AX1200 noise issue

Hi everyone.

 

I would like to start this thread and keep it to people who have actually replaced the fan on their AX1200.

 

I understand that corsair don't encourage this and it will void your warranty on your psu, and with this knowledge they won't offer any advice. I respect that and understand why they can't.

 

So this thread will come down to first hand experience from the end users, namely us. For some of us it is worth it to quieten down the aweful buzzing 140mm yate loon fan.

 

So straight to the point, who has replaced the 140mm fan on their ax1200 and what did you replace it with. Exact models with sizing would be appreciated, including cfm rating, noise rating and anything else you can add.

 

If you want to offer a guide to how to do it too for the people who are not so technically minded and a bit afraid to pull their PSU apart, please do so :)

 

Looking forward to anyone that can contribute to this thread. From the couple of nights of reading there are a lot of people such as myself where the psu fan noise is driving them mental and just want an easy solution without going through the RMA process and risk getting a PSU that is even more noisy.

 

Thanks in advance.

I'm in Australia. The PSU is just going on 2 weeks old tomorrow. What is the best way to handle an RMA in this instance. Do i go back to the store? The only issue with this is i can see myself being without a PSU/working computer for a while.

 

I don't have a spare PSU, thats the issue, i sold my hx620 when i got this one. Can i organise an advanced RMA in Australia and do i do it through here or my store?

 

Thanks in advance.

If it is only two weeks old i would return it to the store you bought it from first. That will be the fastest way to handle this. They should be able to just exchange it for a new one on the spot.

 

If for some reason they will not let you then you can go through the RMA process directly with Corsair. You will need to call CS on the phone to arrange the advanced RMA if need be. You can instal SKYPE and use that to call the toll free number for free. Just do not forget the time zone difference.

Sounds all good and well. The supplier is obliged to get it exchanged or follow the RMA procedure through the importer/distributor in Australia. For any individual to RMA to the US will be mighty expensive with insurance.

Thanks guys. I will call the store today some stage and see what they say.

I rang the store and they are happy to order in another and when it arrives i can bring in mine and swap over.

 

I am happy about that but im unsure if i will proceed because im scared i will get one that is worse. Right now as it is, i COULD live with it but it is annoying. If i get a worse one then its just a whole lot of messing about.

 

I was also thinking in the back of my head that the psu might need some burn in time and MAY get quieter as i've heard a few others say the same but then there is the catch 22 that the longer i leave it the harder it will be to replace it. Right now i can have an easy swap over and HOPEFULLY gets rid of the buzz but there is no gaurantee.

 

ho hum. What to do what to do.

The noise is normally an exception and should not be apparant. These fans are designed and manufactured not to produce mechanical noise. Best bet, wait unitl the shop has it, let them hook it up and then you can decide if that one performs as it should with no mechanical noise.

Update:

 

I rang up on Friday afternoon and they said they had one in stock and to bring mine in when i had a chance. I went home after work and grabbed mine, went straight to the shop before the closed.

 

They tested mine and admitted they heard the noise and was happy to change over the psu.

 

I installed it that night when i got home and to my happiness the fan is quiet and no more aweful whirring/buzzing from the fan.

 

I thought all was good. PC was quiet.

 

Loaded up Diablo 3, played with headphones for an hour or so, then alt tabbed out for a bit and all i could hear was a loudish fan whine :/ Stopped all fans to be sure for my own sake and it was indeed the psu.

 

This is a different fan noise, but still similar just higher pitched.

 

I'm over it. I'm going to 'burn in' the PSU and see if it goes away but if its still noisy after 2 weeks, im ripping it out, taking it back and buying a seasonic 1000 or 1250w psu which people say is so much quiter then the ax1200.

 

I'm not going to bad mouth corsair because their service is amazing and all other products i've bought have been amazing quality. This ax1200 just needs to be discontinued or change the fan from the yate loon to something else. Surely you don't need that sort of cfm when the fan is directly over the components.

 

:/

I'd rather ditch 2 years of warranty and not have a power supply that overpowers all other case fans noise wise. The psu fan makes an annoying whiney fan noise after a short while. Its quiet when i first boot then by the time i get into windows and there is some load it starts to get audible. This is my second ax1200 now. My first one had a buzzing noise in the fan.

 

This one has a buzzing but its more whiney then before. All power saving settings are off in BIOS. It's the fan pure and simple.

 

Really dissapointed in this PSU now. Don't want to use my pc anymore because of it. I can't leave on at night because i lie in bed and hear the fan noise and i want to throw a shoe at the pc :(

Well it's just a little widespread of an issue for this to be isolated to just a few bad ax1200's.

 

You don't just see the reports on this forum, you see them on many different forums all over the internet. From overclockers forums to car enthusiast forums!

 

I wish this wasn't an issue and was a one off but as many others have reported they have gone through a few different rma's and to no avail. Changed PSU brand fixed it.

 

I am unfortunately on my second one and its way worse than my first one.

 

:(

This is my second AX1200 now and this noise is killing me. I can't stand it. It is worse than my first one which was just a buzzing noise from the fan. Now this has a high pitched squeal and i honestly can't use my pc properly because of it.

 

I was trying to do some study last night for exams and i couldn't concentrate.

 

This sound recording was taken easily a metre away from the PSU with the case side on... It's worse in real life being in the room.

 

I start my pc, and its silent. After i get into windows and it heats up a bit this noise starts and doesn't go away.

