Strange buzzing noise while the pc is on (Orion 3000 PO3-620)

I got the pc today and after I plugged the power cable in a faint zapping or clicking noise already came from the PSU. After turning it on I thought something was stuck in a fan or brushing against it but it was more of an electrical noise and I couldn't find anything like a cable hanging around. The loud noise while the pc is running could also come from the GPU, it's hard to distinguish.

Is it problematic to run the pc like this and should I consider sending it to repair?

I also tried swapping the power cable but the problem still remained.

The specs are:

i7 107000F
RTX 3070
16GB RAM
1024GB SSD
500 PSU

I can't find information what type of PSU it is. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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GotBanned

Some have reported that the PSU makes some ticking sound. See THIS thread. I'd suppose that there are many more out there, but when the case is on the floor people just don't hear it or decide to ignore it.

Not sure how good or bad this noise is, but none of the previous PSUs I have used made any noises at all that.

Your safest bet would be to record a short video about it and contact Acer. If you do so, please come back and report what they told you, as it might help others with similar questions.

vOiDW4LK3r

Hey man. I have the same problem. Just got my Predator Orion 3000 recently. I only notice the buzzing when the PC is off or in standby mode. It is a very faint buzzing. Im pretty sure its just coil whine and isn't anything to worry about. I do eventually want to replace it with a 750w gold power supply but I'm not sure if I can because apparantley ACER uses one of the new ATX 12VO power supplies and I cant find any to match this type... Also. Yes, the GPU buzzes when under load, that is definitely just coil whine and doesnt really matter. I just wear my headphones and I'm happy. It is a common symptom of modern GPUs and doesnt indicate any problem. My PS5 also has it. Dont sweat it. The power supply is a weird one though. I'm kind of starting to regret the purchase because it already seems like I need to purchase all new parts to make this computer up to snuff for the parts inside. The motherboard doesnt seem to support XMP at all for the RAM even though it comes with 2 x 3200mhz ram sticks... I can't see an option in the BIOS at all for XMP, and the problem with the 12VO power supply. Also the computer does run incredibly hot without any tweaks as it seems to run the CPU and GPU fans much too slow by default. I had to unlock the GPU fan with MSI after burner and the CPU fan with argus monitor and made my own fan curves, that brought my temps down to reasonable levels. Going to buy an after market CPU cooler tomorrow and try installing it.

Easwar

Hi PlesiX,

# Try to update the sound driver

1. Hold windows key and hit letter X.
2. Choose the device manager option.
3. Go with the option sound driver.
4. Under the title sound driver.

Image: https://chnvsbmsg01/owa/service.svc/s/GetFileAttachment?id=AAMkAGExZWFjMjRjLTQ3MmYtNDYzNi1iNDJlLWUzZWIyMmY1NDhlZQBGAAAAAADztvKR8KxwTbjnAn%2FIRubRBwC23ExeDhbHR6t8HwPZ1gvVAAAAAAEPAAC23ExeDhbHR6t8HwPZ1gvVAAFWeNKPAAABEgAQAL52PULvybxNrRiO8H6BKC0%3D&X-OWA-CANARY=T7-66KdKZUWY-R9ykDTP5mKzWb1QNtkIOVXvUxOcXKo-cPyhj3DL7lKy-aNWRIGqiL5pZVF0zQU.

5. Right click on that option ----> Update all driver under the title sound driver.
6. Choose "search automatically".

Check this T/S and post the result.

GotBanned

I believe that the sound the OP is hearing is coming from the PSU. Updating sound driver won't make any difference, but it's always a good practice to use the latest drivers available.

"[...]The loud noise while the pc is running could also come from the GPU, it's hard to distinguish[...]"

Remove the side panel and turn on the PC. Carefully apply some force with your finger on the center of a fan so that it revs down or stops. Does the sound get quieter? I bet it is those two GPU fans as they are pretty noisy even when the PC is doing nothing.

Some GPUs are prone to coil whine. It can be caused be the components or bad solderings on the cards themselves, the quality of the PSU or even electrical wiring of the house itself. I had this problem (and water pump whining as a bonus) with my AMD Radeon R9 Fury X graphics card. Thankfully my previous 1080 Ti and current RTX 3070 don't whine even under stress.

PlesiX

Thanks for the answers! I did some testing with different power cabels but couldn't get rid of the noise from the PSU. The zapping/sparking sound becomes a little louder when the pc is on even though its hard to hear with the other stuff running.

I already removed the sidepanel and listened carefully and it seems that the scratching/buzzing sound is coming from the GPU. I doubt that the fans make the noise since it doesn't change in tone or loudness even if they run at full speed. I can't really press on them or stop them manually. The thing is I heard coil whining before and this just sounds so different, higher pitched than what I thought sounded 'normal'. Another problem is that its the exact same scratching/buzzing noise when I turn the PC on and when its under full load. I thought coil whining should be more, or only noticable at all, at higher workloads. I'm just scared that the pc will be damaged if I keep running it like this and I have to wait ages for and to get back working again.

