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Corsair PSU's HX540 vs HX620

QueBert

QueBert

Lifer
Bought an HX540 yesterday and it seems, not loud but it has a noticeable whine. I replaced an aging Allied (of of their better ones hehe) which I loved but it was starting to go out, so I picked this one up. I'm not anal about having a silent pc, but the Allied was by far more quite than this one. Which is weird because it had a 80mm and the corsair is a 120 which should make less noise.

is the 620 going to be more of the same noise wise? I couldn't hear my PC before and with this new PSU it's pretty obvious, maybe if I give it a few more days I'll get use to it I dunno.

 
An actual whine from a psu is really a random issue that can occur in ANY psu. I'd recommend contacting corsair to see if they can help with the issue. This probably has nothing to do with the fan and more to do with the components.
 
Originally posted by: QueBert
Bought an HX540 yesterday and it seems, not loud but it has a noticeable whine. I replaced an aging Allied (of of their better ones hehe) which I loved but it was starting to go out, so I picked this one up. I'm not anal about having a silent pc, but the Allied was by far more quite than this one. Which is weird because it had a 80mm and the corsair is a 120 which should make less noise.

is the 620 going to be more of the same noise wise? I couldn't hear my PC before and with this new PSU it's pretty obvious, maybe if I give it a few more days I'll get use to it I dunno.
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I assume you mean HX520 as there is no HX540. I own one and it's completely silent, no noise from air or anything. If you are hearing a whine are you sure it's the PSU and not something else?
 
hummm i guess i do mean 520 hehe. as for being sure my system wasnt making the noise before i swapped the psu. it doesnt sound like that high pitch noise some components make thats why i thought it would be the fan. i guess i need to hear another HX running to hear a difference. maybe its all in my head
 
My HX620 has no whine to it. If anything the HX520 would be quieter not louder (though I believe they are both the same - silent).

If there is a whine to it then that is probably not normal and I might consider talking to corsair about it.
 
Originally posted by: QueBert
hummm i guess i do mean 520 hehe. as for being sure my system wasnt making the noise before i swapped the psu. it doesnt sound like that high pitch noise some components make thats why i thought it would be the fan. i guess i need to hear another HX running to hear a difference. maybe its all in my head
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Isolate where the noise is coming from. What does it sound like? A grinding noise? A whirring noise? Does it sound like a high RPM fan?
 
If the noise really is coming from your PSU, I'd contact Corsair. I've heard they've been very good about replacing noisy units since low-noise is one of the selling points of the HX line.
 
I don't even think the 120mm fan inside the Corsair PSU is capable of making any whining noise. He should really isolate where it's coming from.
 
I own both. My main rig has an hx520. It sits on the other side of the desk (e6750 at 3.5 so I wanted more air flow 🙂 ) and is completely inaudible over my antec 900 with all case fans on low and tuniq at 1500 rpm. I originally had it in my opty 180 system and it was inaudible over the case fans in that rig, too. My opty 180 now houses my hx620. It, too, is completely inaudible over the case fans. That system is htpc-type quiet, too, so that psu is one quiet dude!

I originally got the hx520 b/c I had a VERY loud psu that emitted that annoying whining noise that low-end psu's often emit when they are stressed. When I got the 620 I also had a somewhat loud case fan, but I unplugged the case fans one at a time until I found the culprit. Fortunately I had some 80 mm's lying around and replaced the offending unit. Once the case fans were cleared up, it became immediately obvious that the psu was VERY loud. Now my poor mother has that crappy psu in her xp 2800+ rig. She has it in a spare room, however, so I have her running DC 24/7 on it. I'm such a bad son...

oops, forgot conclusion: isolate and exterminate loud noises in your system. If the offending unit is your corsair then you will almost certainly be able to rma it. Yellowbeard is a corsair rep, contact him if you are able to positively identify the hx520 as the culprit. I think that you will find another component is the root cause if you test all fans, however.
 
