AX860i Fan Bearings

[VaderDSL]

The fan bearings in my AX860i have gone, makes a buzzing sound on spinning up and rattles/clicks when running.

I've submitted an RMA, but it was already an RMA replacement 3 years ago. So in the likely scenario it has no warranty, should I

• Buy a 120mm fan, replace it and connect it to the motherboard and control it via PWM
• Buy a 4 pin vga adapter and replace the fan, connecting it to the internal PSU connector

I currently use corsair link solely to have the fan at 40% due to the horrid noise it makes when it spins up. But if I go the first route, I can just control it via BIOS and I can get rid of the corsair software.

 

[VaderDSL]

I thought the AX650 Gold as the entry level back then only came with 7 year warranty, on Corsairs site it states 7 years. I realise in my OP I forgot to mention I’m around the 7 year mark since original purchase now, I’ll see what the RMA request yields.

 

[VaderDSL]

You said AX860i in your op with no mention of a AX650 so I presumed your previous one was a 860i as well. Just wait and see what they say, you may have caught them on a good day.

Ah yeah I actually forgot a lot of critical info

Basically it was pretty much always passive until a set temperature, and was fine for a few years. Until the last few months, when the fan spun up it made a heck of a racket, and because over the summer it was spinning up more and more I ended up having to put it at 40% constant, but that traded one noise for a slightly quieter one. At passive at 20C ambient it was 35-40, then every 10 minutes or so it would hit the threshold and the fan would spin up for a few seconds, just enough to bring the temperature down where it triggered the fan to shut off again. I think my usage/ambient was always around the threshold, so that's probably put a strain on the fan.

 

[VaderDSL]

Corsair support came through again. They were kind enough to offer an exception as I was 2 months outside of the 7 year warranty (the fan failed after 3 years on the first RMA replacement). They didn't have a suitable AX replacement in stock so they sent a HX1000i

I ended up buying a Superflower Leadex III 650W while the RMA was underway with the possibility of selling it and re fitting the replacement, but 1000W is overkill for a 6600K / 970. I originally started with a 650W AX which was replaced with an 860W AXi and finally replaced with a 1000W HXi.

 

[VaderDSL]

How is the fan noise on the Leadex III when it kicks in? I'm thinking of getting one.

It has 3 modes controlled by a three way switch on the rear of the PSU. 0, I, II

0 = always on,
I = semi-passive,
II = hotter semi-passive (fans come on at higher temp than mode I).

I've ran with mode 0 and it is spinning at lowest RPM all the time and I can't hear it over my case fans, on I am assuming it's not spinning at all. My system doesn't really put a lot of load on it if I'm honest. Been happy with the PSU so far. Only slight minus are the cables aren't as nice as the higher priced Corsair.