I recently finished a computer that includes the Antec "Sonata Designer," basically a white Solo with an Earthwatts 500 power supply included. The computer itself is nearly silent. The power supply is another matter: it emits a low-frequency hum, a higher buzz, and seemingly a cyclical vibration that sounds like disk-induced case vibration. If I place my hand over the supply exhaust, the noise levels falls drastically, so the fault does seem to be with the supply and not other components.
I've not used these supplies before, as all my my recent builds have used Seasonic units. Is what I am hearing usual for this supply, or did I get a defective one? Other than the noise, it seems to perform reasonably.
Thanks for the advice!
Antec Earthwatts 500 Noise?
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Open up the case and grab ahold of the PSU firmly. Does the vibration stop?
The low frequency hum is likely the fan, the buzz is the coils (not uncommon), and the vibration shouldn't be resonating the PSU if it well mounted. If the vibration stops when you hold the PSU, you'll have to decouple the PSU from the case slightly by using a soft gasket (or small amount of foam) at the points where the PSU touches the case.
But if you suspect the disks are causing some vibration, it's best to attack the problem at the source. Search the Silent Storage forum for suspension methods (especially the suspension gallery thread).
Do any of the noises get louder at load? Try posting some system specs so others can better guess what's going on.
The low frequency hum is likely the fan, the buzz is the coils (not uncommon), and the vibration shouldn't be resonating the PSU if it well mounted. If the vibration stops when you hold the PSU, you'll have to decouple the PSU from the case slightly by using a soft gasket (or small amount of foam) at the points where the PSU touches the case.
But if you suspect the disks are causing some vibration, it's best to attack the problem at the source. Search the Silent Storage forum for suspension methods (especially the suspension gallery thread).
Do any of the noises get louder at load? Try posting some system specs so others can better guess what's going on.
Thanks for the reply. To your questions, the vibration does not stop when the PS is held firmly. It is mounted tightly (namely, no decoupling); I did tighten the screws earlier to see if loose mounting might be the issue. It was not.
I noticed no change in noise with load, or at least very little. That is worth exploring more, though, since I've just finished the computer and shut down the sources of background noise. Let me scp over the requisite files and try that again.
The drives are already suspended in the elastic bands in the Solo; the change from the soft grommets was striking.
The rest of the system is a 3GHz Q6600, a Thermalright 120 UE, two 120mm Arctic Cooling PWM fans (though one is used with a three-pin header), the Abit IP35 Pro with all fans under BIOS control (tuned earlier with uGuru in W2K Server), two 500GB WDs, and an nVidia 9600GT with an Accelero S2 and the accompanying fans. The various fans are not quite silent, but are pretty good, particularly for the computer's performance level. It has 4GB memory, a couple of DVDs and Vista 64, not that it matters for the present silencing purposes.
The building in which the computer currently resides is extremely well isolated acoustically -- some might say fanatically so. There is little sound leakage in or out.
Back to the fan hum and coil noise/whine, are these common with this power supply? (I can't get an SPL reading, since it is below the floor of my meter.) And if common, is the a flaw in the line, or likely a defect in mine? I did not note similar noises from either the 500W Seasonic S12 or the Corsair 520W units that I have used before.
I do have a spare PS I can try, an Antec 550W Truepower, though the Solo is tight enough that everything would have to be disassembled to put the new one in. It may well be the only way to tell, even though the Truepower is not the most quiet either. (It is my emergency spare.)
I noticed no change in noise with load, or at least very little. That is worth exploring more, though, since I've just finished the computer and shut down the sources of background noise. Let me scp over the requisite files and try that again.
The drives are already suspended in the elastic bands in the Solo; the change from the soft grommets was striking.
The rest of the system is a 3GHz Q6600, a Thermalright 120 UE, two 120mm Arctic Cooling PWM fans (though one is used with a three-pin header), the Abit IP35 Pro with all fans under BIOS control (tuned earlier with uGuru in W2K Server), two 500GB WDs, and an nVidia 9600GT with an Accelero S2 and the accompanying fans. The various fans are not quite silent, but are pretty good, particularly for the computer's performance level. It has 4GB memory, a couple of DVDs and Vista 64, not that it matters for the present silencing purposes.
The building in which the computer currently resides is extremely well isolated acoustically -- some might say fanatically so. There is little sound leakage in or out.
Back to the fan hum and coil noise/whine, are these common with this power supply? (I can't get an SPL reading, since it is below the floor of my meter.) And if common, is the a flaw in the line, or likely a defect in mine? I did not note similar noises from either the 500W Seasonic S12 or the Corsair 520W units that I have used before.
I do have a spare PS I can try, an Antec 550W Truepower, though the Solo is tight enough that everything would have to be disassembled to put the new one in. It may well be the only way to tell, even though the Truepower is not the most quiet either. (It is my emergency spare.)
Coil whine isn't unusual, though it can be highly undesirable. There's nothing to be done about aside from covering the coils with hot glue, which voids the warranty. If you were willing to go that far though, you could swap the fan as well.
If the Truepower is past it's warranty you can always do a fanswap on that (maybe a 800rpm slipstream) and see if you can quiet it down while you RMA the Antec.
If the Truepower is past it's warranty you can always do a fanswap on that (maybe a 800rpm slipstream) and see if you can quiet it down while you RMA the Antec.
Just mention an unbearable, high-pitched whine coming from the unit. They'll probably OK you for an RMA within a couple days.DrJ wrote:It is still not clear to me if what I hear is to be expected with this power supply, or if it is defective. How do manufacturers treat these sorts of issues? I know that speaking with an Antec representative is authoritative, but now I am curious.
With respect, again, is this a general characteristic of this PS? If I replace it through an RMA and get one that sounds the same, then I have not gained anything, have I? My wife cannot hear the whine, but I certainly do.
It is certainly true that assessing subjective failings without measurements is difficult, particularly on line. Have you, or others whose opinion you trust, used this PS and *not* found the putative fan hum and coil whine?
It is certainly true that assessing subjective failings without measurements is difficult, particularly on line. Have you, or others whose opinion you trust, used this PS and *not* found the putative fan hum and coil whine?
I had an Earthwatts 500 since last summer (also in the Sonata Designer) and just replaced it yesterday; Antec confirmed that it is defective since my system became unstable (off-on-off-on, wouldn't start on several occasions). In fact, the head of Antec's support (which was excellent, by the way) cautioned me not to turn on my PC at all since it could risk destroying the entire system!
I never heard any whining coming from the Earthwatts, just a soft whoosh.
I replaced it with the new Enermax Modu+ 525, which is simply amazing -- total silence, and the modularity leaves tons of room for airflow. I'll go post more info in the Enermax topic.
I never heard any whining coming from the Earthwatts, just a soft whoosh.
I replaced it with the new Enermax Modu+ 525, which is simply amazing -- total silence, and the modularity leaves tons of room for airflow. I'll go post more info in the Enermax topic.