Seasonic s12 getting noisier -> maintenance?

ki_cz · Post by **ki_cz** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 1:50 am

My seasonic s12 power supply has gotten quite a bit noisier since the day I bought it, I'm assuiming that it comes with time, but I was wondering if there was anything I could do to ensure that the noise levels remain as low as possible. I'm assuming that dust, etc. would have something to do with it, is there any way that I can keep my "quiet" system running as quiet as possible, even with all of the moving parts?

jermaink · Post by **jermaink** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 3:53 am

Yeah, I had 1 S12 which began clicking after a week or so. The replacement I've got occasionally (usually when at load) gives off a bit of a buzzing noise.

Volume wise, the noise isn't too bad (though my system isn't silent silent, uses 4 Nexus fans), though it's less than ideal.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 7:13 am

My seasonic s12 power supply has gotten quite a bit noisier since the day I bought it, I'm assuiming that it comes with time, but I was wondering if there was anything I could do to ensure that the noise levels remain as low as possible.

Swap the fan for a 120mm Nexus/Yate Loon?

nici · Post by **nici** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 7:44 am

Is it getting noisier in like the fan increasing in speed or is it getting louder as in developing clickng/grinding from the bearings or motor or is it whining from the coils?

If its the fan speeding up and you havent made any changes to the system you could use some compressed air to blow out the dust. Cant think of anything else than dust being the problem if your system is as before and the fan is running faster now, unless your room is warmer than before wich just might up the temperature enough for the fan to ramp up in speed.

ki_cz · Post by **ki_cz** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 9:10 am

nici wrote:Is it getting noisier in like the fan increasing in speed or is it getting louder as in developing clickng/grinding from the bearings or motor or is it whining from the coils?

If its the fan speeding up and you havent made any changes to the system you could use some compressed air to blow out the dust. Cant think of anything else than dust being the problem if your system is as before and the fan is running faster now, unless your room is warmer than before wich just might up the temperature enough for the fan to ramp up in speed.

I think it might be the dust, I'll consider swapping the fans, but I'd like to avoid this. It's still damn quiet, it's not ramping up, it just seems as though there is more of a low pitched noise coming from it than before.

ki_cz · Post by **ki_cz** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 1:05 am

This is definitely beginning to piss me off, it's definitely louder than when I bought it, but I am unsure why, I seriously hope it's not the quality because it's not exactly a cheap PSU. I suppose I could replace the fan, but that deinitely seems like a lot of work, especially after only having the PSU for 4 months. I have 2 nexus 120mm fans and 1 nexus 90mm fan in the case and they are all still as quiet as the day I got them, is there any kind of cleaning I can do or anything? No new components have been added ....

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 5:40 am

Greetings,

Is it just a build-up of dust in the PSU itself, and/or on the main intake of the case? If so, a quick vacuuming would do the trick!

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:29 am

I suppose I could replace the fan, but that deinitely seems like a lot of work

It's not as much work as it sounds, because IIRC the S12 fan is plugged into a standard 2-pin Molex connector, so all you have to do to swap it is get a 2-pin to 3-pin converter like this:

3-pin to 2-pin adapter

The problem with swapping the fan is that you void the warranty.

If so, a quick vacuuming would do the trick!

Be very careful sticking a domestic vacuum cleaner into an open PC case. They generate huge static electricity buildups when in operation, so could zap your PC/CPU/mobo.

ki_cz · Post by **ki_cz** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:52 am

What about removing the stock fan and just "attaching" a 120mm fan to the bottom of the ps and having it run off of a normal connector from the power supply? That way I wouldn't be stuck taking apart fans which I have no idea how to do?

ultraboy · Post by **ultraboy** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 2:39 am

If you connect the fan using the normal PSU connector, you'll be bypassing the fan control circuit of PSU. As a result your PSU fan will always be on 12V or whatever voltage you set it on - unless you want to connect it through external fan control which require some work to set it up properly with temp probe - an execrcise I guess you may not want to do.

On the other hand, I believe one of the reason the Seasonic gets its recommended status here at SPCR is because of its good implementation of fan control circuit. So your best bet would be to clean up your current fan - if it doesn't improve, then fan swap would be in order.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:23 am

What about removing the stock fan and just "attaching" a 120mm fan to the bottom of the ps and having it run off of a normal connector from the power supply? That way I wouldn't be stuck taking apart fans which I have no idea how to do?

You don't have to take apart the fan, you simply unplug it. Here is a thread with pictures showing how to do a fan swap on the S12 if you want to:

Badger Mods The S12

Also, it would be a shame to discard the S12's fan control circuit, as this is one of the things that makes the S12 so exceptional.

Of course you can do what you proposed if it's more convenient for you, which it probably will be. The only issues with bypassing the fan control circuit is:

1) The PSU may not get the cooling it needs,

2) You will have to control the fan speed externally, ie Zalman Fanmate, Sunbeam Rheobus, whatever.

ki_cz · Post by **ki_cz** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 4:44 am

Wow, I had no idea it was that simple, thought I had to dismantle a fan ala the old power supplies. Thanks for the link, I'll definitely get on it as soon as I find nexus fans where I live!

patord · Post by **patord** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 5:40 pm

Seasonic recently switched from ball bearing to sleeve based fans in their S12 PSU's. I have a couple of them. Since I bought most of them when the S12's first came out, all of them use ball bearings except one.

Can you tell if the one you have is ball or sleeve based fan? If the bearings are starting to go, the Seasonics have a 3 yr warranty. Why not send it in for a RMA and retain your warranty? I've been by their RMA office in CA before, and had PSU's RMA'd from the east coast. And their turnaround is very reasonable.

My RMA's before were for the SS400 fan controller issues long ago, and one for fan bearing issues.

*EDIT* they switched from sleeve (rev a1) to ball (rev a2) bearing fans. See MikeC's addendum to the S12 review.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 6:12 pm

Greetings,

patord wrote:Seasonic recently switched from ball bearing to sleeve based fans in their S12 PSU's.

I think it was the other way 'round, my friend. The earlier S12's (and the Super Tornado's before them) used Yate Loon medium speed sleeve bearing fans. Now they use Adda ball bearing fans.

patord · Post by **patord** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 10:39 am

NeilBlanchard wrote:Greetings,

patord wrote:Seasonic recently switched from ball bearing to sleeve based fans in their S12 PSU's.
I think it was the other way 'round, my friend. The earlier S12's (and the Super Tornado's before them) used Yate Loon medium speed sleeve bearing fans. Now they use Adda ball bearing fans.

I guess I was adding my *EDIT* about the bearing correction right when you posted this... but yes the fan vendors did change as you mentioned.

Post by **MikeC** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 11:54 am

ki_cz

This sounds like another ncomplete diagnosis to me. "more of a low pitched noise" -- are you really sure? Did you make any other changes to your system -- like a HDD swap or addition?

Or maybe you've just become more atuned to the noises of your PC. If you had a noisy system before and this one is much quieter, then initially, you would have thought, "Mmmm -- so quiet." But as time passes and you get accustomed to the new lower noise ambient, your hearing perceptivenss actually becomes more sensitive.

Think & consider & diagnose before making rash moves.

ki_cz · Post by **ki_cz** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 11:25 am

Ended up modding it with a b/w 120mm nexus fan and hooked it up to a sunbeam rheobus ... definitely quieter ... just push up the voltage if I'm doing something needing a lot of CPU power or something ... too bad the 2nd nexus fan that I got in the mail is a DUD!!!