PSU Whining

[dpDesignz]

Hey All!

Long time no post. My PSU has just randomly started whining. Any suggestions? It is from 2010/11 so maybe time for an upgrade...

Video at https://www.dropbox.com/s/mw7qau6a8a...57.16.mp4?dl=0

Cheers

[chiefnz]

I would start by giving it a clean.... The Corsair's are pretty solid and a 7-10 lifespan is a reasonable expectation, the last one I had was 11 years old before I ditched it and there was nothing wrong with it, i just needed a higher powered unit for the GTX970 was running.

Looks like it is pretty dusty so I'd give it a good clean, compressed air to flush out all the gunk etc. and then re-fit it.

If it still continues to make that whiny sound, then yeah might be time for a new unit.

Cheers,

[wainuitech]

Yep, bearing in the Fan (inside PUS) is wearing out from dust etc. It happens.

Sometimes you can clean them and they quieten down for a while other times not.

[piroska]

I went off Corsair some time ago, was getting to many failures on new builds.

However it's a fan, take it apart and clean it out.

[dugimodo]

I had a silverstone PSU with a noisy fan so I just replaced it with a standard case fan. I cut the fan plug off a molex to 3 pin fan adapter and joined it onto the PSU fan wires with a bit of solder and heatsink tubing.
That way if it fails again I can just plug in any standard 3 pin case fan. The PSU only had 2 wires so I just cut off the third wire and used the red and black - it's just a speed sensor anyway.
Leaving the full length of wire attached requires a bit of tidying but it's not difficult.

If you do this though it's worth checking what bearing type the fan has, I forget which type it is it is but the most common bearing on the cheaper fans does not usually last well when mounted horizontally.

[dpDesignz]

Thanks everyone! I did give it a quick clean out before taking that video but I think I'll shut my PC down fully and pull it out for a proper clean and see how that goes. It doesn't seem to be doing it at the moment anyway and that was the first time I heard it.

@Piroska what brand did you switch to and why? Very interested to know as I'm about to build a new PC anyway so interested in the options you went for.

[Agent_24]

Brand doesn't matter in PSUs really so much as the model/design and specifically, what quality of capacitors they use, and whether they use shitty 'tan' coloured glue or not. (that stuff goes corrosive over time and ruins everything).
The choice of capacitors and glue goes up and down over time between practically all brands. So one model from one brand will be great, and another model from the same brand a year later might be rubbish.

Best thing to do is check review sites like https://www.hardwaresecrets.com/category/power/ who actually open the PSU and check the build quality (and do proper load tests).

[Lawrence]

Jonny Guru is the authority for power supplies

https://www.jonnyguru.com

Now with Corsair

[piroska]

@Piroska what brand did you switch to and why?

Antec.

Although as Agent24 says, its whats inside that matters.
As he has already provided a link I won't, there are a few that tell you.

I don't use low end ones, whatever the brand. Higher end ones tend to have the better parts in them. Generally, can't always trust that.

Another crude test is weight, the heavier the better,. But really, check your choice against that site.......

[1101]

Most PSU barnds dont even make them. They just buy off another manufacturer & slap their label on it.