Noisy PSU advice

[Cloq]

Would appreciate any wisdom in this area.

Lately my PSU has been making growling/chatter/clinking noises when powering the machine. I have opened the computer sides (of the case) and didn't see anything stuck/broken (as best as I could see through the vents).

I am not sure if just blowing out dust is going to fix the chattering noises.. bb's in the fan gone awry?

The PSU is a Seasonic 750. Has anyone dealt with Seasonic's warranty department?

[40hz]

If some gentle dust blowing doesn't stop the noise there's a good likelihood the bearings in the fan are starting to go. Or something inside the PSU box has come loose and is brushing against the fan blades while they're rotating. Either way your PSU should be replaced. If the fan fails or its spin speed is slowed beyond a certain point, it won't be able to sufficiently cool the PSU and catastrophic failure could occur. And if your PSU is running hot due to insufficient cooling, the extra heat being generated could damage other components inside your computer even if it doesn't fail.

Can't offer any guidance on Seasonic's warranty service since I've never owned one of their units.

Luck!

[Ath]

Sure it's the PSU fan? usually a system like that has a CPU-fan and a case-fan as well, so those could be the culprits too. You'll have to investigate by turning on the power while the case is open and you're watching/listening closely what's happening where.

[mouser]

be really careful blowing compressed air in a psu fan -- do NOT do it while the computer is running.
i destroyed a psu that way.

[40hz]

Sure it's the PSU fan? usually a system like that has a CPU-fan and a case-fan as well, so those could be the culprits too. You'll have to investigate by turning on the power while the case is open and you're watching/listening closely what's happening where.

You did say you opened the case and the noise was coming from the PSU. But Ath makes an excellent point. There are other fans in a computer case, and many times the case fans, or those smaller high-speed units on drive trays, CPU coolers, and graphics cards can also go bad. So as long as you're in there, it's not a bad idea to check them all.

be really careful blowing compressed air in a psu fan -- do NOT do it while the computer is running.
i destroyed a psu that way.

Agree 100%. Be very careful when blowing out dust. And don't use the concentrator tube that comes with the canned air. Stay back about 8 inches from the fan (with the machine of and unplugged) and do a series of short puffs rather than a long hard blast. Best to do it outside or someplace easy to clean since there may be a lot of dust in the unit.

Be careful not to breathe any of it in or get dust in your eyes while doing it. It's happened to all of us at least once. 

[Cloq]

Thanks for the advice. Learned a few things. 

I plan on unplugging all the cables (the psu is a modular unit, all cables can be disconnected) and taking the unit out for a good "airring" before I do any warranty business.

@Ath: Yes I am pretty sure it's the PSU fan as the noise seemed to be the loudest at the bottom of the case (psu is on the bottom). I cleaned out the CPU fan (wasn't that dusty) and got as close to it as I could and didn't hear any noise aside from the fan whine/hum.