Originally posted by: QueBert
not loud but it has a noticeable whine
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Try stopping the psu fan with something soft (preferably not a finger) to isolate a fan/coil problem - might need to stop or disconnect all other fans in the case temporarily to hear distinctly. I have a HX520 purchased 11/2006 and it's virtually silent. I've heard of buzzing fan noise complaints though. Corsair is supposedly willing to make all of their customers satisfied.
 
Originally posted by: seemingly random
Originally posted by: QueBert
not loud but it has a noticeable whine
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Try stopping the psu fan with something soft (preferably not a finger) to isolate a fan/coil problem - might need to stop or disconnect all other fans in the case temporarily to hear distinctly. I have a HX520 purchased 11/2006 and it's virtually silent. I've heard of buzzing fan noise complaints though. Corsair is supposedly willing to make all of their customers satisfied.
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Good idea. BEFORE you power on the unit, use a non-conductive item to block the fan blades from turning. Power the unit on, and see if you hear the whining. If the unit is making a noise that is this audible, we'll gladly replace it for you.
 
Remarkable. I was going to suggest a next step of going to the Corsair forums - had no idea they would come to you.


Slightly OT: a lot of people rationalize away having a hugely overpowered psu by citing the efficiency. I did since I was tired of noisy psu's and the HX series was the quietest at the time and probably still is - if not the most efficient. Unfortunately, the efficiency curve is not linear. IIRC it's more like 65-70% at 50-80w where many pc's idle these days - my mATX 5600x2 idles at 45-50w (~120 load) using the IGP and two 1600x1200 monitors. It would be nice if Corsair et. al. would expand their line lower (200-300w) instead of, or in addition to, the higher wattage ranges. I know, marketing demand... but not all customers are vocal. It would be nice if a smaller format was possible but until thermodynamics changes the current format is appropriate since the 120mm fan wins out in noise level - one of the reasons the similar quality Earthwatts series will never cut it.
 
Originally posted by: seemingly random
Remarkable. I was going to suggest a next step of going to the Corsair forums - had no idea they would come to you.


Slightly OT: a lot of people rationalize away having a hugely overpowered psu by citing the efficiency. I did since I was tired of noisy psu's and the HX series was the quietest at the time and probably still is - if not the most efficient. Unfortunately, the efficiency curve is not linear. IIRC it's more like 65-70% at 50-80w where many pc's idle these days - my mATX 5600x2 idles at 45-50w (~120 load) using the IGP and two 1600x1200 monitors. It would be nice if Corsair et. al. would expand their line lower (200-300w) instead of, or in addition to, the higher wattage ranges. I know, marketing demand... but not all customers are vocal. It would be nice if a smaller format was possible but until thermodynamics changes the current format is appropriate since the 120mm fan wins out in noise level - one of the reasons the similar quality Earthwatts series will never cut it.
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We try. As far as the PSUs, the VX450 may be more suited to your needs. It is at least as quiet as the HX series if not more quiet.
 
I take it that there are no smaller wattage psu's planned.

There is currently a Seasonic 330II in that uATX - idles as low as 43w. I did try an hx520 - idled at 49w - I know this is nitpicking. The hx520 wouldn't physically fit in the nsk3380. The included Earthwatts380 while as efficient as the Seasonic had to go because of noise.
 
I don't know of any lower wattage units smaller than the VX450. That does not mean we won't have one but, I am not aware of it if we are planning one.
 
turned my system on yesterday to isolate the noise and it was gone, no idea what was causing it, PSU is quite I can still hear something but I'm too lazy to figure out what it is. It's very quite now overall. Nice PSU, with the exception of the ATX connector not being modular or at least the thin ribbon, I gotta say this is a sweet PSU. Best $110 bucks I've spent in awhile.

 
Originally posted by: QueBert
turned my system on yesterday to isolate the noise and it was gone, no idea what was causing it, PSU is quite I can still hear something but I'm too lazy to figure out what it is. It's very quite now overall. Nice PSU, with the exception of the ATX connector not being modular or at least the thin ribbon, I gotta say this is a sweet PSU. Best $110 bucks I've spent in awhile.
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Gremlins!
 
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