Noisy Power Supply Fan (OCZ 850W)

[KingOfComputing]

I have a OCZ Game-X-Stream 850 Watt power supply I have owned for around 4+ years. The supply itself is this one I believe: http://www.bjorn3d.com/2007/05/ocz-gamexstream-850-watt I have a fairly powerful system but there is nothing in it which I would have thought would load the power supply anywhere near to capacity. My system specs are:
i5 2500k 3.3 GHZ
Corsair H50 CPU Cooler
12GB DDR3 1600MHZ
Asus P8P67 Pro
AMD Radeon 6970 2GB (this is probably the single highest power draw component)
100GB SSD
1.5TB HDD
DVD RW

Anyway, the PC has never been particularly quiet, but lately it seems to be really bad for noise. Even taking it down to one fan (for the H50 CPU Radiator) the system is still really noisy to the extent the fan control in the BIOS makes no difference, I can set it on silent or turn it off and there is still really high fan noise all the time, actually with no other noises it is possible to hear the PC outside of the room (yes even with the door shut). In comparison, I have a second Ivy Bridge i3 system, admittedly not quite as powerful but not far behind with a reasonably fast Geforce 650 ti boost 2GB and that system is virtually silent, you can literally not know it is on, where you can know the other PC is on from a room away!

It isn't the graphics card as that has it's own custom cooler with fan controller, I can turn the graphics cards cooler to minimum (at this setting it is completely inaudible).

Anyway, I am pretty sure the culprit is a fan as the system is pretty quiet for about the first minute booting up etc then it quickly gets noisier bit by bit (fan spinning up) until it is very noisy indeed and it never goes down (even if I reboot). It isn't a response to CPU stress, I can leave it idling, stress test, play a game the noise never changes.

As I have checked each (case/CPU) fan I can only assume it is the PSU fan wearing out with the PSU getting on 4+ years. What kind of fan does a PSU use? could I just open it up and swap it for a new 120mm fan or does it use a custom connector? Indeed, can a PSU be safely opened as I always heard they should NEVER be opened in the past. Should I just get another PSU? If so what is the absolute lowest I could safely run this system on?, I say lowest as I am on a very tight budget and really this PC is overkill if anything as my gaming habits have in recent years moved more towards the indie scene than the latest AAA blockbusters so the hardware is barely being pushed at all. If or when I upgrade/change it would probably be a FAR more modest set up.

 

[toyftw]

I have a OCZ Game-X-Stream 850 Watt power supply I have owned for around 4+ years. The supply itself is this one I believe: http://www.bjorn3d.com/2007/05/ocz-gamexstream-850-watt I have a fairly powerful system but there is nothing in it which I would have thought would load the power supply anywhere near to capacity. My system specs are:
i5 2500k 3.3 GHZ
Corsair H50 CPU Cooler
12GB DDR3 1600MHZ
Asus P8P67 Pro
AMD Radeon 6970 2GB (this is probably the single highest power draw component)
100GB SSD
1.5TB HDD
DVD RW

Anyway, the PC has never been particularly quiet, but lately it seems to be really bad for noise. Even taking it down to one fan (for the H50 CPU Radiator) the system is still really noisy to the extent the fan control in the BIOS makes no difference, I can set it on silent or turn it off and there is still really high fan noise all the time, actually with no other noises it is possible to hear the PC outside of the room (yes even with the door shut). In comparison, I have a second Ivy Bridge i3 system, admittedly not quite as powerful but not far behind with a reasonably fast Geforce 650 ti boost 2GB and that system is virtually silent, you can literally not know it is on, where you can know the other PC is on from a room away!

It isn't the graphics card as that has it's own custom cooler with fan controller, I can turn the graphics cards cooler to minimum (at this setting it is completely inaudible).

Anyway, I am pretty sure the culprit is a fan as the system is pretty quiet for about the first minute booting up etc then it quickly gets noisier bit by bit (fan spinning up) until it is very noisy indeed and it never goes down (even if I reboot). It isn't a response to CPU stress, I can leave it idling, stress test, play a game the noise never changes.

As I have checked each (case/CPU) fan I can only assume it is the PSU fan wearing out with the PSU getting on 4+ years. What kind of fan does a PSU use? could I just open it up and swap it for a new 120mm fan or does it use a custom connector? Indeed, can a PSU be safely opened as I always heard they should NEVER be opened in the past. Should I just get another PSU? If so what is the absolute lowest I could safely run this system on?, I say lowest as I am on a very tight budget and really this PC is overkill if anything as my gaming habits have in recent years moved more towards the indie scene than the latest AAA blockbusters so the hardware is barely being pushed at all. If or when I upgrade/change it would probably be a FAR more modest set up.

