CitrusC Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 Hi there, I picked up two of these for a dual PSU build I'm doing into a Lian Li PC-A10 review sample, and have a few questions regarding the HX620Ws. One of the PSUs was making a clicking sound when I wired it up to my tester to make sure it was working properly. I stopped the fan with a paintbrush to make sure it wasn't that and the clicking sound continued. I added a few fans to the 12v rail and the clicking seemed to have got fainter - is this a sign of a faulty PSU or was it just because the unit was underpowered? I've not got a motherboard to test it on (yet) and am a touch afraid to do so until I know for a fact it isn't going to explode in my face. The unit comes with an adaptor that turns both PSUs (I've got two of them) on when the system is switched on - the clicking mentioned above doesn't seem to be as loud when I put the clicking PSU on the 'primary' part of this adaptor (the one with many cables, not just the green and black one) - hence my reasoning that the unit may be complaining because it is underpowered, although the other one is whisper quiet no matter what it is doing... I'm going to be using one PSU (the clicking one) to power my motherboard and the 8pin AUX connection that sits next to the CPU, as well as one of my two graphics cards. The other PSU will power my fan speed controller (with two silent 120mm fans attached to it) and two SATA HDDs. Is it dangerous to run them like this? I don't want the backup (the one running the fans and drives) to give up on me because it is underpowered. Would it be better to split the load even more so, making the backup PSU power both graphics cards as well as the fans and the drives? Kind Regards, Craig 'CitrusC' Jessup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CitrusC Posted October 21, 2006 Author Share Posted October 21, 2006 I just got back from work - since I didn't actually have much work to do, I sketched up this bad boy for you guys, so you can see my exact wiring configuration intent. http://www.caseclosed.co.uk/citrus/psu/corsair.gif I know the drain for the G80 must be wrong, otherwise it would be near impossible to power two of them using one PSU. The G80 actually has two 6pin power connections on the top, so I may have to use both PSUs if I decide to go SLi (which I no doubt will). I had no idea what kind of drain the motherboard/processor has, I'm using a Core Duo with an Asus P5N32 SLi Premium (which just came out) and will be upgrading the processor to a quad core when they come out. I'm using 2gigs of a certain popular brand of high end DDR2 RAM on the motherboard. Will all this be enough to stop the Alphaclicky PSU being clicky? The Beta PSU only clicks - very quietly - when I'm running it on my PSU tester whereas the Alphaclicky is pretty loud in comparison. Also worth noting I won't actually be using a powered graphics card until the fan-based nV G80 is established (8800GT I think they're calling the card) so the Beta PSU will only be powering two HDDs and an FDD (as well as two silent 120mm case fans) for a couple of months. This won't damage it, will it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellowbeard Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 I"m sure Power Guy can clarify but, there is another post here in the PSU section regarding the clicking. In that case the noise is, as you correctly identified it, the PSU clicking when no loaded (or lightly loaded). However, this does not explain the discrepency between the 2 units as it would seem logical that they would exhibit the same characteristics when tested under the same circumstances. I'd try the louder of the 2 units under a heavy load and see what happens. If it is not working properly or is too noisy then post back here. Sounds like an interesting rig you have going there. Post up some info and pix when you "git er done". Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CitrusC Posted October 22, 2006 Author Share Posted October 22, 2006 Well, I got the 'core' components coming the week after next (my studio headphones broke the other day, so I've had to take out a week's wages to get a new pair - they cost a bomb!) once I've got the HDDs, so I won't know for sure if the Alpha PSU is playing up or not for a bit yet. I'm hoping the CPU/Motherboard load will be enough to start it up properly as to get rid of the clicking, if not I'll drop another post here and see if any of the staff have any ideas as to why it would still be doing it. I've already took a good few shots of the system being tied back and routed, I'll crop them and post them here a bit later on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee Power Guy Posted October 24, 2006 Corsair Employee Share Posted October 24, 2006 Well, I got the 'core' components coming the week after next (my studio headphones broke the other day, so I've had to take out a week's wages to get a new pair - they cost a bomb!) once I've got the HDDs, so I won't know for sure if the Alpha PSU is playing up or not for a bit yet. I'm hoping the CPU/Motherboard load will be enough to start it up properly as to get rid of the clicking, if not I'll drop another post here and see if any of the staff have any ideas as to why it would still be doing it. I've already took a good few shots of the system being tied back and routed, I'll crop them and post them here a bit later on. There shouldn't be any problem with the "ticking" noise you hear. Some of the PSUs make this noise when there is no load or a very low load on them. If you'd like, you can RMA the PSU for this, but it is not a mechanical fault and the PSU should perform equally to the other one. A single high-end CPU and motherboard should put enough load to get rid of the clicking. If not, like I said, we'd be more than happy to RMA it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CitrusC Posted October 24, 2006 Author Share Posted October 24, 2006 Naaah, no point RMAing something that works, ticking or no! I did a passive power test last night to make sure my motherboard was alright, and I've formulated a plan! Instead of running both PSU at what would be less than half capacity, I'm going to use one for the meantime, leaving the other unplugged with it's ATX cable tied back. Not only will this be more than enough to power my 'midway' configuration, it should save me a few quid on the power bill as well. When I pick up my G80 I will bring the 2nd PSU back into the game, having it power the graphics card then having the original PSU powering the second graphics card, when I get it. Think this is a viable plan, as I'll basically be using the system as a single-PSU rig until the extra juice is needed. Also, does running a PSU with the green/black mod (in my case through an ATX adaptor) indefinately cause any damage if it has power being drawn from the other +12V rails? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col-P-Todd Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 I had my HX620w a week and it started making clicking noise after taking a closer look at the psu I noticed that the corsair sticker came off and was stuck to the side. This was the cause of the clicking noise for me since the fan kept hitting the lose sticker. Maybe the same thing happend with your PSU to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee Power Guy Posted October 24, 2006 Corsair Employee Share Posted October 24, 2006 Also, does running a PSU with the green/black mod (in my case through an ATX adaptor) indefinately cause any damage if it has power being drawn from the other +12V rails? Shouldn't cause any problems that I can foresee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CitrusC Posted October 24, 2006 Author Share Posted October 24, 2006 I had my HX620w a week and it started making clicking noise after taking a closer look at the psu I noticed that the corsair sticker came off and was stuck to the side. This was the cause of the clicking noise for me since the fan kept hitting the lose sticker. Maybe the same thing happend with your PSU to Good suggestion, first thing I thought when I heard it clicking, so I stopped the fan with my cleaning paintbrush to make sure it wasn't that. Alrighty power guy, is powering a PSU this way covered in the warranty if it does commit suicide? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee Power Guy Posted October 26, 2006 Corsair Employee Share Posted October 26, 2006 Good suggestion, first thing I thought when I heard it clicking, so I stopped the fan with my cleaning paintbrush to make sure it wasn't that. Alrighty power guy, is powering a PSU this way covered in the warranty if it does commit suicide? It should still be under warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CitrusC Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 It should still be under warranty. Fantastic, that just about wraps up all my questions. I'll post a photo journal of Wildfire's construction as soon as I get around to sorting out the first 2 sets of images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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