strange fan (?) noise, video included. XFX 850W Black edition

[Thomas Watkins]

System :
850W XFX PSU
Z77 Sabretooth
i3770k
xfx 7970 black edition x2
1x SSD & 1x HDD

Factory clocks on everything.

I'm currently experiencing what seems to be an odd fan noise from my PSU under load. It only happens under load as demonstrated in the video linked below. It sound as if it could be the fan, but maybe something else. I was wondering if this was something that sounded incredibly dodgy, and if I should leave my PC off?
After all the money I've chucked into this system I'd be pretty heartbroken for a bad PSU to fry it.
I've only noticed it recently, maybe since installing crossfire but I can't be 100% sure about that.
I've opened a support ticket with XFX, but i'm dreading the process of waiting for them to process it, and have it sent back to me. Last time I went through them it took about 3 weeks. As someone who does design work from home this is a pretty tough scenario.

I've watched the fan, and it continues to spin just fine, no slowdowns or halts whatsoever.

If the only alternative is replacing the fan, then I'm happy to give it a shot. Still, it might not be the fan at all. Have a listen guys and i'll put it up to you.



http://youtu.be/xJ6fi7IzHsI

 

[smorizio]

check that no wires are hitting the small sabertooth fans. also try turning one of the mb fans off in the bios see if it one of them that hitting something. if the power supply fan is making noise see if the fan wire or the fan itself on to tight.

 

[Thomas Watkins]

Also, this noise does not occur when I run a windowed game.
My crossfire settings are standard, except for having disabled ULPS

 

[Thomas Watkins]

check that no wires are hitting the small sabertooth fans. also try turning one of the mb fans off in the bios see if it one of them that hitting something. if the power supply fan is making noise see if the fan wire or the fan itself on to tight.

Thanks for the response dude.
My 40mm sabretooth fan is noisy, and I've got a new one in the mail.
My room is too dark to see, but in the video my PSU is actually on the outside of my case away from the other components, and the noise you can hear is solely coming from that part.

Strange how it would only happen in fullscreen crossfire mode.

I can't get close to seeing how my fan is wired due to the design of the PSU. Here's a pic

http://www.legitreviews.com/images/reviews/2239/04.JPG

just taking the cover away from the case would void my warranty.

I have a ticket open with XFX, but I doubt it will get a response before the BF4 release tomorrow night. And I sure as hell want to play all night.

The system seems stable in crossfire regardless, no crashes even after 3 hours of furmark. It's just that noise that makes me feel dodgy about it.

 

[smorizio]

go into the fan control in the bios turn off the small fans...see if the noise stops. if the noise still there turn off your pc and slightly losen up the power supply screws see if the unit fan is dragging on the outside of the power supply. also if the power supply is facing down check that the fan blades are not trimming your carpet. if you have too put two small books under the case to keep the power supply out of the shag.

 

[Thomas Watkins]

Okay I just tried turning off the fans. No difference.

In the video, my PSU is on the outside of the case with the fans pointing upwards and the cables routed inside onto the board and GFX cards. So the noise on the video is literally the noise coming from my PSU fan.

It only happens in fullscreen crossfire games when active rendering is taking place. As seen on the video, on the loading/menu screens nothing happens.

 

[Thomas Watkins]

Here's my hwmonitor results

 

[Thomas Watkins]

ok it appears to be happening regardless of whether or not I have crossfire enabled. with crossfire disabled the rattle is just slightly less loud, and can only be heard if I put my ear down behind the case.

 

[smorizio]

try unplugging one case fan at a time...then use one gpu at a time. or use msi afterburner and turn one fan up and see if it the gpu fan.

 

[Jonathan Cave]

i have the EXACT PSU noise. p*****g me off! any solutions?

 

[Jonathan Cave]

There's 3 other videos of the same issue with these PSU's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NGMXrA1PJ4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oat-oipfIbY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r21YyQlTTOc

 

[Jonathan Cave]

i think i've got the solution mate.

DO NOT OPEN THE CASE as this will void your warranty.

unscrew the fan cover (4 black screws that hold the mesh fan cover on)

push down gently on the fan, it will push down and spring back up do this a couple times. i have a feeling its a lubricant issue.

my PC has been running 30 minutes without a hint of that noise. I was getting the noise constantly not limited to when using high load.

give it a go and let me know if it fixes it. it seems to have fixed it!

my only concern is if the noise comes back & it is a lubricant issue, i cant be arsed doing this on an ongoing basis. i'll give it a day or two and post back on here with the results.

good luck!

EDIT: after another 45 mins playing BF4 - im happy to say i still have no clicking noise! god it was annoying!

EDIT #2: After leaving my PC on all night , i can confirm that there is no longer the ticking/clicking noise.

EDIT #3: 2 days on and no issues, Resolved!

 

[Thomas Watkins]

My version was the revision before yours, where the fan cover was built over, with no seperate screws for removal without breaking the warranty void sticker.
I bought an extra 750W XFX black edition as it seems my PSU was about 100W too high anyway.
Sending the old one off for an RMA, was a damn shame because it was quite lovely for the time it was working. Thanks for all the help anyways dude, I hope this can maybe help someone who is outside of warranty/doesn't mind sacrificing warranty, mine was the P1-850B-NLG9

 

[Jonathan Cave]

Ah ! it's a shame that the fan cover was built in.

is the 7970 x 2 need < 750W? if so that's not bad!

i'm glad you got it sorted.

feel free to mark my previous post as the solution as its fixed my PSU and its running silent once more 😀