Corsair PSU noise?

marisa

Member
Hi everyone!

I thought I'd post this here first before emailing PCS, in case I'm worrying over nothing! I got a mini-PC from PCS (specs below) at the end of October, and up until recently it was great. At the end of November the Corsair CS650M PSU started making a very loud grinding/roaring noise, which happened on a couple of (seemingly random) occasions, before going away. I contacted PCS and they kindly RMA'd it very fast, swapping the old PSU for a new one of the same model. I installed it myself to the best of my ability - this is my first time owning a halfway-serious PC and I've never had to install a component before, but I did my best to follow the original cable setup and so on.

It worked perfectly for the first few hours, but I noticed an intermittent humming/buzzing noise later on in the evening. It's only been installed since Thursday but the noise keeps popping up at random, and it got especially loud today while gaming, though nowhere as loud and bad as the previous PSU. (The noise and temps of everything else were fine at the time, I don't push my PC's limits much.) I keep trying to get an audio recording when it flares up, but it's either so brief or so low that I can't catch it. It's a kind of low, hoarse, vibrating buzz - it sounds like there's a very sad bumblebee in there! Even while I'm just typing this with my browser and nothing else open, the sound comes and goes, quietly but still loud enough for me to notice the change in tone and worry about it.

After reading some really mixed reviews about the Corsair CS650M online, I wondered whether anyone else had a similar experience with it? Is it normal for it to make some noise at random, or did I make a mistake choosing this part? The first PSU was absolutely fine for a whole month before playing up, so I'm worried that this one's making weird noises already, not knowing if it'll get better or worse. If anyone could suggest anything, I'd really appreciate it! This PC was a big investment for me and I just want the thing to work without making me constantly nervous :(

Thanks in advance for any help!

Marisa

_______

Case
AeroCool DS Cube Red Edition Window Mini-ITX
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4690 (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H81I-PLUS: Mini-ITX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - DVI, HDMI, mDP - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
240GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
Corsair H55 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
 

jerpers

Master
Occasionally the label on the fan can come loose, this cab be removes carefully with tweezers or long nose pliers. You could have a loose cable the fan is hitting or if you are really unlucky it could be a bearing in which case an RMA is needed.
 

marisa

Member
Thanks jerpers, I'll look into it! PCS suggested a faulty bearing as the problem with my last one, so I really hope it's not that again... fingers crossed!
 

marisa

Member
I took the PSU out for a look, shone a torch in it - there are no labels or other debris in there that I can see, and the wires all look safely out of the way. I guess I'll have to RMA again, though I really wish it didn't have to be for the same model now. Maybe the third time's the charm. Thanks anyway jerpers!
 

steaky360

Moderator
Moderator
You could ask PCS if they would allow you to upgrade (paying the difference perhaps) considering the issues you've had, I'm doubtful they will but its worth an ask.
 

marisa

Member
Thanks steaky, that sounds worth a go anyway! Currently awaiting a reply from enquiries and seeing if it'll act up again this evening. :)
 

marisa

Member
Just to update: third time was not lucky :(

PCS were prompt and helpful, the DPD swap service was great again, the new PSU ran like a charm from Monday evening until today, and now it's whirring up again. It's the same stressed, buzzy fan noise. I didn't want to RMA the whole PC during the Christmas period so I said I'd have one more go at just replacing the PSU, in case that fixed it for good. But now I guess I'll wait until the new year for more serious repairs. What I really want to do is try a different make of PSU, but I don't want to waste my time and money if it's a greater problem with my PC (or with my house or something).

I'm very fond of my little red PC and don't want to be so dejected with it, but it looks like I'll be getting a lot of reading and cleaning done this Christmas!
 
I am experiencing the exact same problem, and after looking it up so are a disturbingly large number of people. In my opinion the entire series should be pulled and PCS should offer a larger variety of PSUs (the corsair series was the only one available to build my Skylake desktop with, absurd). Do what I did, request an RMA refund and just buy an entirely different non-Corsair PSU from a different vendor. I personally went for the EVGA Supernova series.
 

marisa

Member
Yeah, I'm sure they work fine for many people but I'm quite put off this range now. I didn't know I could get a single component refunded, and the EVGA looks like a good call too, thanks for that! I think that'll be the way forward for me - and if it still doesn't work, I'll know it's a bigger problem, and at least I'll have a spare part around rather than swapping like for like each time. Cheers, I hope the EVGA works out!
 
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