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XFX PSU Fan noise

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  • Power Supplies
  • Processors
  • XFX
  • Cooling
  • Fan
  • Components
Last response: in Components
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July 21, 2014 8:11:05 AM

So hi.

I bought a XFX Pro 550w PSU about 5/6 months ago after my old one broke, and I got it replaced because I didn't have the equipment to test whether it really was the PSU or if it was another component, but the PC repairman I got to replace it put in a EZcool 650w, which as you can tell from the name, was terrible. So I had to buy a XFX one to replace that (sigh).

But, point being, for the first few months I didn't notice any load noise or anything, everything was fine, but then a little while later I upgraded my CPU from a Phenom x2 550 BE to a FX 6300, and I changed the motherboard from an old shitty budget Gigabyte one (that was put in by the same guy a few years before....) to a ASUS M5A97 LE, and I changed the CPU cooler from an Arctic cooling freezer 7 to a CM hyper 212 evo, and replaced a generic case fan with a Corsair one.
Before this upgrade I didn't notice any loud noise from the PSU, it might have been less noticeable because the old fan & CPU cooler were a lot more noisy, but I doubt it, now the PSU fan is still very quiet when idle, but when I play a game it spins up much faster (probably going from about 600rpm to 1200rpm or so, and even though this still isn't that fast the fan makes a ton of noise, and my PC goes from fairly quiet to doing an impression of a quietish vacuum cleaner.
Fun.


Anybody got any ideas why this happens now, after upgrading my CPU? Surely the CPU doesn't require all that much more power over the old one, and why would it cause the fan to become so much noisier? Is this normal for XFX PSUs (even though it was fine before the upgrade), or has my one probably developed a problem? It's still under warranty so I can probably return it, because this noise really is pretty bad. It's not too noticeable when wearing headphones, but it's still there in the background.

More about : xfx psu fan noise

a c 144 ) Power supply
July 21, 2014 8:40:58 AM

I'm going to speculate that the PSU needs a cleaning. To that end I'll suggest removing the PSU from the case and using some compressed air to blow it out real good. Be sure to work all the corners, the plastic wand works great for that and keep working it until no more dust/debris comes out. If that doesn't do the trick, you might try changing the orientation of the PSU.
See if either calms the PSU down some.
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July 21, 2014 1:00:18 PM

Hmm, I only got it a few months ago and since then my PC has been pretty dust free, I've been cleaning out most of my PC every month or two, although I haven't actually blown compressed air into the PSU, so it might have some dust in there, but why would it happen straight after upgrading, seems unlikely.

Only thing I can really think of is that something in the new mobo is causing the PC to draw a lot more power from the PSU than necessary, and it's getting hotter and the fans spinning faster. But I'm not sure, do you have any other ideas?
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a b ) Power supply
July 22, 2014 8:37:49 AM

I thought my XFX TS 550 was being noisy so I swapped in a new XFX TS 550. It turned out the sound was from something besides the XFX TS 550.
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a c 144 ) Power supply
July 22, 2014 9:53:00 AM

listening through a paper towel tube should help isolate the source, I'm going with graphics
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July 22, 2014 10:17:20 AM

It's the PSU fan.
I've tried stopping every fan for a couple of seconds by pressing on the center of the fan gently, the noise goes away when I stop the PSU fan.
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a b ) Power supply
July 22, 2014 10:50:09 AM

Sometimes things just happens. You should probably RMA it since the fan could die or not work well enough to cool off the components inside the power supply.
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July 22, 2014 11:33:35 AM

Could I just replace the PSU fan myself? Anybody know if it's likely to be a problem with the fan itself, or with the PSU telling the fan to spin too fast?
I mean, the PSU fan seems to be just a normal fan, what size fan should I replace with with?
This video here shows the fan being replaced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51cc0rHFwOc

Or would it just be a much better idea to RMA it, hmm? I just don't feel like waiting about 2 weeks with no PC because of a noisy fan... but if it's the easiest solution...
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a b ) Power supply
July 22, 2014 12:02:09 PM

EDIT: XFX TS 550 for $27 after $25 rebate till 7/29/2014
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

A good double bearing fan rated for a 5 year warranty period would probably be around $20. I paid $27 after rebate for my XFX TS 550 so if it is still running well, you could wait for a rebate sale, buy another one and then RMA it.

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September 9, 2014 3:28:24 PM

Oh god.....

So, I finally managed to RMA it with Scan, and they sent me a newer TS series 550w PSU back, I put it in, everything seems fine, then start up Counter strike, load a match, whirrrrrrrrrrrr and my PC gets about 3x noisier.

I've tried setting my GPU fan to full speed, it's a completely different sound, and my CPU fan and 1 intake and 1 outtake never go faster than around 1500rpm, and I've tried stopping them, none of them cause the noise to stop, and it's the exact same noise I got with the old Pro series 550w PSU. Is this some problem with all of XFX's 550w PSUs? It seems incredibly unlikely that a new PSU would happen to also be defective, the noise started with the Pro series after I changed my mobo to a M5a97 LE and the CPU to a FX 6300, I'm really not sure why that would have an effect on the PSU noise though, since, AFAIK the motherboard doesn't have any interaction with the PSU apart from receiving power from it, could overvolting the CPU be causing this?
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