Hi - It's time to get a new PSU. You got 4+ yrs out of it. OCZ is bankrupt, so I don't think you can get a replacement from them.
Also, you are correct about opening up a PSU, don't do it if you don't have electrical experience.

Good PSU's with sufficient power (you don't need 850 for a single GPU system) can be found at reasonable prices,
especially if you live in the US.

 

[KingOfComputing]

I'm in the UK, where I find the big brands like Corsair etc are quite pricey, there are plenty of budget no-name ones but I would rather keep them away from my system. Obviously the lower wattage supplies are cheaper too. What would be a good minimum for the system I have? Am I right in thiking a 600 Watt would be ok? Even a 550 or is that pushing it?

I was thinking something like the Corsair CX600, I know it is budget type PSU in the Corsair range but that should still equal pretty good overall right? Any other budget focused (though not budget brand) suggestions welcomed!

 

[toyftw]

I'm in the UK, where I find the big brands like Corsair etc are quite pricey, there are plenty of budget no-name ones but I would rather keep them away from my system. Obviously the lower wattage supplies are cheaper too. What would be a good minimum for the system I have? Am I right in thiking a 600 Watt would be ok? Even a 550 or is that pushing it?

I was thinking something like the Corsair CX600, I know it is budget type PSU in the Corsair range but that should still equal pretty good overall right? Any other budget focused (though not budget brand) suggestions welcomed!

Hi again - glad to see you're going to stick with a quality PSU. A good quality modern design 550w unit will power your system.

If you could swing an extra £6.5 @ £59.35 this would be an excellent step up from the CX series:
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/mr/amazonuk/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii620bronze

or a modular 650: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/mr/amazonuk/evga-power-supply-120pg0650gr

a good value if you can swing it:
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/mr/amazonuk/xfx-power-supply-p1650xxxb9

 

[KingOfComputing]

Thanks, I really like the look of the Seasonic S12II-620, Think I'll try and stretch to that, though that is right at the top end of my budget, well actually I was even hoping I might get something suitable for ~£50 or is that being too tight?

 

[toyftw]

Thanks, I really like the look of the Seasonic S12II-620, Think I'll try and stretch to that, though that is right at the top end of my budget, well actually I was even hoping I might get something suitable for ~£50 or is that being too tight?

Hi - the best I see at < £50 is this:
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/mr/amazonuk/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9

it will run your system. I like the S12 II 620 as well, but it is a lot more money>

 

[KingOfComputing]

That XFX unit looks ideal and the price is great, the 550 watts should be fine since, I won't be upgrading and any future build would actually be towards the budget/mid range area rather than high spec plus components are getting more efficient so power draw is only likely to fall, not increase. A 5 year warranty at that price is outstanding too. I think we have a winner!

 

[toyftw]

That XFX unit looks ideal and the price is great, the 550 watts should be fine since, I won't be upgrading and any future build would actually be towards the budget/mid range area rather than high spec plus components are getting more efficient so power draw is only likely to fall, not increase. A 5 year warranty at that price is outstanding too. I think we have a winner!

Yes - the XFX is enough. The +12v rail amps is the key spec (not total watts) & good quality modern
design PSU's put plenty of the tot avail power on the +12v rail(s). The CPU & GPU draw their current
from thew +12v rail(s).

A system with 1 hd6970 requires 34 or greater +12v amps, the XFX550 has 44, so you are in good shape
& have headroom.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Seasonic made , Gold Certified , FULL Modular.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Power Supply: XFX XTR 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£77.32 @ Dabs)
Total: £77.32
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-09 15:36 GMT+0000)

 

[KingOfComputing]

Well the new XFX 550 watt came today and I installed it this afternoon. It's all working fine thankfully and I can appreciate a difference in sound levels certainly, so I think the PSU was at least some of the problem, but I have to say I'm a tad underwhelmed as the weird thing is it still isn't anywhere near as quiet running as either of my other PCs (a core2duo based shuttle and my i3 living room system). Can only assume that it IS a case fan partially to blame or one of the fans on the H50 radiator (I have one either side). It's so hard to isolate the problem one though. As the system has the H50 pumping water through the radiator at all times do you think it would be safe to run it briefly with just that and the fans off? so I can isolate and determine the noise isn't from the PSU and determine which fan is the source?

As to the PSU I'm in two minds if I should just stick the old one back in and live with it's noise and perhaps put the new XFX 550 in my i3 rig which only has a rather basic Corsair CX430 at the moment (though it isn't giving me any trouble) as I don't think this system is ever gonna be that quiet whatever PSU it has (for some reason), though noise aside, maybe I'm better off with a (much) newer design even at the expense of 300 watts (850 vs 550)?