Corsair HX620W driving me insane, what should I do?

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

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tackle
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Corsair HX620W driving me insane, what should I do?

Post by tackle » Fri Mar 27, 2009 6:58 am

So a few years back I bought the Corsair HX620W PSU. The one I have now is my third cause I exchanged the two first due to coil buzzing. This one still does it from time to time, but I figured all of them eventually do, and I didn't want to send it back another time just to get a fourth bad one.

In any case, I haven't used the PSU for about 6 months, and now I've started building a silent Antec Solo rig based off of this PSU.

It is NOT quiet, the fan makes it sound like a twittering bird. If I stop the fan (que tip) it goes completely quiet, and I realize how bad it sounds when it's running. It's not very loud, but the noise character is horrible compared to the rest of the system (nexus fans, one samsung and one WD harddrive and even a geforce 8800gts with original cooling) which sounds a lot better.

In line with the economy failing, the store I bought it from (datorbutiken.com in sweden) had gone bankrupt last year, and now has new owners. I'm not sure yet if I can try to return it yet again for another one, still waiting for their reply.

Since I want the "ultimate" silent system I'm thinking about getting another PSU, either the Nexus Value for apparantly good silence (but no modular cables which I really prefer), or maybe an Enermax. I can't buy the Enermax though cause they don't have them in Sweden.

Lastly I'm thinking maybe I should try and make a fanswap myself and see if that solves the problem. But then I void the 5-year warranty.

If I can't return it to the swedish store for a new one, does anyone know who pays the shipping if I have to send it to corsair themselves, which could possibly be overseas?

EDIT: Turns out I cannot RMA the PSU with the seller. They can help me out with contacting the distributor but it will "most likely" cost me some shipping and whatnot. DOH!

MikeC
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Post by MikeC » Fri Mar 27, 2009 8:31 am

If it's just the fan, why not try a fan swap? It is connected with a 2-pin plug, and the pins on the PCB will easily take a 3-pin standard fan header that goes into a motherboard. See this article -- http://www.silentpcreview.com/Simple_PS ... _Technique

Good fans options -- just about any quiet 120x25mm fan rated for 1200~1800rpm, preferably not a sleeve bearing -- tho they will work, they can develop noise and/or fail more quickly than ball or hybrid bearings.

Of course, I need to tell you to be careful opening up a PSU, high voltages, etc, but really, unless you're going to be poking around stupidly in there while the thing is plugged into AC, your risk if you're reasonably careful is extremely low. I've hacked inside hundreds (sometimes with them plugged in and running -- never a shock -- don't try it at home -- knock on wood) w/o any issues.

tackle
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Post by tackle » Fri Mar 27, 2009 9:03 am

Thanks for the advice Mike.

I was actually just reading the old thread about draining PSU's from power, and all the shocking people has suffered.
I myself was shocked when in the USA; I had one of those converters from EU plug to US plug, and it was plugged into the wall.
It was really hard to pull it out, but I managed to get it out a little bit, like almost a centimeter.
Then, came the not so clever move. To get a better grip of the plug and be able to pull it out, I grabbed it sort of from behind, meaning I put my left index finger touching one of the metal pins, and the right index on the other pin. The circuit was complete, and dancing ensued!

It wasn't as bad as I had feared, but I sure learned my lesson!

Ok, so back to the subject:

If I were to do a fan swap, could you recommend a fan?
If you have the time, see this list of fans from a store:
https://www.inet.se/datorkomponenter/ky ... /flaektar/
They have nexus, noctuas and scythes, and I hope one of those could do the job. I just don't know which types are what bearing.

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Post by MikeC » Fri Mar 27, 2009 9:16 am

Scythe 120mm S-FLEX 1600 175 kr (Fluid Dynamic Bearing)

or

Scythe 120mm Slip Stream Fan, 1600rpm 85kr (sleeve)

The original fan is an Adda rated for ~2200rpm, and the starting voltage on the fan controller is 4V. So either of the above fans should start when you power up -- or very soon thereafter as the heat in the PSU builds up a little (causing the fan controller to up the fan voltage). It's perfectly safe to have the fan start not right away -- at typical idle (40~80w load), the PSU will only generate 10~20W of heat.

aristide1
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Post by aristide1 » Fri Mar 27, 2009 9:17 am

I would inquire to Corsair. Let them recommend a fan, and that way if you have any problems in the future the fan itself would not become the issue.

It would be nice if you could pot a coil, like they do transformers. That's when the thing is encased is shellac or something like that.

http://www.harpamps.com/micKdiy/Potting ... rmers.html

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Post by MikeC » Fri Mar 27, 2009 9:26 am

aristide1 wrote:I would inquire to Corsair. Let them recommend a fan, and that way if you have any problems in the future the fan itself would not become the issue.
They'll never recommend a fan. No mfg would.

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Post by aristide1 » Fri Mar 27, 2009 1:51 pm

Would they sell him a fan?

tackle
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Post by tackle » Fri Mar 27, 2009 2:12 pm

If they would, I suppose it would the same kind of ADDA fan already installed?

From my gatherings so far a Scythe would be quieter than an ADDA (?)

aristide1
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Post by aristide1 » Fri Mar 27, 2009 2:27 pm

Perhaps an Adda one speed rating lower?

Kaleid
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Post by Kaleid » Fri Mar 27, 2009 6:04 pm

You could also try a Silverstone PSU cover. For me it worked well in making my former buzzing Seasonic PSU quiet.

Bruce Banner
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Post by Bruce Banner » Mon Mar 30, 2009 12:22 am

i never hear my 620hx fan, maybe mine is just stuck at really low?
I can never tell cause the fan is facing down.
Mine doesn't make any noise, i guess i got lucky unless my fan really isn't working properly and stuck on slow

Redzo
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Post by Redzo » Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:16 am

I can recomend Scythe 120mm S-FLEX 1600 175 kr (Fluid Dynamic Bearing) as a good replacement. Stay away from Scythe 120mm Slip Stream Fan, 1600rpm. I did use SlipStream in one of my own PSU fan swap but it started to make grinding noise just 1 week after swap, took it out and it was broken. Blades had really hard time spinning even if I moved them with my finger.
And that SlipStream was brand new when I changed fans. S-FLEX has been in there for 4 months now with now noise and no issues at all.

tackle
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Post by tackle » Mon Mar 30, 2009 10:15 am

S-flex it is, then.
Just have to gather some courage to open the PSU.. :)

Bruce Banner
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Post by Bruce Banner » Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:39 pm

I just got Sflex's, noise wise, the enermax magmas i have are quieter and move similar air.
I think a magma would work for a PSU

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