PSU noise and recommendations

cawill · 21 Jun 2013 at 22:28

Hi All,

Recently bought a new pc off overclockers with this corsair psu:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £54.98
Total : £64.88 (includes shipping : £8.25).

I "RMA'd" the first PSU as I heard a loud buzzing noise and received a replacement which is worse. I can hear a buzzing noise from the other side of my room and even when the TV is on next to it. Is this normal and am I just being fussy?

Having had a search around the forum it would appear it's either coil whine or a loud fan? Is this just normal for this PSU? Would anyone please give me there recommendation on what they would do in this situation?

Deleted member 2277 · 21 Jun 2013 at 22:34

Does it produce the buzzing at idle or underload?

cawill · 21 Jun 2013 at 22:34

This is all at idle.

Deleted member 2277 · 21 Jun 2013 at 22:37

I have the CX 430 and it doesn't produce any noise when idle. It's unusual for 2 PSU's to have the same fault. Are you sure it's not a case fan, graphics card etc? Coil whine normally occurs when the PSU is under load.

Mynight · 21 Jun 2013 at 22:37

My friend has the same psu on his gaming pc and its quiet but does whine under heavy load(80%+) its not the quietest psu around but it shouldn't be as loud as you describe, well not from the only comparison I have.

Found another thread on a competitors site saying they had a squeal noise and traced it back to a slightly bent fan mesh making contact with the fan.

Still unlikely to be the same on both:/

cawill · 21 Jun 2013 at 22:40

Deleted member 2277 said:
I have the CX 430 and it doesn't produce any noise when idle. It's unusual for 2 PSU's to have the same fault. Are you sure it's not a case fan, graphics card etc?

I had wondered the same but I've turned my graphics card fan down and still hear it. Because of my case the psu fan is at the top (Temjin TJ08-e).

EDIT: I will remove the graphics card soon and test.

Greybeard · 21 Jun 2013 at 22:51

Have you tried a different PSU by any chance besides the 2 Corsair PSU? I just want to make sure that it is indeed coming from the PSU and not something else.

If you can hear the noise across the room with the TV on, then I have to say that is not normal.

Was the RMA done by Corsair or Overclockers?

Greybeard · 21 Jun 2013 at 22:56

Also, you might want to check this one out - It's worth looking into.

cawill · 21 Jun 2013 at 22:59

Greybeard said:
Also, you might want to check this one out - It's worth looking into.

Thank you, i'll read into it.

Greybeard said:
Was the RMA done by Corsair or Overclockers?

Overclockers handled that, all went very smoothly.

cawill · 23 Jun 2013 at 22:07

So I have disabled all options posted in Greybeards link, removed the graphics card and the noise was still the same. I stopped the PSU fan, the noise stopped. So now I know it's the PSU fan, what options do I have? Can I RMA the PSU, return it and buy a different model? Or do I have to accept that I bought a PSU that works fine, but has a noise level I'm not happy with?

riskyfrisky · 24 Jun 2013 at 11:36

cawill said:
So I have disabled all options posted in Greybeards link, removed the graphics card and the noise was still the same. I stopped the PSU fan, the noise stopped. So now I know it's the PSU fan, what options do I have? Can I RMA the PSU, return it and buy a different model? Or do I have to accept that I bought a PSU that works fine, but has a noise level I'm not happy with?

If it's as bad as you are saying then I wouldn't accept it. Ring OCUK or post in the customer service section and explain the issue. How do these PSU's get through testing? There's no way anyone would want to listen to such a noise, and the fact it's happening at idle is unacceptable.

rids57 · 24 Jun 2013 at 14:05

I had a Corsair GS 700 that was making an ungodly noise but was otherwise fully functional. Posted in the CS section and an RMA was organised and I got a full refund which I put towards my current PSU.

cawill · 24 Jun 2013 at 19:03

rids57 said:
I had a Corsair GS 700 that was making an ungodly noise but was otherwise fully functional. Posted in the CS section and an RMA was organised and I got a full refund which I put towards my current PSU.

riskyfrisky said:
If it's as bad as you are saying then I wouldn't accept it. Ring OCUK or post in the customer service section and explain the issue. How do these PSU's get through testing? There's no way anyone would want to listen to such a noise, and the fact it's happening at idle is unacceptable.

Ok thanks I will do.

Any recommendations on PSU with a fan that only spins when required? or a fanless PSU?

Philtor · 24 Jun 2013 at 19:29

cawill said:
Any recommendations on PSU with a fan that only spins when required? or a fanless PSU?

Have a look at the Seasonic range.

Greybeard · 24 Jun 2013 at 22:02

cawill said:
Ok thanks I will do.

Any recommendations on PSU with a fan that only spins when required? or a fanless PSU?

It must have been just a bad unit right off the bat. I'd still try to swap it out from OCUK and get the same model as a replacement. Otherwise, the closest series to the CX that would have the fan less mode are the GS series and TX series.

cawill · 24 Jun 2013 at 22:14

Thanks, I don't mind spending more for something of high quality. I shall have a look.