Possible loud PSU workaround?

[Lekko]

well... my PSU is still driving me insane. The fan just goes 100% at all times, and I will have to RMA it... eventually.

Fact is: the PSU is in a very very very tight spot that was a pain to fit it in as is, so if I can temporarily save myself until I build my new case, that would be awesome.

The idea is simple: stick something small into the PSU fan to jam it, and use a silent fan mounted outside the PSU over the air intake to use that instead. That way it still has airflow, but I control it instead and it isn't painfully loud. It shouldn't void the warranty since it won't be opened. Thoughts? Good idea... bad?

PS- Yes, it will be a while before I get new case (building from scratch) and once I migrate things over, I will RMA the PSU.

[AngryArtichoke]

I'd avoid tampering with the thermals on a PSU. Have you contacted the company that makes the PSU to see if it's a typical problem?

Perhaps the company has made a newer revision, and you can RMA for it. But anyways, what is the brand/model?

[Lekko]

Ultra X3 100 watt. kinda have buyer's remorse. It had decent reviews going into it, I didn't really think it would be as loud as it was. Also: no, have not contacted them yet. Like I said, I kinda want to wait on contact since sometimes they give you xx days to send it in. I want to be ready to pull it out. It's a pain to get into position in this case.

I'm also reworking my entire rig to be silent, and that is by far the loudest component. Everything else is very hush.

[mpilchfamily]

Is the unit getting adequate airflow? The PSU should be throttling the fan based on temps. So if the unit isn't getting cool then it will keep the fan on full.

Any reason why you got a 1KW unit? What are your system specs that required you to get such a large unit and what case are you using?

If you don't mind killing the warranty you can always open the unit up and replace the fan all together. I wouldn't recommend jamming the fan. Could cause allot of problems. It will take some work to replace the fan and you need to be carefully but its can be done.

[Lekko]

I'm going to fiddle with the way air flows through the system, might be able to baffle some more air into it to reduce turbulence. It may just be in a low pressure spot.

Granted, I do feel air coming out the back, and it isn't warm air, but maybe if there is enough airflow it will stay throttled lower. Hopefully I can silence the whole setup and still maintain my higher clocks.

[jonnyGURU]

If you have an X3 that's loud, there's something wrong.

If it's in a "tight spot" I would definitely do as mpilchfamily suggests and make sure it's getting adequate airflow.

[Lekko]

Tight spot meaning it is a big PSU in a space meant for a smaller PSU. It is getting good airflow though now that I put a baffle on it. My radiator was sucking air out the top right next to the air intake for the PSU, so it was in a low pressure spot. I put a baffle to give it it's own source to draw from and now it is doing better. Still a little annoying but.. much better.