Corsair HX650 power supply sound faults

[johnbentley]

I have just initiated a return request at my local shop in virtue of two sound faults with a new Corsair HX650 power supply. SilentPCReview users will want to know and any other Corsair HX650 owners may want to add their experience.

Part Number: CP-9020030-AU
Part Description: Corsair HX650, 650 Watt, ATX Power Supply

On the box (Perhaps this constitutes a "serial number"):
"Lot#": 12367005; "75 P/N": 75-001217

There are two faults with the power supply unit. These faults reveal themselves slightly differently in the two desktop computer systems in which I have tested the power supply unit.


CLICKING SOUND FAULT

The first fault is that when the fan in the power supply unit turns off there is a click. The fan is meant to start and stop by design, in response to more or less power/temperature. However, this clicking is a problem.

This was noticeable in my first system where:

* The power supply was positioned with the power supply unit fan facing upwards. The power supply is installed in the bottom of the case.
* The starting and stopping of the fan happened frequently (this may be due to the unique power requirements in the first system) and the click was therefore irritating.

In my second system this fault does not appear. My second system has the power supply unit fan installed facing downwards, also with the power supply installed in the bottom of the case (the case is designed to do this, with a gap in the bottom for the power supply to draw sufficient air). In this configuration I don't notice any clicking.

This fault is relatively minor since when it is occurs at all the click is soft.


CHIRPING SOUND FAULT

The serious fault is an intermittent chirping or squealing sound coming from the power supply unit. This occurred in both test systems although in the second system it was more pronounced.

The chirping sound is intermittent. A system can go 2 - 6 hours without any chirping; a bout of chirping can occur; silence for some more hours; then another bout of chirping.

Find a video of this at, Corsair HX650 Power Supply Chirping. The video demonstrates the chirping sound with my particular unit.

Other users have posted youtube videos that demonstrate the same sort of problem. For example:

* HX650 fan squealing; and
* New Corsair HX650 PSU Squeaking

This Chirping Sound occurred on the first day of install. It took a few days to notice it (I thought it might be some kind of motherboard beep code at first). When I installed it in my second system it was more pronounced (occurring more frequently for example).

I took some time to see if the problem might go away. Maybe it was an issue of having the power supply broken in.

However on further investigation I noted on the Corsair forums there is a user who reports an identical problem, under HX650 Squeeling. This is the same user that posted their problem to youtube as "New Corsair HX650 PSU Squeaking" (link above).

A Corsair representative, "RAM GUY Corsair Product Guru" requests, in response to this problem, that the user "Please use the link on the left to request an RMA". That is, the kind of response from Corsair to this problem is to have the unit sent back to them rather than have the user further troubleshoot and apply some kind of fix.


A SYSTEMATIC PROBLEM?

In any production run there may be a small number of faulty units that slip pass quality control. So that some users have this kind of chirping sound problem is not necessarily representative of the entire HX650 production run.

However, due to the nature of this problem it seems plausible that this is a design problem in a larger than normal run of units (I'd rather not risk having an identical problem with a replacement unit).

A previous Corsair model, a HX620w, has been running without problems for 3 years.


START AND STOP FANS

The experience has also made be a bit weary of start and stop fans in power supply units. So I have on order an Enermax 800W MODU87+, that starts the fan at low rpm and revs it up as needed; chosen over a Seasonic 660W X-Series, which has a start and stop fan.

Seasonic 860W Platinum (or any in the Platinum series) looks ideal as it provides a physical switch for "Hybrid" (fan start and stop mode) and "Normal" (start at low rpm and rev up as needed). If there was some problem in Hybrid mode the ability to flick the switch would save having to return the unit.

And yes these power draw numbers are ridiculous. Testing in my new rig (FurMark and Prime95 (Concurrent)) ...

Motherboard: Intel DZ77GA-70K.
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770. 64 bit. Quad-Core. 3.4 GHz. LGA1155
Graphics card: ASUS GTX 680 DirectCU II PCI-E 3.0
Operating System: Microsoft Microsoft Windows 8 Pro - DVD, 64-Bit

... yields a maximum power draw of 189 Watts.

This is so low that I remain doubtful of my result. For comparison a SilentPCReview FurMark and Prime95 (Concurrent) test, by Mike Chin 2012-08-15, AVADirect Quiet Gaming PC with GTX680 produces a draw of 345W.

In any case it seems clear manufacturer's are marketing to us with these > 500W power units. The problem is that the < 500W units in the market where I am, Australia, lacks the features I'm after (like modular cables).