Then again there is no noise with the fan stopped, maybe I got a dud fan and maybe I should just swap it for a Nexus?

I didn't realise the Fortron was such a good PSU!

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 5:18 am

Fortron's oldschool(well, not that old) and was known for making quiet and efficient PSUs. Don't know what they're up to nowadays. Quite a few manufacturers used their hardware under a different name too, if memory serves.

Also, don't bother with this 430 for silence, it's no good. It seems to be quiet, but definitely not silent. I'm personally a bit disappointed, but at least I hope it'll provide better quality of power than the Antec, which crashed multiple times while I was playing Battlefield 2142.

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 5:22 am

I know how you feel! Even if there is something wrong with my example, I really wanted quiet, not just low noise.

I think I will replace the fan in the S12 550 with a nexus 1000rpm or noctua 800 or 1200 rpm I have spare.

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 5:24 am

I am also building a sound proof booth under my desk to hide the P182 in, I now know it's not going to be anywhere near silent anyway though.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 5:36 am

Hmm suggest you go with the Nexus if those are your only choices. Noctua bearings and pressure generation don't bode well for use in a horizontal position with considerable backpressure.

A soundproofed cabinet sounds nice. If I still had a shed at my disposal I'd make one too. But after living years on a restricted budget I've come to realise the best weapon in the war for silence is human adjustability. Nothing short of completely passive will ever be completely silent, so sometimes it's best just to learn to live with what one has -- assuming what one has is purpose-built and high-grade of course.

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 5:44 am

Heres the links to the vids.

Click here to watch S12-fan-noise-everything-connected-but-all-noise-sources-off

Click here to watch S12-ticking-no-load-on-PSU

Thanks for the advice Das, I will have to think about what to do now.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:14 am

That fan noise is the exact same chafing noise I get! Thankfully it's only audible at point blank range. From my sofa some 2-3 metres away the PC is quiet, and you can easily hear the HDDs over any and all fans inside. Would have to turn PC off for guests to sleep on the sofa though.

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