Seasonic PSU question about fan.

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hapkiman

hapkiman

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I just bought a new Seasonic 80+ Platinum SS-860XP2 860 watt unit for my build, in preparation for SLI-ing two 970s.

My question is this:

Does anyone have this same PSU and does their fan ever spin?

My fan never spins on the PSU. Ever.

The unit has the "Hybrid silent fan control system." And from what I can tell from the minimal explanation it has in the owners manual and their website, its supposed to come on after a certain load point or temp. But I have never seen it come on yet. Even under heavy load.

But… my system and the PSU seem to be working properly, and all readings shown in AIDA 64 and other utilities shows wattages are correct and all my other power readings are good. But I am wondering - why doesn’t the fan ever turn on? Do I have a defective unit?

Can someone explain the different fan modes to me a little clearer please? I know there is a small switch on the PSU. One is Normal mode, and the other Hybrid mode. I have tried both, and I see no difference. The fan doesn't ever come on in either mode.

Also I would think the fan would spin when I first power up the computer, but again it does not. Is this normal?

Like I said, my computer and the PSU seems to be working fine. Better than fine actually - its incredibly fast and without the fan it is completely silent. My office here where the computer sets is relatively cool, so it never really heats up, but I worry that I will shorten the life of this PSU if the fan never comes on -or that I just have a defective fan/PSU.

My system has been running for about 4 days straight now, and not a single crash, error, lock up or BSOD, so I know I have a very stable system. I have ran AIDA 64 Extreme stress test, played numerous games including Farcry 4, BF4, Crysis 3 - and all at max settings. No problems or hiccups, but the PSU fan still never came on.

I thought this was top of the line PSU, so I want it to be performing properly, and if I have a defective unit I want to get a new one ASAP.

Here are my system specs:

Case: Corsair Air 540 Mid Tower
CPU: Intel i7 4790k @4.4GHz
CPU cooler: Corsair H80i
Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 7
GPU: MSI Gaming GTX 970 4GB
SSD (BOOT): Samsung 840 EVO 250GB
HDD: Western Digital 1TB 7200RPM HDD
OS: Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit with Media Center
PSU: Seasonic 860 watt 80+ Platinum SS-860XP2
RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) Crucial Ballistix Tactical @ 1866MHz
Case cooling: 4 -140mm Corsair fans in push-pull configuration
Mouse: Razer Deathadder
Keyboard: Steelseries 6G v2 mechanical gaming keyboard
Monitors: twin 22” 1920x1080p @60Hz Samsung Syncmaster B2230HD

Any help would be appreciated. Like I said I would like for someone with the this same PSU to tell me if their fan ever comes on.
 
Solution
synphul
I don't know if the fan should come on when power is first turned on or not. It's a little confusing with that switch, apparently "I" manual select puts it in silent and cooling modes while "O" puts it in the 3 way fanless/silent/cooling modes. It does say continuous fan operation in silent and active cooling, depending on system load. So I'd think it should rotate.

In "O" manual select with fanless operation enabled, it won't kick the fan on until the psu reaches up to 30% +/- 5% of the max rated load.

If posting to the seasonic forums don't get you anywhere, I'd call them. Better safe than sorry. Seasonic makes great psu's but that's not to say there couldn't be a manufacturing quirk in any unit regardless of brand.
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4745454b

4745454b

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Just guessing here.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5464/seasonic-platinum-series-860w/5

If desired the fan can be turned off through up to 40% load by a small switch on the front of the casing, which would make the PSU completely silent at lower loads
Click to expand...

40% of that PSU should be around 344W. You have a very low power system. (<100W CPU, less then 200W GPU.) My guess is your just aren't stressing it enough to make the fan come on.
 
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synphul

synphul

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The fan being hybrid silent is only supposed to come one when needed. Good chance it just hasn't been needed. Also a lot of psu fans especially the silent type produce just a slight airflow and almost inaudible even in a quiet room. Is there a chance the fan has come on and gone off and you just didn't notice it? They usually don't run long, only a few minutes or less and shut back down since it's barely needed.
 
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hapkiman

hapkiman

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Well I actually set the tower case on my desk with the right panel off to watch the PSU over the past couple of days while using it- just in case it was cycling like you said (it sets sideways in the Air 540 with the fan facing out). I'm 100% sure it has never came on.

But shouldn't it come on briefly when I first power up the system?



I asked Seasonic this on their website and no one ever responded.
 
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synphul

synphul

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I don't know if the fan should come on when power is first turned on or not. It's a little confusing with that switch, apparently "I" manual select puts it in silent and cooling modes while "O" puts it in the 3 way fanless/silent/cooling modes. It does say continuous fan operation in silent and active cooling, depending on system load. So I'd think it should rotate.

In "O" manual select with fanless operation enabled, it won't kick the fan on until the psu reaches up to 30% +/- 5% of the max rated load.

If posting to the seasonic forums don't get you anywhere, I'd call them. Better safe than sorry. Seasonic makes great psu's but that's not to say there couldn't be a manufacturing quirk in any unit regardless of brand.
 
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Solution
hapkiman

hapkiman

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I received an email from Seasonic today. It was a just link to an RMA form with no response. They didn't answer a single question I asked.

I then called their Cust. Support # and it just goes to VM.

I re-emailed them just now and asked specifically if the PSUs fan is supposed to spin briefly when the system is powered on, regardless of the mode. If its supposed to, then I have a defective unit. We'll see if they answer.

I would expect better cust. service from them than this.
 
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synphul

synphul

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It happens. Unfortunately you got a defunct unit, but it happens even with the best of them. I wouldn't let it cause you worry over seasonic as a whole. Now if there's one defect after another, then I'd be concerned. I used to be a supporter of seagate until I had a bad run. Not just one bad drive, but 2 new that arrived doa (what are the chances both dead - one spun for 5min, the other didn't spin at all). Their replacements were refurbs which irritated me since I paid for new and didn't even get to use them. Both those units died within a month of each other within just a couple years. Shortest lifespan I've ever had personally on hdd's. That's when I switched up brands.

Glad you got it sorted out, hopefully the replacement works well for you. I've been using a seasonic 650w for around 6yrs now with no issue and very stable power almost dead on for the 3.3v, 5v and 12v.
 
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