Antec Signature 850W crackling sound!

[k1984our]

Hi all,

Brand new to this or any other forum. I just bought a new rig and had a corsair hx750 psu, but had to get this swapped as it was emitting a high frequency noise when the computer was shutdown that wouldn't go away until the pc was powered on again. I swapped to an antec signature 850W (I realise that this is well and truly overkill for my system specs, but was going for longevity and quality etc) and after putting the system under load, there was whining choke noise followed a five minute span of crackling coming from the unit.

I believe the choke noise is fairly common, but I was concerned about the crackle. The thing is, the crackle has never come back again, even after trying to replicate load conditions. It seems like a one off occurrence, but I would like some seasoned advice as to whether my unit is likely to give problems down the road, or whether I should not be concerned at all considering the thing is sailing smoothly now. My motherboard monitoring software tells me that all the rail voltages are well within defined boundaries, so all looks well there. Any input at all will be appreciated.

Cheers!

Specs:
CPU: Intel i7 2600k
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe
RAM: 2 x 4gb Kingston HyprX DDR3
GPU: ASUS GTX580 Direct CU II
SSD: Crucial 128gb

[olegsomphane]

I had the same sound static crackle and found that my antec TP-750 was basically struggling to provide power to my system and would cause my computer to turn off under load. Swapped it with a corsair ax-850 and everything was fine.

[k1984our]

Thanks for the input. I guess I should try putting in under load for longer stretches and see if this starts causing any trouble, because it really seems as though all is fine at the moment. I'm just concerned because I've been advised that PSU's shouldn't crackle full-stop, let alone when its new. Really not looking forward to two weeks of waiting on a warranty replacement. Want to avoid that if I can!

[olegsomphane]

Yup, usually happened to me when playing Dead Island within 10-40 minutes on max settings with my s/o. The giveaway was almost nonstop static crackling. Did not happen or make the noise when I ran furmark for an hour straight though. I was really surprised because Antec usually makes good power supplies and my s/o was running a lower rated Antec Earthwatts 650 on practically the same setup.

[k1984our]

Yea, I've been having bad juju with PSUs on this new rig. Will have to go a third one. Me thinks the Corsair AX850 that you have looks good and is in the exact same price range as the Antec, so I'll try and get it swapped for that one. Just wanted to know if the fact that the PSU is crackling would be wearing down or would have damaged any of the PC components to any degree, or should everything be 100% when the power supply is changed?

[olegsomphane]

If you are not experiencing problems, your other hardware is most likely fine. Underpowering a computer does not typically damage hardware, but can cause the computer to crash or corrupt data. Overpowering can damage hardware.

[k1984our]

Sounds like all should be good then. Thank you kindly for you responses, much appreciated! Might report back once I get a new unit.

[Super Nade]

Your PSU should suffice for that configuration. Sometimes there is a relay in use to achieve higher efficiency and what you heard could be the relay kicking in (not sure if it is an electronic or electromagnetic relay). Also, the input surge filter coils can make sounds during startup.