SPCR

i just built a new PC from ground up focusing on silent operation. my case is a p180b. recently i've noticed that my psu has become louder than it was before, making the system too loud for my taste. i can barely hear the fans; 1x120mm s-flex @900rpm on a thermalright cpu heatsink, 1x120mm nexus outtake @800rpm (which is starting to click), 1x120mm s-flex intake in bottom chamber in front of 4xHDD, and 1x92mm nexus @ 1000rpm on a thermalright gpu heatsink. i'm pretty new to the modding and quieting scene so i don't know much if anything at all. but could it be that the heat from my gpu is being dumped down and into the psu making it ramp up quickly and remain there? i wish i could put up some pics but my camera's broke. here are my specs:

abit ip35 pro
corsair hx620w psu
intel core 2 quad q6600
g.skill 2gb ddr2 pc26400
evga 8800gtx
4xhdd's, 1xdvd

any advice would be much appreciated!

It sounds like your four drives are creating a little too much heat for the PSU.

Have you tried removing the louvered vent in front of the lower chamber? This was recommended by MikeC recently. This should allow a little more air through and might be enough.

If that doesn't work, you might experiment and move two of the drives to the upper chamber to see if it calms down your PSU.

It also just occurred to me that you could turn the PSU fan (warranty voiding) and HDD fans around so they pull air in from the rear and exhaust through the front. That way the PSU always gets cold air. But if the case is sitting on the floor it might gunk up your PSU with dust bunnies rather quickly.

It also just occurred to me that you could turn the PSU fan (warranty voiding) and HDD fans around so they pull air in from the rear and exhaust through the front.

If the door is closed this hot air would likely then get sucked back into the upper chamber raising the ambient temperature of the upper intake air and reducing cooling in the upper chamber.

Is the PSU sitting fan up or fan down? In any case, the isolation between chambers should keep the downdraft effect from the graphic fan to a minimum. Have you closed off the grill around the PSU?

xentrex wrote: any advice would be much appreciated!

Are you sure it's the PSU? If you still have the stock fan on the 8800GTX it should be way louder than the PSU fan.

Hmm, I'm thinking to buy this one too

I have three HX620s.

1. My brand-new out of the box one (at the time) was VERY smooth with just the ATX pins shorted.

2. My second used one had a chug-a-chug fan noise, so I only use that to test my new parts.

3. My third used one had the same chug-a-chug fan noise, currently putting it in a system I'm selling.

I'm (still) rebuilding my main PC so hopefully I'll remember to test the PSU alone and see if it has become louder than it was brand new.

Just wanted to update my previous post. The HX620 that I purchased brand new is now making chugging noises similar to the ones that I had purchased used.

zoob wrote:Just wanted to update my previous post. The HX620 that I purchased brand new is now making chugging noises similar to the ones that I had purchased used.

I bought a HX-520 a couple of weeks ago, and today I tested it by shorting the pins. I am hearing the chugging noises, like its scrapping against something. When I turn the PSU switch off, the noise disappears as the fan is spinning down.

I am going to try to exchange it, since I bought it locally. However, should I expect this with the other PSU I get? Should I just try to swap the fan?

sdheda wrote:

zoob wrote:Just wanted to update my previous post. The HX620 that I purchased brand new is now making chugging noises similar to the ones that I had purchased used.

I bought a HX-520 a couple of weeks ago, and today I tested it by shorting the pins. I am hearing the chugging noises, like its scrapping against something. When I turn the PSU switch off, the noise disappears as the fan is spinning down.

I am going to try to exchange it, since I bought it locally. However, should I expect this with the other PSU I get? Should I just try to swap the fan?

Wouldn't it be easier just to RMA it? Corsair gives it 5 year warranty for a reason.

thejamppa wrote: Wouldn't it be easier just to RMA it? Corsair gives it 5 year warranty for a reason.

Well, the store is closer and a RMA will take a couple of weeks.

Either way, I got it exchanged for another HX-520, and that also makes the same sound. I am guessing the fan in them is not good. I will most likely keep it and hope that placing it inside a P182 will not cause me to hear it. If it gets on my nerves then I will do a fan swap.

my HX620 is over a year old, still practically inaudible as the day I got it.

I often test my parts out of the case with no other fans, I can only hear it if I'm putting my ear next to it

Swapped in a Scythe S-Flex F and now the loudest things are my Yate Loons at 5V, and a low buzzing from my DD-CPX1 pump.

My Hitachi 1TB seeks are quite loud, so I think it's either time for AAM or a Samsung F1.

FYI the fan connector on the stock HX620 fan is the same as on the 40mm Scythe Mini Kaze. I broke both the stock fan and the sflex connectors by just trying to swap the pins and reusing the same plastic body.... woops.

I'm using a HX520 and to my surprise, it's one of the quietest PSU I have used.

I had it for about 6 months and it's still quiet. Only time it gets loud is if
my temps go up too high.

The loudest thing is my YateLoons at 5V.

I also find the hx520 sound signature the most prominent in my system, a rattling type of noise. The SPCR recording appears to be the same
http://www.silentpcreview.com/files/sou ... -22dba.mp3

If a fanswap isn't to complicated I might be doing that.

I get the same chugging sound after just six months of use! It irritates the hell out of me. I went through and checked everything in my pc.. every fan and it ended up being the HX 620.. maybe they did not secure for long time use or something.. kind of whirs up and down and up and down... Meanwhile the Seasonic M-12 700 with the extra fan runs much quieter due to this.

How about reviews of various power supplies not only when brand new, but a year later follow up??


Mike

Hello,

You might have a bum fan in the PSU -- you could ask for an RMA; or, you could replace the fan?

The easiest thing to truly silence this PSU is to swap the stock fan with an Sflex F. It takes maybe 15 minutes of your time, you save time without a PSU, and the cost for shipping pays for a nice high quality FDB fan.

How are Corsair regarding warranty on that? If we do the fan swap, are we stuck with $150 door stop if the PSU goes belly up, or can we still get an RMA?

Hello,

I'm pretty sure that doing a fan swap would void the warranty. But -- if you do the fan swap properly, then it would be very unlikely to cause the PSU to fail. A bird in hand...