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My Corsair vx450w is buzzing


Shmanky

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I was thinking about sending in my Corsair vx450w power supply in hopes that I get a replacement that doesn't buzz. However, I get the impression from what I've read in the forums that a buzzing power supply is not considered a defect. I get the impression that if I send in the vx450w, the company will just test it, consider it working, and send it back to me. Am I about right on this? If so, I guess I need to buy another power supply.

 

Is it true that a buzzing power supply is an indication that your power requirements are much lower than the power supply you've chosen? Here's my system:

 

Gigabyte P35C-DS3R

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3GHz

2 GB Crucial ram

2 x Samsung 500 GB HD501LJ (SATA)

1 x Sapphire Radeon 2400 XT

Asus optical drive (SATA)

3 case fans (not counting the PSU)

1 CPU fan

 

My system is intentionally built for lower power because I wanted low noise. The buzzing PSU kind of ruins that.

 

I don't have another, more powerful system to test the vx450w with. I don't think the buzzing goes away as the load on the PSU increase. In fact, it appears like the PSU buzzing is timed with my hard disk seeks.

 

If I need to buy a new power supply, can someone recommend another quiet Corsair power supply that may be better suited for my particular system?

 

Thanks for the help.

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Shmanky, I appear to be having the EXACT problem you are. Is the sound more of a mixture between a buzzing and a clicking? That's what mine sounds like. Like your vx450w, mine seems to be buzzing timed with my hard disk seeks. I just got this PSU last week and the sound is not extremely annoying but it is enough for me to return or exchange the PSU. If I do exchange, will this just happen again according to what Shmanky says?

 

RAM guy, I tried to put it directly in the wall but that did not help.

 

What do you recommend I do???

 

Here is my system:

VIA K8T Neo2 FIR (Socket 939) Winchester

AMD Athlon64 3000+ Frequency 1800MHz

2x 1GB G.Skill PC3200 - Dual Kit DDR400

ATI Radeon 9550

Internal Hitachi Diskstar160GB + Seagate 80GB

Liteon CD/DVD-RW + Toshiba DVD-ROM + Floppy

Windows XPSP2

Bios: American Megatrends Inc. Vers 3.31a

PSU: Corsair vx450w

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Thank you for your input, BockVB. To answer your question, no I don't hear any clicking. No clicking at all. Just a buzz, like a bee. Would you consider your system to be high power or low power, BockVB? Does the Radeon 9550 draw a lot of power? Does that AMD chip draw a lot of power?

 

RAM GUY, I haven't tried connecting the PSU directly to the wall output. I'll do that soon and post my result.

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Some Windows Updates gave me a good reason to shut down my computer. I plugged the PSU into a wall outlet, turned it on and listened to the exhaust area of the PSU. It made the same buzzing sound.

 

Thanks for your help, Ram Guy. I'm going to follow that link.

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Ram Guy, I'm about 95% sure it's not the PSU's fan or another case fan that I'm hearing. I had a power supply prior to this one that would buzz, so I know what to listen for.

 

I didn't realize 110 alternating current made noise on its own. What continent am I on. North America? That means we use... 110. Or 120. Or the lower end.

 

But you know, it also buzzes when I scroll the mouse or a Web page, and it buzzes in time with hard disk seeks, which convinces me it's not some fan bearings.

 

So, if you have further suggestions, I would try them. Otherwise I'll go ahead and follow that link and hope I get a non-buzzing replacement. In the event that I get the same one back or a new 450 w power supply that still buzzes, I'll try purchasing a lower-watt psu in the assumption that I have lower power requirements.

 

ThankS!

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I recieved my Corsair VX450W about 3 hours ago and I am getting the same annoying, irratic buzz as BockVB and Shmanky. I can hear this PSU above the noise of two average systems.

 

I've tried my VX450W in three different systems: a Pentium E2140 @ 3.04GHz, 2GB DDR-II 1150, with an OCed 8800GTS; an Athlon 64 3000+ setup with a 6600GS, 1GB PC3200; and an old K6-2 500MHz, 128MB PC100 with a 2MB PCI video card.

 

The noise is distinct with all of them, but is most pronounced at lower loads.

 

Plugging the PSU into the wall, or into any of my surge protectors makes no noticeable difference.

 

The buzz is clearly not from a fan, as I disconnected every fan in each test system for a few minutes to confirm this. I can hear the fan of the PSU if I put my ear to it, but it is a very different and much quieter sound.

 

As others have noticed, the buzz gets worse anytime there is disk access.

 

It sounds nearly identical to the vibrating coils of several of my past motherboards and a few of my PSUs, just worse.

 

After taking a flashlight and peering around the PSU through the back grill for a bit, then listening, I think I know where the noise is coming from. There is a large coil slightly to the left of center (when holding the PSU fan up looking in through the rear grill), near the honeycomb grill. This coil contacts a vertical, clear, plastic separator that apparently keeps it from shorting out a small circut board. This plastic is glued to the circut board, but is not glued to and just rests on the coil. My theory is that the coil vibrates and the plastic acts as a diaphram, amplifying the sound.

 

I can't really confirm this without voiding my warranty.

 

So what to do now? Do I apply from an RMA from where I purchased it (zipzoomfly) or through Corsair? Is there anyway I can get a replacement sent to me before I ship the PSU back and/or can I get return shipment paid for by Corsair? This very annoying sound is no fault of my own and I would rather not have to fork over another 10-15 bucks to have the problem fixed.

