Corsair AX1200 - Buzzing Sound

[T101]

Since I was unsure if my Corsair TX750W would be sufficient with the computer in my signature, with an added Geforce 470GTX for sli, I got a Corsair AX1200 (1200W) psu, but this PSU has a very annoying buzzing sound when it is switched on. Not sure if I dare to keep using it or not.

Also, if the RMA request I put to Corsair goes through, I will need to run the system of my 750W psu again. So I am back to my concern if that can really handle my system in SLI, or if I should shelf one of the cards while my PSU is sent for RMA.

 

[Tsavo]

How can you hear anything over two 470's?

 

[T101]

One has a Zalman VF3000F cooler on it, so it is very silent, the other does not make that much noise since it has a non-reference cooler. And the noise from the PSU, is by far many decibels higher and more intense than the sound of the graphics card. It is easy to hear even over the sound of the loudest card.

Please, keep this threat on topic. I am trying to make up my mind about switching back to the 750W psu and get this in RMA. And I need to figure out if I can run both cards of that PSU or not.

System is as follows:
Asus P8P67 Deluxe
Intel Core i7 2600k
16 GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz DDR3 RAM (4 modules).
4 x 5400rpm HDDs
3 x 7200rpm HDDs.
Creative X-Fi PCI
1 x DVD-RW
1 x Asus 470GTX with Zalman VF3000F Cooler
1 x Gigabyte 470GTX with custom cooler from Gigabyte.

 

[TemjinGold]

Really easy way to find out. Plug it in and use it. If you don't have enough power, it'll start crashing. Plain and simple.

 

[rgallant]

I fired up my ax1200 on the weekend and can hear it in the next room -going to rma also
-I think they do cross shipping with a C|C. -US anyways.

 

[ImDonly1]

I rma'd the 450vx for an annoying buzzing sound. Anyway, corsair sent me a 550w unit, which I am using and am happy for getting the free upgrade. Was not expecting them to send me that at all.

Try disabling the c1e and the eist cpu functions in the bios. Sometimes they can get rid of the sound.

 

[Tsavo]

I rma'd the 450vx for an annoying buzzing sound. Anyway, corsair sent me a 550w unit, which I am using and am happy for getting the free upgrade. Was not expecting them to send me that at all.

Try disabling the c1e and the eist cpu functions in the bios. Sometimes they can get rid of the sound.

Sometimes tweaks can help, but there's no reason to disable functionality when Corsair are willing and able to swap that out for another PSU. I had the same issue with a TX650. I wasn't willing to buy another PSU and wait for RMA, so I voided the warranty by popping it open and hot-gluing all the inductor coils. This fixed the buzzing Seasonic curse.

 

[BoomerD]

Sometimes tweaks can help, but there's no reason to disable functionality when Corsair are willing and able to swap that out for another PSU. I had the same issue with a TX650. I wasn't willing to buy another PSU and wait for RMA, so I voided the warranty by popping it open and hot-gluing all the inductor coils. This fixed the buzzing Seasonic curse.

I agree that you shouldn't have to go to such measures...but it's one of the recommended fixes by Corsair...

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=85166

Noisy PSU? Read this first!
If you believe that your PSU is louder than it should be there are a few things you should check before assuming that the PSU is faulty. First, you should be aware of what can cause the noise that you are hearing. If you are hearing a buzz or electrical type sound, then it’s likely due to a capacitor somewhere in your system that is vibrating at a frequency which is clashing with the rest of the components in the system. Usually this capacitor is either on the PSU, motherboard, or graphics card and you should be able to try a few things to narrow down the issue.

We have seen that the CPU power saving features in the BIOS can cause the PSU to emit the noise. Try disabling these features to see if there is any improvement. C1E and EIST (Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology) are two examples of power saving settings, but your motherboard manufacturer should be able to tell you specifically which features your board supports.

We have also seen that some graphics card drivers can contribute to the sound as well. If the problems seem to get worse when loading a 3D application, try booting your system up into safe mode to see if you can still hear the sound. If the sound goes away, then your problem may be software related. We have found that enabling “vsync” in your graphics drivers options can eliminate the sound.

If the previous steps have not eliminated the sound, then you may want to test the PSU in a different system just to be sure that the sound follows the PSU. If it looks like there is a good chance that the PSU could be causing the problem, then please request an RMA through our Tech Support Express and we will be happy to replace it.

If a replacement PSU gives you identical issues, then chances are that there is something else causing the sound. Keep in mind that the sound can come from the PSU, while the PSU may not actual be the cause of the problem. So it’s important to try to rule out the motherboard and graphics card if possible.

Also keep in mind that our PSUs are quiet, but are not totally silent. If you only hear the PSU when you have the side panel of your case removed, there is probably not a problem at all.

 

[Tsavo]

I agree that you shouldn't have to go to such measures...but it's one of the recommended fixes by Corsair...

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=85166

At no point in time should you reduce functionality of your system in order to reduce the RMA workload of some company.

Seasonic make great PSU's, but they can be fantastically noisy. Inductor coil whine on these things is no secret. Send the thing back to Corsair and keep sending them back until you get one that's quiet.

I am NOT going to turn off C1E or anything else in my BIOS. There's a long list of fixes put forth by Corsair. Some of them assume rub head/pat belly/imbibe snake oil. Fact is: undamped inductor coils make noise. A LOT of noise.

