EVGA Supernova 650 G3 fan noise and Eco mode

Flogger23m

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Have one of these power supplies. EVGA 650 G3.

The fan started rattling rather loudly after less than two years of use. Got to the point it was annoying me. I turned it onto Eco mode might seems to keep the fan off most of the time, but this is the winter. Fan has been off since I switched to Eco mode. Would be safe to use in ambient temperatures at 90F ? Worried it will overheat on load when it gets hot and if I need to get a replacement soon or if it is realistically okay to use in Eco mode in warm weather.

Not going to bother with EVGA RMA, last time I contact them they acted pissed off, made exceptions to the warranty (half the product isn't covered under warranty apparently including fans/cables), and their shipping requirements essentially would cost almost as much as buying a new PSU.
 
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I have the same unit (850w), and same issue. I blast it out with my air compressor, and it solves it for a few months.
 
I think you got confused somewhere. Eco mode does not mean the fan never comes on. Eco mode means it stays off until it hits a certain temperature. It will kick on when its needed so you dont have to worry.

And ya. The G3 line of psu's were known for having a bit louder and lower quality fans than lets say the old G2 series. Back when I bought my Evga G2 650, I did a lot of research and found the G3 had louder fans and more aggressive fan profile. I went with the G2 line because of that(which is discontinued now).
 
It sucks to find out the hard way that a "Hydro-dynamic bearing" is nothing more than a fancy sleeve bearing, which is the worst type of bearing available.

Yes it's "safe" to use eco mode, as the fan will still turn on once temperatures get high enough. However the higher temperatures will shorten the overall life of your PSU. If you are going to replace your PSU anyway every few years then it doesn't matter, but I prefer to make my PSUs last 10+ years and re-use them through multiple builds if possible.

There is another HUGE factor, that is your case airflow:

Your best bet is to maintain positive air pressure in your case (more intake vs exhaust). Since your PSU already functions as an exhaust, having positive air pressure in your case would have synergy with your PSU acting as an exhaust, causing air to move through and out of your PSU even when the fan is off. Positive air pressure in the case also allows you to control where air enters your case, so you can put dust filters in those locations and essentially prevent all but the most fine dust particles from ever entering your case.

The alternative is if your case has negative pressure (more exhaust vs intake), which would be bad for several reasons. Dusty air will be sucked into your case through every random little hole in your case. When your PSU is in eco mode and the fan turns off, your system will begin sucking warm dusty air from the rear of your PC into your PSU. When the PSU fan does come on, that fan will be fighting against the direction of your case airflow, dramatically reducing airflow and potentially making the fan work harder.

And of course, you always have the option of opening up your PSU and replacing the fan. 130mm fans are not super common but You could probably put a 120mm fan in there if you had to. No need to toss the PSU just because the fan uses a cheap style of bearing and failed like clockwork.
 
Warranty discrepancies? No problem then, open it and replace the fan, just make sure you wear rubber gloves and install a high-quality fan. Otherwise, get a Corsair, but the G3 are not as good as the G2, which I learned long ago.
 
I have the same unit (850w), and same issue. I blast it out with my air compressor, and it solves it for a few months.

This seems to be notably louder and more grindy this time.

It sucks to find out the hard way that a "Hydro-dynamic bearing" is nothing more than a fancy sleeve bearing, which is the worst type of bearing available.

Yes it's "safe" to use eco mode, as the fan will still turn on once temperatures get high enough. However the higher temperatures will shorten the overall life of your PSU. If you are going to replace your PSU anyway every few years then it doesn't matter, but I prefer to make my PSUs last 10+ years and re-use them through multiple builds if possible.

Yeah it must not get hot enough currently for the fan to turn on. I don't plan on buying a PSU every 4 or so years and I was intending to keep this one for 6 years at the minimum. I kept my old middle of the road Antec Earthwatts 500 for 6+ years without issue. I do worry about summer heat and having to send this back multiple times. It is about $20-25 to ship this thing back for warranty. I had one fan start grinding already, so it seems like they last less than 2 years.

I bought one of these for $90 last night:
Seasonic PX-750

Newegg claims free returns if unopened, so I'll ponder on whether I want to keep it. Might just keep the Seasonic since I already bought it and see what I get for the EVGA on ebay. I noticed my current PSU has a bit more amps on the +5V. I'm assuming that isn't anything to be bothered about? All Seasonic PSUs seems to be highly regarded but is the Focus line also good?
 
This seems to be notably louder and more grindy this time.



Yeah it must not get hot enough currently for the fan to turn on. I don't plan on buying a PSU every 4 or so years and I was intending to keep this one for 6 years at the minimum. I kept my old middle of the road Antec Earthwatts 500 for 6+ years without issue. I do worry about summer heat and having to send this back multiple times. It is about $20-25 to ship this thing back for warranty. I had one fan start grinding already, so it seems like they last less than 2 years.

I bought one of these for $90 last night:
Seasonic PX-750

Newegg claims free returns if unopened, so I'll ponder on whether I want to keep it. Might just keep the Seasonic since I already bought it and see what I get for the EVGA on ebay. I noticed my current PSU has a bit more amps on the +5V. I'm assuming that isn't anything to be bothered about? All Seasonic PSUs seems to be highly regarded but is the Focus line also good?
Keep the px 750 for sure. The focus series is top notch. They are excellent units and very quiet using any of the fan settings. The 5v wont be anything to worry about.
If its one of the Seasonics that were on sale for $90 recently you scored a sweet deal.
If you contact EVGA cs and explain your issue. Along with your concern with this problem recurring with a new unit after reading reviews about it. They may replace it with a different model if you give them a nudge or two.
 
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