 

Thanks for any help you can provide.

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Being an impatent tinkerer by nature, I decided I'd fix it myself, warranty be damned.

 

So, I dismantled the PSU and found the likely source of the problem. One of the pieces of clear plastic used to guard against shorts had come unglued from the coil it should have been attached to. Apparently this coil vibrates a bit and hits the plastic guard.

 

I used my hot glue gun to fix the plastic guard. I also glued all the other coils and anything else that seemed like it could vibrate. The I cleaned the PSU. I've got it drying right now, I'll see how it works in a bit.

 

I was also able to test the fan separately of the PSU itself. There actually is a fain buzz, that is not frm the motion of the fan, coming from the fan's PCB as well. It's not as loud as the other buzz I was hearing and it only happens at lower fan speeds/voltages. It's not a big deal for me, but other people may be refering to this noise if they are not talking about a loud sound.

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Ram Guy,

 

Where can I find the details to specify the following fields in the RMA form?

 

  • Corsair Part Number *

Is it VX450W or CMPSU-450VX? Because I don't find either in the list. Is it printed on the unit?

 

 

  • TSX Ticket #/ Form Post ID #

Hmmmm what's this one?

Thanks for all the support (:

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It wasn't the coils either.

 

After pluging everything back in and testing out the PSU after I had glued all the coils and plastic separators and turning the system on, the buzz was back. It was the same sound as before, only with a slightly different tone.

 

I put some gloves on and opened up the PSU while the system was running so I could try to get a better idea of exactly where the noise was coming from. Sound seemed to be strongest near the rear vent on the side of the main capacitor, so I used my screw driver to prod around to see if the sound changed or vanished.

 

The only thing I touched that changed the buzz was one of the MOSFETs that was connected to the heatsink farthest from the AC input. Pushing on this casued the buzzing to quiet considerably. I'm thinking the screw holding it to the heatsink could have been tightened more.

 

I did not have the opportunitity yo test this as there was no way for me to get a screwdriver all the way in there, not that it would have mattered as I shorted out the MOSFET and killed my PSU while pushing on it :bigeyes:.

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Ram Guy,

 

Where can I find the details to specify the following fields in the RMA form?

 

  • Corsair Part Number *

Is it VX450W or CMPSU-450VX? Because I don't find either in the list. Is it printed on the unit?

 

 

  • TSX Ticket #/ Form Post ID #

Hmmmm what's this one?

Thanks for all the support (:

Part # is CMPSU-VX450W

Post ID is your forum post # on the top right of your message.

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  • Corsair Employee

 

I did not have the opportunitity yo test this as there was no way for me to get a screwdriver all the way in there, not that it would have mattered as I shorted out the MOSFET and killed my PSU while pushing on it :bigeyes:.

 

Oh no! :eek:

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Ram Guy, I'm about 95% sure it's not the PSU's fan or another case fan that I'm hearing. I had a power supply prior to this one that would buzz, so I know what to listen for.

But you know, it also buzzes when I scroll the mouse or a Web page, and it buzzes in time with hard disk seeks, which convinces me it's not some fan bearings.

ThankS!

 

thankgod there is other ppl who expierence this problem like i do, i thought i was the only one. after i heard so many good reviews about the corsair 620hx i went ahead and bought one and now i have to deal with those buzzing noises, very dissappointing for a $150 psu from corsair.

 

Shmanky- iam assuming you're using windows xp, with xp the buzzing will be continously beeps when the vcore drop. Try vista, the noise will be lesser, bc with vista it will be opposite, it only beeps when the vcore are raise. and no buzzing when u scroll the mouse.

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thankgod there is other ppl who expierence this problem like i do, i thought i was the only one. after i heard so many good reviews about the corsair 620hx i went ahead and bought one and now i have to deal with those buzzing noises, very dissappointing for a $150 psu from corsair.

 

Shmanky- iam assuming you're using windows xp, with xp the buzzing will be continously beeps when the vcore drop. Try vista, the noise will be lesser, bc with vista it will be opposite, it only beeps when the vcore are raise. and no buzzing when u scroll the mouse.

 

xseanx, we have no problem replacing your PSU as well. The PSU should not be buzzing so loudly that it can be heard over the other components in the system. If you would like us to replace it, please follow the link in my signature “I think I have a bad part! Or “Tech Support Express” and we will be happy to replace them or it, please note that you are posting from the forum!

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thankgod there is other ppl who expierence this problem like i do, i thought i was the only one. after i heard so many good reviews about the corsair 620hx i went ahead and bought one and now i have to deal with those buzzing noises, very dissappointing for a $150 psu from corsair.

 

Shmanky- iam assuming you're using windows xp, with xp the buzzing will be continously beeps when the vcore drop. Try vista, the noise will be lesser, bc with vista it will be opposite, it only beeps when the vcore are raise. and no buzzing when u scroll the mouse.

 

Thank you for your comments, xseanx. However, I built this machine specifically for Windows Vista 32-bit. So the buzzing I hear is under Vista, and I do hear buzzing when I scroll a Web page or move a window on the screen.

 

I bought this PSU because of positive recommendations from silentpcreview.com.

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If VX450W is on the list, you may use that, otherwise just put "Not Listed".

 

Ram Guy, should I use my shipping address, or my personal home address?

 

I took a guess and I used my shipping address, which is my workplace which is where I would want to have the replacement shipped to.

 

This is my first time doing an RMA. I appreciate all your help (:

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