And it's not like this is some new thing. Seasonics, Corsair or otherwise can make a LOT of annoying noise. This has been known for years. Shrink wrap your inductors or dab a LOT of glue on them and the issue evaporates.

Spend .02 cents more per PSU and the issue evaporates. Strange that Seasonic has let this slide for so long.

 

[T101]

I have found that it is the fan ball bearing that is bad on AX1200. So I am shipping it to corsair for replacement.

As for using the TX750 meanwhile, I am cautious about overloading the PSU. I dont want to ruin the hardware. But if crashes is all that can happen. Well, then I may try it.

 

[T101]

to anyone who wants to know, the TX750 folds like a cheap house of cards under the load of two GeForce 470, and the crash was a serious one, damaging one of the cards in the process (after that crash there is like a crisscross pattern displayed by the card). So now I have to RMA a graphics card as well as a PSU.

 

[T101]

UPDATE: It seems the crash just borked windows completely, because I have so far not experienced any trouble with the card after restoring an Acronis backup.

 

[ImDonly1]

Wasn't suggesting the disable c1e and not RMA. Was just saying for the time being, if the sound is too annoying disable it while you wait for rma.

 

[T101]

I use headphones and keep on gaming, then I dont hear the noise. Good enough until monday when I will send the PSU for replacement. Now I am more working on how to increase the airflow in the Antec 900 I am using for this system.

 

[HOOfan 1]

And it's not like this is some new thing. Seasonics, Corsair or otherwise can make a LOT of annoying noise. This has been known for years. Shrink wrap your inductors or dab a LOT of glue on them and the issue evaporates.
.

The AX1200 is not Seasonic

 

[T101]

After a lot of troubleshooting, it seems my initial problems with running 2 x 470 on my 750W PSU was down to drivers. As it occurred with both the 750W psu and the 1200W psu. I have sent the AX1200 to RMA, and am now running the system with the TX750, and it is actually blowing hot air out the back under this load. But seems to deal with the load. I dont think it is a good long term solution though.

 

[i7]

The AX1200 is not Seasonic

Actually the unit is a Flextronics, a OEM manufacturer

 

[bryanl]

I wasn't willing to buy another PSU and wait for RMA, so I voided the warranty by popping it open and hot-gluing all the inductor coils. This fixed the buzzing Seasonic curse.

Hot glue works well for single layer windings, but multilayer coils may benefit more from an application of varnish or slow cure epoxy that will penetrade more deeply.

 

[Zibri]

Yes, they buzz and it's not pleasant.
I'm very disappointed.
I managed to get a clean recording of the buzzing sound by putting a microphone near the fan exhaust and then filtering with a band pass filter 1900-2100 Hz frequencies.

Here is the result.
http://www.freesound.org/people/Zibri/sounds/133445

As you can hear, the sound is about 2kHz in frequency. Do you know which component produces this?
Is it the caps or the coil(s) ?

Since this sound is very faint, I'm not sure if RMA this (and risking getting a worse one) or open it and put some glue somewhere.

Oh.. and by the way, c1e or any load difference doesn't affect this sound

 

[Tsavo]

Yes, they buzz and it's not pleasant.
I'm very disappointed.
I managed to get a clean recording of the buzzing sound by putting a microphone near the fan exhaust and then filtering with a band pass filter 1900-2100 Hz frequencies.

Here is the result.
http://www.freesound.org/people/Zibri/sounds/133445

As you can hear, the sound is about 2kHz in frequency. Do you know which component produces this?
Is it the caps or the coil(s) ?

Since this sound is very faint, I'm not sure if RMA this (and risking getting a worse one) or open it and put some glue somewhere.

Oh.. and by the way, c1e or any load difference doesn't affect this sound

It's the coils.

 

[Tsavo]

Hot glue works well for single layer windings, but multilayer coils may benefit more from an application of varnish or slow cure epoxy that will penetrade more deeply.

+1. I realized this only after doing what I did. A poster on another forum recommended silicone, which is what I will use instead of hot glue in the future. Hot glue makes a huge mess.

 

[Zibri]

It's the coils.

It's NOT the coils. It's the FAN.

Stopping the fan manually makes this noise go away.
(in my case)

 

[OVerLoRDI]

My AX850 buzzes as well. But it is related to the harmonic distortion on my electrical wires in my house. Old dimmer switch with florescent bulbs be used else where in the house, causes my PSU to buzz (along with every other transformer in the house)

 

[Kristijonas]

Reading this thread makes me sick. RMA'ing a working PSU just because it sounds loud, without trying any workarounds (Ok, I can understand this part) and then trying another PSU which you are almost certain that it is not enough and thus ruining your GPU and sending it back when it's your fault. All this behavior makes a huge loss to hardware companies (and it's particularly sad, because these are the good ones) and makes their product prices go up.
Sorry for bad English I'm illiterate.

 

[theAnimal]

Reading this thread makes me sick. RMA'ing a working PSU just because it sounds loud, without trying any workarounds (Ok, I can understand this part) and then trying another PSU which you are almost certain that it is not enough and thus ruining your GPU and sending it back when it's your fault. All this behavior makes a huge loss to hardware companies (and it's particularly sad, because these are the good ones) and makes their product prices go up.
Sorry for bad English I'm illiterate.

The PSU had a faulty fan causing the noise. I'm not sure why you think it was a bad thing to RMA for that, it's better than waiting for the fan to die.

And if you read the thread you'll see that the GPU was not ruined--a good quality PSU like the Corsair would not kill components if overloaded.