 

Vid:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el3erHbPvD0

 

Honestly what do i do now, RMA it again? Will i ever get one that works properly? I've wasted so much time trouble shooting, stripping the case down, ripping the psu out and taking back to the store and recabling etc. This has been a nightmare.

hyrola, please stick to your own thread. Your issues have nothing to do with a thread regarding an ODM.

 

IMHO that sounds like a bearing.

Sorry, im just at wits end :(

Hello everyone.

I am also on my 2nd AX 1200. First off Corsair has been outstanding in customer service both with my AX 750 and my AX 1200. Both my 1st and 2nd supply had fan problems. I dont know why they don't put a better fan like a San Ace fan in these things, must be a reason. I have chosen to keep the AX 1200 in my rig because it has all the connectors I need and does what it's supposed to do. But...My rig is water cooled and that Yate Loon fan made way to much noise even at idle. I removed the Yate Loon and have tried a few diffrent 140 mm fans (I do not recommending anyone do this). The one PWM fan I tried (600 - 1600 rpm) just didnt get the volts from the psu's controller to run correctly. The Yate Loon has a much higher rpm range of about 1200 to 2800 (140 mm Yate Loon Fan_D14BH-12_2800 rpm_140 CFM_48dB) My current solution is a 1800 rpm fan that is controlled with my other fans with the T-Balancer bigNG. 850 rpm at idle and up to 1800 at full CPU or GPU load. Thats not the same cooling as the Yate Loon at 2000 + rpm but I don't pull more than 900 watts. In my research of 1000 - 1200 watt psu's I belive a 100 cfm fan will cool this AX 1200 with MY power draw. This is working very well for me so far as the exhaust temps are similar to the temps with the original fan. I am not not happy about voiding my warranty or using a fan that is well below the cfm of the Yate Loon but I won't have any fans in my system that make that sort of noise. If Corsair does not change this fan I will go Seasonic next time and make my own black cables.

Thank you Ram Guy. Yours is the only response I have received from any of my posts. I should not be critical of the Yate Loon Company, I know they make decent fans. If your AX750 and AX850 psu's weren’t so quiet maybe I would not know the difference. I know a 1200 watt psu needs more cooling than a 750 watt psu but I think you guys could do better regardless of who makes the fan.

Just because a manufacturer is well renowned in the industry and has a reputation to do quality parts does not mean they won't bring out a fan that has problems. They are not immune to being human.

 

Corsair should liase with Yate Loon and work to get a new fan made that suits your needs and has better testing done before being used in the PSU.

 

You talk about stats overall and that the 'percentage' rate is low and within 'standards'. The thing is this is more than a few isolated accounts. I have read that many complaints about the noise, you only have to type it into this forum's search, google and youtube, to know this should be treated more seriously than looking at sales figures.

 

You must remember sound and noise levels are relative to each individual. A lot of gamers that need this sort of grunt might have a dozen or more case fans etc that are loud enough to muffle the noise. Maybe most peoples cases are under the desk, or they have a case that muffles the noise better.

 

I'm not saying they all have issues of course, i'm just saying I would bank money on there being a lot of ax1200 psu's out there that actually suffer from these same sound traits and people live with it.

 

I appreciate the amazing customer service and RMA policy you have. This ensures i will come back to you in the future for other products but for now i have had to resort to store credit and i purchased a Seasonic Platinum 1000w psu.

 

Nothing personal, I just don't have the time and effort to continue to RMA the psu to find one that is quiet without annoying squealing or whirring coming from the psu.

I built my first gaming computer myself Feb 2011 instead of buying a pre-built system and I put a Corsair AX1200 in it and it has ran perfect and quiet to date. since then i have built 7 more systems for friends and family and in the parts list i give them (as they order their own parts) i allways have them get the Corsair line of psu from the AX750 up to the AX1200 depending what they will be running and not 1 of those psu from Corsair have made so much as a peep, and all have performed with perfection. so i will only buy Corsair psu. and as RamGuy said when a company puts out thousands of product there will always be some that might have a problem, just like when really nice exspensive cars have problems and get recalled. stuff just happens so people shouldn't go bashing a company because they got a bad part.

No one is bashing Corsair. I think this is very simple. San Ace fan $20.00

Yate Loon fan $4.00 I like my AX 1200, that's why I kept the second one after the RMA. I have installed a $25.00 fan and all is good. I am sure this psu will work for me for a long time so my voided warranty won't be an issue.

Sorry i never meant it to sound like i was insinuating that there was a mass failure with these ax1200 PSU's.

 

I'm sure most people out there are happy with no issues, but how many people does it take to complain with video/audio proof that you start looking more deep into the problem.

 

I've never had a psu in my life sound like this. Then i get two in a row?

 

I just think it is something that should be definitely investigated further no matter how small the percentage seems.

 

I haven't researched the fan much but it would seem every other PSU manufacturer opt for fans other than the yate loon, such as the san ace fan. I would definitely consider changing the fan in any new high wattage psu's you bring out in the future to avoid all these RMA's.

No one is bashing Corsair. I think this is very simple. San Ace fan $20.00

Yate Loon fan $4.00 I like my AX 1200, that's why I kept the second one after the RMA. I have installed a $25.00 fan and all is good. I am sure this psu will work for me for a long time so my voided warranty won't be an issue.

 

Hi,

I have an AX1200 and the fan is really faulty. It is incredibly noisy. It seems that a few people sent their unit back (rma) and that they received again a bad unit. I don't want to play the game of back and forth as this is time consuming so I'm thinking of replacing it myself with a high quality and silent fan. Could you please provide the specs of the fan you did used for replacement.