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newly purchased Corsair One i160 - noise levels

larouse

By larouse
in CORSAIR ONE

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larouse

larouse

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Hi Guys,

 

I have just received a new COrsair One i160. However, I am a bit puzzled about noise levels.

 

Can you tell me if yours Corsair One i160's are completely quiet when idle ?

 

Mine has definitively a fun running when idle, i can also hear a noise which reassembles HDD head moving from time to time (and i can hear some liquid noise (resembling very faint noise of a dropping droplet).

 

When checked iCUE says that the main fan is running at 200 RPM, pumps at 1900-1850(GPU and 1950 CPU (RPMs). CPU coolant is at 42C, GPU at 38C. CPU temps are around 46C. Corsair Link is reporting GPU at 39C, CPU at 44-46C. One weird thing I noticed that MB temps #1-3 are above 100C (and only slightly changing),and that the fan is running at 3500 RPM. MB temp #4 is around 55C, and this is what MSI Command Centre/BIOS is reporting as well.

 

At times when iCUE was reporting fan speed at 0, i still heard a fan noise and a HDD head moving noise. There was no HDD activity at that time based on System Monitor.

 

After purchase, I updated Windows and all drivers through MSI Live update and installed Command Centre and Corsair Link.

 

So here goes my Q - is my One i160 a dud?:)

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Queeg

Queeg

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If by "completely quiet" when idle, you mean no noise at all, then no.

 

At idle, I can hear what I think are the pumps on both sides. Sounds a bit like a hard drive click, but I'm pretty sure it's the pumps (I replaced my HDD with an SSD). The pumps both appear to be fixed in the 1840-1885 RPM range

 

From my observation, the top exhaust fan comes on when either the CPU or GPU coolant temp hits ~41C. My CPU coolant tends to idle around 42.5 under light load (i.e., web browsing) and the fan runs at ~300 RPM. I can't hear the fan at that speed, even with my ear on top of it. I can feel warm air coming out, though, so I know it's running. (The GPU idles around 37C, so it's the CPU that's making the fan come on.)

 

The only time I hear the top fan is under extreme load, really only during a few demanding games (i.e., Far Cry 5). I can hear the fan from my chair (~3 feet from the unit) when the fan hits around 1200 RPM, and when it maxes out around 1450 RPM, I can definitely hear it. But it's more of a low rumble than a high whine, and is easily masked by music or game sounds. I don't need to use headphones to mask it.

 

So my new i160 is not totally silent, but it's several orders of magnitude quieter than any other gaming PC I've ever owned, especially one with this much power. I'm pretty amazed at the engineering.

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pdebaum

pdebaum

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I guess it's all about qualitative interpretation of 'quiet'.

 

Though my system is an i140 instead of an i160, for me it is very quiet at idle, but definitely not what I would call silent.

 

I think you're probably hearing the pumps, which produce a very slight hum I can barely hear about 2 feet away, but which are noticeably louder as I get my ear closer.

 

Unless you top exhaust fan has an issue, you should not be able to hear anything unless it's 400+ rpm.

 

Maybe the HDD-like noise you mention is really the SATA HDD. Even without activity, it will make noise as it parks its head. It's definitely a loud sound compared to the rest of the system.

 

Also the GPU board has a small fan over a heatsink which can rattle/shudder somewhat at high speed, as observed on some systems. Not sure if it's your issue, but it's easily identifiable as the noise is very localized to the GPU radiator side.

 

Otherwise your temps and pump speeds look absolutely nominal. Pumps are supposed to be fixed speed ~1850-1900 rpm.

 

The +100C motherboard temp #1-#3 are of no concern, they're not valid sensors. Only #2 is correct one, as shown in MSI command center and/or BIOS

 

For the software, I suppose you mean Corsair iCue rather than Corsair Link. The iXXX Corsair One systems are only supported by iCue.

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larouse

larouse

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Thank you guys so much for your answers!

 

If by "completely quiet" when idle, you mean no noise at all, then no.

Yep, I mean that. I guess I am a bit spoiled by my MacPro (it made no nosie at idle unless you put your ear on it) and all SSD laptops I had at work (MacBooks and Chromebooks) which produced no noise. I never had a purely gaming desktop, and the last PC desktop I owned was 20 years ago;)

 

Maybe I do not have eyes of a hawk, but I defo have ears of a fox;)

 

At idle, I can hear what I think are the pumps on both sides. Sounds a bit like a hard drive click, but I'm pretty sure it's the pumps (I replaced my HDD with an SSD). The pumps both appear to be fixed in the 1840-1885 RPM range

I can hear something like you, a hum that is very quiet but it is accompanied by a sound similar to a working laptop HDD (very irregular, but constant and a bit irritating). Measured noise levels are low in 25dB range (fom 2 feet away) if one can trust Android Sound Meter app. Top fan does not work usually, but when it does I can't hear it (it usually goes at 100-200 RPMS, but sometimes switches off). If HDD like noise wasn't present this would be what I expected from Corsair One.

