Worried about H50 possible failure

[sorry if I posted this in the wrong subforum, I hope "Customer Care" was correct]

Hi All,

I have a concern about my Corsair H50. I'll be as detailed as possible.

I have a Corsair TX750 and a Corsair H50 which I had TigerDirect install into my PC in August of 2010. The TX750W is an amazing product that has alleviated some freezing and crashes issues I had with a previous power supply of a different brand. My H50, for the time I've had it, has been satisfactory (75-78 degree Celsius load temps on an i7 920).

Recently (a few days ago, really) I replaced my 2009 GPU with a much better one, and because this new GPU is so quiet, I just began to notice that my H50 is making is weird, intermittent "popping" noises after it's been on for a few hours. Eventually the noises progress into more frequent rippling noises, almost like a loud hard drive seeking noise. This continues until and unless I fully power down the PC, wait 10-20 minutes, and turn it back on. Then it's fine until a few more hours of operation, and then the loudness continues

Basically, I am worried about whether my pump is failing and will die soon, or if something worse could happen such as the pump leaking. This is a very scary thought (especially with the new GPU in there). I believe the H50 is supposed to have a lifetime of 5 years so I'm a bit worried. Just to clarify, the noise doesn't bother me as much as not being sure of whether it's okay to continue to use - I really do not want to be dealing with a failing, or potentially worse, pump. I do not have the know-how, or the tools/means to remove my motherboard and remove the backplate and replace the cooler so I really don't know what my options here are. Can customer support perhaps let me know what may be wrong with the unit or offer some support? It would be greatly appreciated.

I love the TX750, it's the best power supply I've ever had. The H50 has fell short of my expectations, though, and I'm rather disconcerted with the loud noise, popping and rippling it's been having recently. I bought it because it was a zero-maintenance item and I was hoping after TigerDirect installed it I would not have to worry about it during its 5 year lifetime. If the pump is not failing/risking leak, then I will deal with the noise.

Thank you for any help. My system specs are on my profile, and I'll gladly answer any follow-up questions.

Edit: More info - H50 is setup with just the stock fan (as Intake) and stock thermal paste. Fan is working properly and plugged into mobo (reports ~1670-1721RPM). Pump is plugged into mobo as well (reports ~1360-1406RPM). Both are running at full speed in BIOS with no power-saver option turned on to adjust their speeds.

The H50 units are usually quiet but they will make some pump noise that is not uncommon. But if you feel its to loud then please use the link on the left and request an RMA and we can replace it. To limit your down time you may want to consider an advanced/Express RMA by the way.

If the H50 unit was purchased in August 2010 is it still eligible for RMA? And does the advanced/express RMA cost extra money? I would probably prefer that option since the computer is unusable without the H50 as you can imagine.

Thank you for the help. It's not so much the noise that bothers me as it is the implication of it - it isn't consistent, it happens after some hours of being powered on, but it's quite loud when it occurs (I can hear it above my three 1700RPM fans and GPU fans). So I assume this is probably not normal.

If I am still eligible for an RMA then I will probably request an express RMA

Edit: By the way, if I am ineligible for RMA then basically all I'm really wondering is if excessive noise/rippling sounds is tied to a risk of leakage or pump failure. If it's just a matter of the unit being noisy then it is a non-issue.

Edit 2: It sounds sort of like this but a bit louder: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFC4peQfvlo&t=27s

If this is just a defect that does not affect operation then there is no issue. Please advise

The noise is not going to maker it fail it is likely the pump is just showing some ware and may be nosier than normal but it will not hurt the unit.

And as long as you are under 2 years then you can request an RMA. But it looks like you may have purchased it in 08/2010 which would be out of warranty

If the noise is simply wear then there is no issue, as it isn't the noise itself that bothers me. I was just hoping that the issue was noise-related only and not indicative of failing/risk-laden performance. Is the pump rated to last 5 years or so? I do not plan to replace this computer until early 2015, at which point in time the pump will be approaching (but not quite) 5 years old.

And yes if it is 2 year warranty then I am out of warranty, but if the pump is just noisy then I wouldn't replace it

Thank you for your help so far.

These units were two years it is the later models that are 5 years, I would suggest considering replacing the cooler when and if it starts to have an issue keeping the CPU cool.

Thank you for your help. Since the cooler is still doing an adequate job I will keep it until I notice temperatures are degrading. I can deal with the noise as I have simply put my fan speeds a little higher to mask it, the cooler itself seems to be cooling normally

Cheers