HX 850 High Pitched Whine

skidude

Active Member
Noticed recently that when my computer is under load (in this case playing STALKER Call of Pripyat) my Corsair HX 850 has begun to make this loud, high-pitched whine/grinding noise. I'm unsure if this is coil whine or something more serious, as it seems more pronounced than most coil whine I've heard before. It goes away immediately when not under load. Check out this video I took and let me know what you guys think:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6lelTIZq8E
 
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Darren

Moderator
Staff member
This just came out of no where? No changes to hardware or software recently? You absolutely sure it's your PSU and not the GPU's?
 

skidude

Active Member
Literally came out of nowhere, it is extremely noticeable even with headphones on so I definitely would have heard it had it happened in the past. No software or hardware changes of note for several months. I at first thought it was the GPUs but after a lot of time intently listening I am certain it is from the PSU.
 
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Darren

Moderator
Staff member
PSU might be on it's way out then. Maybe a bad fan but judging by the sound I kind of doubt it.
 

skidude

Active Member
Thought so, but wanted a second opinion. This one is about 2 years old. Don't want to risk it, gonna be shopping for a new PSU.
 

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
Thought so, but wanted a second opinion. This one is about 2 years old. Don't want to risk it, gonna be shopping for a new PSU.

I would wait for a third opinion from somebody with a bit more experience with PSU's. I'm pretty sure that's what's going on but waiting for somebody else to chime in probably isn't a bad idea before you go spend money.
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
I listened to it but it didn't sound like coil whine to me unless there was noise interference. Kinda sounded like fan noise from maybe video card?
 

skidude

Active Member
Definitely is not from either of the GPU fans, as I manually stopped the fans for a few moments on each one and the noise persists, plus it is very obvious when you are near it that the noise is coming from the very bottom of the case from the PSU.

Just noticed Corsair has a 7 year warranty on this PSU so I may try to RMA it.
 
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StrangleHold

Moderator
Staff member
Doesn't sound like coil whine to me either. The Corsair will rev the fan up and down on load. Sure there isn't any dust in the fan?
 

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
The fan might be going bad but that's not really what it sounds like to me. Do you notice a change in volume of air moving out of your PSU from the back when it's making the sound versus not?
 

skidude

Active Member
No, the volume of air seems the same. Just put in for an RMA with Corsair, so it's going back this week. We'll see how the replacement does. Thanks for the help guys.
 

skidude

Active Member
Swapped out to my old Antec PSU while I RMA the corsair and there is no noise when under load.
 
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