 

From my observation, the top exhaust fan comes on when either the CPU or GPU coolant temp hits ~41C. My CPU coolant tends to idle around 42.5 under light load (i.e., web browsing) and the fan runs at ~300 RPM. I can't hear the fan at that speed, even with my ear on top of it. I can feel warm air coming out, though, so I know it's running. (The GPU idles around 37C, so it's the CPU that's making the fan come on.)

 

The only time I hear the top fan is under extreme load, really only during a few demanding games (i.e., Far Cry 5). I can hear the fan from my chair (~3 feet from the unit) when the fan hits around 1200 RPM, and when it maxes out around 1450 RPM, I can definitely hear it. But it's more of a low rumble than a high whine, and is easily masked by music or game sounds. I don't need to use headphones to mask it.

 

So my new i160 is not totally silent, but it's several orders of magnitude quieter than any other gaming PC I've ever owned, especially one with this much power. I'm pretty amazed at the engineering.

 

Cool, now I have my expectations set properly I guess. It is very similar on my side, the top fan is not noticeable unless it starts running at high RPMs.

 

I guess it's all about qualitative interpretation of 'quiet'.

 

Though my system is an i140 instead of an i160, for me it is very quiet at idle, but definitely not what I would call silent.

Agreed, see my comment above. Sounds like we have similar noise levels then.

I think you're probably hearing the pumps, which produce a very slight hum I can barely hear about 2 feet away, but which are noticeably louder as I get my ear closer.

 

Unless you top exhaust fan has an issue, you should not be able to hear anything unless it's 400+ rpm.

I can't hear the top fan at all, just a hum (I guess it may be a small FAN on a GPU side and a sound similar to constantly working HDD. The noise is worst at right (GPU side) at the bottom.

Maybe the HDD-like noise you mention is really the SATA HDD. Even without activity, it will make noise as it parks its head. It's definitely a loud sound compared to the rest of the system.

This would be an isolated noise (right?) while the HDD like noise is constant. This is similar a bit to an HDD which is working heavily (like during defrag etc., but a bit less). I tried to scan my HDD/copy some files to it and it produces more pronounced sounds.

Also the GPU board has a small fan over a heatsink which can rattle/shudder somewhat at high speed, as observed on some systems. Not sure if it's your issue, but it's easily identifiable as the noise is very localized to the GPU radiator side.

The noise is defo on GPU side, much worse at the bottom though I think. But with noise it is sometimes hard to distinguish as it can travel in mysterious ways. It also does reassemble a fan rattle a bit, so it is a valuable clue, thanks.

 

Otherwise your temps and pump speeds look absolutely nominal. Pumps are supposed to be fixed speed ~1850-1900 rpm.

 

The +100C motherboard temp #1-#3 are of no concern, they're not valid sensors. Only #2 is correct one, as shown in MSI command center and/or BIOS

 

For the software, I suppose you mean Corsair iCue rather than Corsair Link. The iXXX Corsair One systems are only supported by iCue.

Good to know the temp ranges are legit, I experience no stability problems at all even at full load in practice, just this irritating noise.

 

I actually meant Corsair Link, my iCUE only shows top fan speed, coolant pump speeds and both coolant temperatures. I installed Corsair Link myself, it had not been preinstalled (this one shows 4 temps and only one seems right and also has a fan speed reading). And then I also installed MSI command center which only shows one temp (seems right) and a CPU fan running at 3500 RPM (no system fan is shown, CPU fan reading oscillates a bit). BIOS shows the same.

 

I was wondering it this fan reading is legit at all.

 

Here is a link to a video,

 

[ame]

[/ame]

 

password: corsair

 

Noise on video is much louder than in reality, however you may need to increase the volume. The sound at 0:05 is only heard when i put my ear directly on a chassis. The sound which bothers me is heard the best at the end of the clip, however it is much fainter in reality. Same for fan hum and air flowing. It is surprising that it is louder when i move my mobile up. It is probably because a microphone is at the bottom of the phone and when I move the phone up, it can pick up the noise from the bottom more. Or maybe it is a GPU fan.

 

Any clue guys what generates that noise?

Edited by larouse
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pdebaum

pdebaum

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Yep, similar sound on mine too. It has to be from the pump(s).

 

FYI, the fixed CPU fan speed as reported from motherboard does not represent anything real. The pump circuit outputs a fixed constant voltage level through a single return wire to the monitoring pin of the CPU fan header on the motherboard, just so that the BIOS does not freak out if it doesn't detect a connected fan.

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Corsair Nick

Corsair Nick

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We can help get you taken care of for replacing your unit. You can submit a ticket through our support site or contact our support team through the 24-hour number below:

 

https://support.corsair.com/

 

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