Is My HX520 Faulty?

Charuto · Post by **Charuto** » Thu May 03, 2007 3:20 pm

I've slowly been updating my machine with parts from SPCR's recommended lists. Recently the HX520 went on sale, and I decided to jump on the deal. One review I read claimed that it would be hard to tell if the psu was on or off because of how quiet it is. With the one I purchased, this is definitely not the case. It is by no means loud, but noticeably audible even as I stand 10 feet away from it.

My computer draws no more than 65 watts at any given time (according to my Kill-A-Watt plug), so I don't think the psu fan is ramping up on me. The case is an Antec Solo with only the stock fan running on low, and I've run it without the fan to see if that helped matters. It did not. With the fan on, nothing except the HD registered at over 31 degrees celcius in Speedfan.

Is it possible I received a bad sample or did I have unrealistic expectations?

oso · Post by **oso** » Thu May 03, 2007 4:37 pm

If you can hear it over the Tri-cool, you probably got a bad sample.

japroach · Post by **japroach** » Sat May 12, 2007 5:53 pm

Sorry to hijack, but have a similar concern.

With no load I get a decent whine coming from the supply, which someone mentioned will go away at higher loads. It does diminish, but not completely.

Anyway, with a small load (5W say) I'm also getting 450mV peak of switching oscillation. This seems very high, but I dont have a whole lot to compare it to (I have a cheap 200W psu, with about 300mV).

Next I tried a 7A load, and the output voltage drops from 12.06 to 11.80V. Still within spec, but I saw nothing like this in the SPC review (11.96V with a 17A load!). Next an 11A load, and it drops even more to 11.70V (and starts to audibly hiss).

edit: I'm stupid :p. The voltage drop I'm reading is I2R losses. So reading from somewhere other than the loaded cable will net the proper 12.06V (12.04 @ 14A). But I'm still concerned about the oscillation and audible noise, I'm guessing this is not included in the psu ripple reading?

edit2: posted on corsair support, will see what they say.

Here is an example of the oscillation if you are curious: http://host.atomicfire.net/files/42/psu.jpg switching frequency appears to be 130kHz.

spacey · Post by **spacey** » Mon May 14, 2007 12:35 pm

hate to say it, but it sounds (pun intended) like you guys have bad samples.

i just built my new system over the weekend, and in the dead of night, i have trouble telling its on. its about 10 feet from my bed.

i have 3 120mm case fans that run at the slowest speeds possible plus the 120 mm fan on the hx520. those are the only things doing any sort of cooling in my computer. my cpu and video card are passive.

when i'm right next to my computer u can hear a low hum, i take that to be my exhaust side case fan though rather than the psu fan. so in my opinion, it should be fairly quiet.

i ordered my stuff from ncix.com about 2 weeks ago.

[F]bernZ · Post by **[F]bernZ** » Mon May 14, 2007 4:54 pm

Mine is quieter than a 2500KS's idle spindle noise.

Hardtailed · Post by **Hardtailed** » Mon May 14, 2007 5:31 pm

First thing I thought when I fired my computer up with the Corsair: shit it's dead!

Then the HD started spinning, the computer beeped and my screen came alive.

This thing rule.

But my system is most likely pulling around 120-150W...

Alex · Post by **Alex** » Tue May 15, 2007 9:06 am

As oso said, if you can hear your HX520 over any Antec Tricool at low something is probably wrong with it.

In a relatively quiet room (distant suburb background at night) I can barely hear my HX620 at 1 m (about 3-4 feet). At 2 m I can not hear it when the back of the P180B is facing away from me against a room wall.

This is after having turned off waterflow to the central heating of the room and also having shut down all lights and electrical things in my room.

Any 3.5" HDD that is not softmounted is normally louder than the Corsair PSU.
I have a WD5000YS in a Scythe Quiet Drive (less important) that is hanging very freely on rubber bands (very important). Only then my HDD got less loud than my PSU (except seeks).

Charuto · Post by **Charuto** » Sun May 20, 2007 7:11 pm

Does anyone have any experience RMA'ing with Corsair? I'm concerned because on their site it says everything is up to their discretion. So if I send it in and they determine that the noise level is adequate for any "normal" person (which it might be), then I'll be stuck with a bad sample and shipping costs.

japroach · Post by **japroach** » Mon May 21, 2007 2:54 pm

Charuto wrote:Does anyone have any experience RMA'ing with Corsair? I'm concerned because on their site it says everything is up to their discretion. So if I send it in and they determine that the noise level is adequate for any "normal" person (which it might be), then I'll be stuck with a bad sample and shipping costs.

From what I've read on their forums, they will replace the unit even if it isn't 100% clear that it is a problem. Just make sure to post the issue on there and get a confirmation.

Whether or not the new replacement has the same defect, who knows (supposedly its a small percentage).

http://www.houseofhelp.com/forums/forum ... .php?f=178

Charuto · Post by **Charuto** » Mon May 21, 2007 11:43 pm

Thank you. I did not know of that forum.