I will try to record a video but I dont know if my phone picks the sound up good enough.

And its definitely not the sound driver nor did updating it anything.

Replacing the PSU was on my list as well but I still don't even know what is in here, other than it being 500W. XMP seems to be off. I'll have to check that again though. Strangely enough I haven't had any cooling problems other than the CPU getting up to 80C where it basically capped out, but i do plan on installing a different cooler.

I'll contact acer and see what they have to say about it.

GotBanned

Slowing down or stopping the fans with a finger won't break anything. Anyway, when the computer is off, do the fans rotate freely when you flick them with a finger? Maybe one of them is hitting something and makes some noise.

If you want to check this even further, remove the GPU from the motherboard:

remove the additional PCIE power cable(s)
remove the supporting anti-sag bracket (right end of the GPU)
remove the screws and open the clamp holding the GPU in place (left end)
and before trying to pull the GPU from the motherboard...
remember to open the PCIE latch at the right end of the PCIE slot! You can see the latch in this picture.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/xn/na3id6j0a849.jpg

Now that the GPU is on the table in front of you, do the fans rotate smoothly? Any strange sounds caused by friction or something hitting the fan blades? The black fan shroud is secured with four small screws. if you remove those the black plastic and the fans come off leaving the heasink still attached to the GPU PCB.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/lw/lrs2641s1gml.jpg

When reassembling the PCIE latch will lock automatically when the connector is at the bottom of the PCIE slot. If not sure you can check this with a finger. Oh, and I never reinstalled that anti-sag bracket, but that's up to you.

PlesiX

Hey, thanks for the detailed answer!

Though I can't take anything apart.

I tested the pc a little more in the past days and it seems to be coil whine. Sounds awful but I guess it can't be solved without replacing the GPU.

After I ran a few more cpu intensive applications I started to notice how bad the cooling actually is as

vOiDW4LK3r mentioned. Idling the CPU sits at 44-47C; GPU at around 35C. Under load the CPU actually hit 100C couple times and had to throttle down, the GPU peaked at 74C. Installing a different CPU cooler is basically required but the overall airflow seems to be pretty bad aswell. I really start to regret buying this pc

The PSU is still making the same zapping noise as before but a little louder now. Again probably not fixable without a replacement. I guess theres nothing to do here except to hope it doesn't blow up or shocks the other parts.

GotBanned

As you know, the air is supposed to enter from the front. Unfortunately there's simply too much plastics, cables and metal mesh blocking things. The tiny holes where the air is supposed to enter the front fan are ridiculously small. No matter how fast the fans spin, it's simply not enough.

I'd contact Acer about the PSU and the coil whine(*). You know, just to be sure. At least they would have this on record if something went terribly wrong.

There could be something wrong with the manufacturing process and they already know this. Maybe they will replace the PSU with a new one and at least you'll have one less problem to worry about.

(*) If you can, install your GPU on another computer with a good PSU. Might be that the coil whine is suddenly gone. All that whining could be caused by your PSU. My 3070 doesn't whine at all, but the GPU is in self-build PC with a really good Seasonic PSU.

PlesiX

Yes I figured that out aswell. Terrible design if you ask me but whatever. I will try to get in contact with them.

I can't install it somewhere else sadly since this is my only pc here at the moment.

Its a possibility, I just hope it doesn't take too long if I have to send the pc in because some reviews suggest that their repair service is really slow

Thanks for your help though I really appreciate it!

Kthomas7

Did acer ever get back to you on this ?
I bought my acer Orion 3000 couple weeks ago ( i7 11th gen rtx 3070) and noticed the psu was constantly ticking/zapping when it was shut down. Took it back to curry’s after just a couple of days and they were as confused as I was and replaced it with a brand new one which is also making the same sound ? I can’t get a reply from acer

Iv also been turning it off at the wall
after Iv shut it down ( switch is right next to desk so not awkward to do )

GotBanned

OFF TOPIC/

Wouldn't it be nice if Steve and his team over Gamer's Nexus would test these PSUs just like they did with those exploding GP-P850GM and GP-P750GM units from Gigabyte. /OT

LinusPlaze

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/642266/strange-buzzing-noise-while-the-pc-is-on-orion-3000-po3-620

Hello i have an acer predator orion 3000 po3-620 too and its been making ticking noises for like 4+ months now it wasnt that loud when it started but now its so loud i can hear it with no problem when i am near the pc and i also randomly hear some noise coming from psu that sounds like tzzzzz or something like that