Power supply fan ramped and stuck at 100%

EngageTheSun

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About 6-7 months ago, my power supply inside my DIY PC started ramping it's fan to 100% and stay there. I remember accidentally hitting a power switch with my foot that shut the PC off, but the ramping fan problem started about 2 days after that. Most of my MOBO utilities are up to date, but the BIOS isn't. Could a error within the BIOS be causing this? I can't remember where it was, but I saw a fan speed for my PSU. It told me it was running at 3000RPM's and at 100%. I've also turned the computer and the PSU fan wouldn't ramp up at all for about a good 10min. But, after that 10min of blissful silence, the fan ramps up and doesn't go down. I'm hopefully upgrading my PSU soon, but I wanted to know if there was any way to fix this without RMA'ing the unit or just get the new one.
 
Solution
A can of pressurized gas (sold in office supply stores) would be used to blow out dust.
Unless this removes a lot of dust, it probably won't help. Does anyone smoke around this PC? The tar from cigarette smoke attracts and holds dust. If the fan thermistor has become insulated, it will never cool off and the fan will ramp up.
PFC = Power Factor Correction. It is used to keep the current demand synchronized with the 50 or 60Hz oscillations of the incoming A/C voltage. It makes little difference on the consumer side, but is more efficient on the utility side. All 80+ PSUs (like yours) have a full-range active PFC circuit in them.
If your PSU is not able to cool itself, it could fail, yes. Typically only cheap junk dies in...
Hmmm, your PSU appears to be made by HEC, which does not enjoy a stellar reputation. Has it become clogged with dust? Just look through the vents; do not open a PSU unless you know what you are doing; the PFC capacitor in particular may maintain a very dangerous charge.
 

EngageTheSun

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I just looked from the back of the supply and everything looks clean. I have the PSU fan-down so I can't look through the fan side. Is there a chance that dusting could fix this problem? What would I need to use to blow all the dust out without taking off the casing? And could you explain what this PFC is? Could I have the danger of my PSU blowing up sky high and taking something valuable with it?
 
A can of pressurized gas (sold in office supply stores) would be used to blow out dust.
Unless this removes a lot of dust, it probably won't help. Does anyone smoke around this PC? The tar from cigarette smoke attracts and holds dust. If the fan thermistor has become insulated, it will never cool off and the fan will ramp up.
PFC = Power Factor Correction. It is used to keep the current demand synchronized with the 50 or 60Hz oscillations of the incoming A/C voltage. It makes little difference on the consumer side, but is more efficient on the utility side. All 80+ PSUs (like yours) have a full-range active PFC circuit in them.
If your PSU is not able to cool itself, it could fail, yes. Typically only cheap junk dies in spectacular fashion, often killing attached parts, but it's a chance always best not to take. Your system is probably drawing no more than 350W, so your PSU shouldn't be struggling to cool itself.
...unless it cannot pull in fresh air from beneath your case. Make sure you don't have it resting on carpet. If it is, cut a piece of plywood or fiberboard to fit under it, so the fan opening isn't smothered by the carpet.
 
Solution

EngageTheSun

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Thank you so much for the helpful tips. No one smokes around the computer, nor the entire room. I feel that the PSU is keeping itself cool because if you stick your hand near the exhaust, it's actually cooler than the exhaust from the PC. The PC is on top of my desk, so there shouldn't be any smothering by the desk, since the case still has it's feet. Do you think flipping the PSU would improve it?
 

EngageTheSun

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I took the dust filter off and I cleaned that off. I don't have any compressed air on me at the moment, so i'll most likely get to that over the weekend. After streaming 1080P video on YouTube for about 2 hours, the PSU feels lukewarm. Not overly hot or noticeably cold, just in the middle.
 

EngageTheSun

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The fan stays at 100% all the time. From boot to shutting down, the fan will stay at 100% load all the time. Looking inside Task Manager, the system is barely breaking a sweat, but the PSU fan is still running at 100% even with cold air pumping out like crazy.
 
The Corsair CX is NOT a good PSU! It reviews well when new, but is cited for early failures (<1 year) because of inferior Samxon capacitors that can't take the heat. C.Hegge at HardwareInsights has written about it (and recapped many), and the badcaps.org forums has more information about them.
 

EngageTheSun

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Yeah I most likely wasnt going that route anyways lol, it wouldnt look good with my build colors.
 


wow, clearly i did not know that. Thanks for the info. Would an antec earthwatts do instead?

Once you made sure that the PSU was not overheating from dust accumulation you were pretty sure the logic controlling fan speed on it was dead. I would not leave that PSU in any of my systems.
 

EngageTheSun

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Well it looks like the upgrade is the only thing I can do, ugh! Would you guys recommend the Corsair RM series? I want a silent PSU. Either something from Corsair or a quiet 1000w Seasonic would be a good. Any thoughts?
 

EngageTheSun

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I'm looking to upgrade to more power hungry hardware in the future (i7 4790K and GTX 970), would you still recommend the 750w varient of that Antec EarthWatts? The price for the 80 Plus Platinum rating is pretty stunning as well. One more question. Would these halt the performance of my power supply in any way (either these or another modding company makes them, ill link them when I can find them.)? I would like to have those, but i'm not sure if they affect the performance or life span of a PSU.
 
Even a 500W Antec Earthwatts would be sufficient for an i7-4790K and GTX970.
"Extension" cables are generally interchangeable, as they attach to standard ends, however PSU cables themselves should be ordered from the company that makes the PSU, unless the vendor guarantees compatibility with the specific PSU; this is because the attachment points at the PSU are not standardized.
 

EngageTheSun

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Thank you so much for helping me in this situation! Planning to get a Antec EarthWatts and some nice extension cables! Again, thank you so much for your support!