cookybiscuit :
Does it if I shutdown/hibernate/sleep from the start menu too. I don't really care about the noise just wanted to make sure its safe to use.
As far as coil whine, is it common for high wattage PSU's to do it? I can't hear it unless my head is pretty close to the case, doesn't seem to change with load, though for whatever reason it whines in time with the movement of my mouse.
My last PSU was a 500w Silverstone one, and I've used a piece of shit no brand 700w one that doesn't do it. If its pretty common I'll just keep it because I've heard of people replacing them over and over and still not getting a good one.
The relay should disengage any time the PSU goes into low power mode (where only the 5VSB is active, I THINK). So if you sleep (deep sleep), hibernate, restart, or shut down, the click noise should be there.
As for the coil-whine, it is hard to pin point what exact component is causing it. It is usually triggered when a certain device is combined with the PSU in such a way as to make one particular (or more) coil(s) whine. I would suggest, that if the noise isn't excessive (as in, you can bear with it), then forget it. There is no guarantee that a replacement PSU (same model or NOT) won't whine, as it is impossible to test the PSU in combination with every component to ensure the combination won't whine. But typically, these noises in the PSU are faint (faint electrical buzzing noises).
If you are unable to bear with the noise (coil-whine), or if it seems to get worse, you should probably swap it with the manufacturer. Corsair is usually pretty good on support.