My Corsair PSU is making fan noise - Pics

[cheez]

I recently moved my PC and power supply. The power supply is now on top of my cabinet and the PC is placed inside the cabinet. This is a very special setup for my audio. But I am hearing unpleasant fan noise from the PSU. Maybe I'll take a video of it and post it here so you can hear it yourself.

The PSU is less than a year old. I don't have money to buy a new PSU because I spent all on power cables.. Can the fan inside be changed out?


Cheez

 

[lehtv]

What kind of fan noise? If you hear noise that can't be made by the fan blades, i.e. bearing noise, the fan is not functioning properly.

You shouldn't go tampering with the PSU yourself, it will void warranty. If there is warranty left, you need to RMA it with Corsair or the retailer you bought it from.

I'm having trouble believing it's less than 1 year old though, that is the old HX650 model and have been out of production for longer than that.

 

[cheez]

What kind of fan noise? If you hear noise that can't be made by the fan blades, i.e. bearing noise, the fan is not functioning properly.

You shouldn't go tampering with the PSU yourself, it will void warranty. If there is warranty left, you need to RMA it with Corsair or the retailer you bought it from.

I'm having trouble believing it's less than 1 year old though, that is the old HX650 model and have been out of production for longer than that.

Yes that's it.. it must be the bearing noise.

The model is old but I got this from Newegg not too long ago. I think it's about a year old since I purchased it.


RMA'ing wouldn't be a good idea for me as I will be without the PC. No audio.


Cheez

 

[lehtv]

Buy a cheap replacement to hold you out until the RMA is done. Then you can keep it as a backup in case something similar happens later, or in case you need to diagnose whether a problem in your PC is caused by the PSU. Or you can sell it away.

What are the specs of your PC?

 

[cheez]

Buy a cheap replacement to hold you out until the RMA is done. Then you can keep it as a backup in case something similar happens later, or in case you need to diagnose whether a problem in your PC is caused by the PSU. Or you can sell it away.

What are the specs of your PC?

It's an Asus P5B Deluxe - Intel Core2Duo Conroe 2.4ghz - ATi Radeon X1950XT video card - 1 SSD and 1 SATA hard drive - Asus Xonar sound card


Thanks,

cheez

 

[lehtv]

OK, pretty old hardware, so there's no sense in spending much. Since your GPU only requires one 6-pin PCIe connector, you only need a ~400W unit. It might be a good idea to sell the HX650 once you get it back, you don't need anywhere near that much power on tap. Might even be able to sell it for more than what you pay for the new one.

The best deal atm: Corsair CX500 $30 AR AP

It's a bit more than you need, but I couldn't find any good 400W unit for less.

I'd also look into replacing the relatively power hungry video card with a cheap entry level card like a Sapphire 5450 1GB $26 AR shipped. That's assuming you're not using the PC for any gaming. Such a card would eventually pay itself back due to lower electricity bills, and given the passive cooling, it would also lower the overall noise level of your PC by a bit.

Should be able to sell the X1950XT for $10-20.

 

[cheez]

Thanks for the help but I am really not looking to get another power supply... I'm gonna try and see if I can get the fan replaced. There's something going on with the bearing..

And my video card stays. Nobody taking away from me. I use it for very important reasons. Best video quality, wipes the new ones in the bathroom floor trust me. It also works best with Server 2003 OS w/ DX9.1 and the combination of software I use for video playback. I have tried all sorts of video cards in the past including the new ones and they are a let down both in VQ and build quality. If this card breaks I'm going to send it to AMD and have them fix it.

And I am not worried about voiding warranty. If the PSU breaks it breaks. I get a new one then, silent PSU that you recommended a while back.


thanks,

cheez

 

[lehtv]

How are you going to get the fan replaced without RMA, and why would you void warranty? Replacing it yourself is the last resort. RMA is the first. I really hope you know what you're doing, cos I don't know what you're doing.

Regarding the video card, I guess I don't know enough about differences in image quality between cards to comment, but I think you belong in the <0.1% of PC users who even care about those differences enough to hold on to a 7 year old card.

 

[Blastman]

Carefully peal the sticker back from the fan hub and add a few drops of 5W-30 motor oil to the bearing. See if that solves the issue. It may be that the factory didn't lube the bearings properly when it was assembled. I would at least try this before replacing the fan.

 

[cheez]

^ thanks. Would WD40 work?


cheez

 

[Blastman]

While WD40 lubes, it's also a kind of oily solvent, so I don't think it will work as well as some oil like 5W-30 (last as long), but it would work as a lubricant.

 

[Blastman]

The sticker on the hub in many cases seals the bearing (some fans have a plastic cap under the sticker) so the sticker has to put back in place to seal things, hence carefully peal it back about halfway, just enough to get some oil in there then reseal it.

 

[goobee]

You don't want to touch anything inside as there is/may be enough residual current to burn or do worse to you. However, if you have a steady hand, swapping out the fan is not that difficult. After you have the PSU open, cover the exposed components inside with something non conductive. Remove the 4 screws holding the fan to the casing and clip the wires at the fan. Solder and shrink wrap the new fan on and reinstall. Take your time and you'll be up and running in no time. I recommend searching out the quietest fan that still pushes out a decent cfm. Good luck.

 

[dma0991]

My Corsair CX500 has the same fan issue. Had considered changing the fan to an aftermarket one(don't care about the warranty) but don't seem to have the time to do it yet. But it leaves a lasting impression on me to actually get a PSU that comes with a good fan in the future, and no more Corsair CX series for me.

If you're setting up an audio setup which is prone to sound interference, you should've gone for passive cooled PSUs. You should keep that in mind in your future builds that are similar.

 

[Blastman]

When I oil a psu fan, before pulling the psu apart I first always unplug the computer and then hit the computer power on button. The psu fan will spin slightly and the power on light will flicker on draining the residual power in the psu. This should make the psu safer although I still avoid touching anything inside there just to be safe.

 

[cheez]

Thanks for the tip Blastman. I did get electrocuted when I didn't use one-hand rule when I was modding the PSU (while still running) for pot tweak many years ago... The current went through my heart and got a pain. :$

I will try this soon. I gotta find me an oil lube I have it somewhere in the house...


cheez

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

I recently moved my PC and power supply. The power supply is now on top of my cabinet and the PC is placed inside the cabinet. This is a very special setup for my audio. But I am hearing unpleasant fan noise from the PSU. Maybe I'll take a video of it and post it here so you can hear it yourself.

The PSU is less than a year old. I don't have money to buy a new PSU because I spent all on power cables.. Can the fan inside be changed out?


Cheez

Are you running a naked setup? If so I suggest you may have no good ground, going to the motherboard. Try adding a wire from the PSU to the motherboard.........

 

[cheez]

Are you running a naked setup? If so I suggest you may have no good ground, going to the motherboard. Try adding a wire from the PSU to the motherboard.........

Yes. The motherboard is mounted to the backplate. It is placed inside the wine storage cabinet in the upper shelf... I don't have any ground issue. The only problem I am having is the noisy PSU due to fan bearing.

cheez

 

[hackerballs]

I notice that you do not have it anchored in place? any machine that has moving parts will vibrate and like the balancing of your car tires, wobble....................

First clean your PSU and replace the fan...............anchor it with rubber dampers and for sure ground it to your case...........this should be all that is needed

 

[cheez]

I notice that you do not have it anchored in place? any machine that has moving parts will vibrate and like the balancing of your car tires, wobble....................

What part are you talking about? PSU? or the motherboard?

No, they don't wobble. This is not a wheel of a vehicle. It's a computer. The fan already came balanced when it was manufactured, plus the fan is securely mounted to the frame of the fan itself. It comes that way when you buy products.

If you are wondering about the system vibrating due to the fan speed, there are only two fans, one for the CPU heatsink, one for the video card. The CPU fan is set to run at 800 rpm. It doesn't wobble nor vibrate. Video card fan also runs at very low speed.

And the motherboard plate and PSU have a sheet of foam placed under them, to help absorb electrical noise spread from the ground surface. Rubber isn't a good source for this.

First clean your PSU and replace the fan...............anchor it with rubber dampers and for sure ground it to your case...........this should be all that is needed

It doesn't need any cleaning. The PSU is still new and I see no dust. And don't need anchoring. No need to ground. It is working fine.


cheez

 

[Sheep221]

I recommend to hide the PSU under the desk too, for whatever reason you have problem with fan, you going to have it after replacement as well. It's just too close to your speakers and to your ears too.

 

[mindless1]

By the time a fan bearing is making noise you have extra play in it and would best use thicker oil than 5W30, not a thin non-lubricant like WD-40. Ideally use straight 30W oil but if you have some 10W40, 20W50, etc, thicker is better. Even 80W gear oil is preferred to thin oil.

While bottom mounted fans are a pain to lube because you have to pop open the PSU, they have bleeder resistors in them across the high voltage capacitor plus they're draining from the 5VSB subcircuit still running (it does not know if a computer is connected nor if the PSU is even plugged into the wall, it just keeps supplying 5V till the voltage is too low to continue) so by the time you have it open there are no dangerous voltage remaining, assuming you have it unplugged. No need to cover anything, no need to press the computer power button or anything else.

Yes it'll shock the heck out of you if you touch the heatsink inside when it is plugged in, but unplugged for 10 seconds there are no worries.