TX650 crackling/grating/clicking noise = Dead soon?

[FOX76255]

Greetings PCS.

For a while, there has been this annoying occurrence, best described as some clicking noise somewhere in the desktop case.
It was initially ignored, as I was thinking it may have been some dust clogging up one of the case fans and decided to deal with it later when I do regular clean-up of all the fans, vents and whatever else.
So I did what I always do and everything was nice and clean. But the clicking noise did not stop. I decided to investigate, cracked the case open [not literally] and upon closer inspection, it turns out the clicking came from the PSU region.
To be 100% sure, I disconnected all case fans [internal beeps galore...] and it became obvious - PSU is doing all sorts of noises...

So here I am, on this very forum, seeking your help, fellow PCS users.
Long story short if you don't bother reading the above novel:
- PSU started making noise sometime last year [september?]
- I'm 100% positive it's PSU
- apart from noise, everything is working fine
- not a single failed POST, never BSOD'd, always bleeps once, all mobo LEDs light up correctly and in sequence, never had a single freeze/crash/instability/overheating of anything; stable and flawless build by PC Spec...

Until now...

I did some research on this and it can be one of several things. Ball bearing giving up, fan out of alignment, something bent it and it's scraping the sides, screws are on too tight, but now I'm out of options.
I mostly ignored this because I've been reading a bit on this kind of issue and for quite a few people, the problem just fixed itself after a while. I wanted to break the PSU open but then I saw the ominous Warranty Void If Removed sticker so I decided not to. Then again, it's quite likely the warranty ran out long time ago, since I bought the desktop in November 2010.

So... Any ideas? Cracking it open is a last resort and I'm currently on a tight budget, so getting a new one if RMA is not an option is gonna be rather difficult.

 

[steaky360]

Might be worth considering a RMA - Corsair give their PSU's a good warranty I think.

Power Supplies

• Enthusiast Series™ / TX Series™ PSUs have a 5 year warranty

Source: http://www.corsair.com/en/support/warranty/

Always worth asking, worst they can say is "no"!!

 

[vanthus]

Opening the PSU is the only way to fix it really,unless you want to splash out on a new PSU,obviously not the way to go though if the PSU is still under warranty,so follow steaky's advice first.
You may be able to fix the issue without replacing the fan,but replacing it is normally quite straight forward with modern PSU's.
Be aware though,you can still get a nasty belt from inside the PSU even when it's disconnected,some sources advise waiting for 10 to 20 minutes after disconnecting and others recommend a lot longer,as in hours.I find that unplugging the computer and pressing the power button for a few seconds can help to discharge the PSU
There are numerous tutorials on the web on how to go about it all.If you don't feel confident doing it yourself you could always ask someone or take it to a local repair shop to change the fan,but that might cost just as much or even more than buying a new PSU.

 

[Karnor00]

Personally, opening up the PSU and messing around with it is the one thing I'd never do with my PC.

 

[PokerFace]

Personally, opening up the PSU and messing around with it is the one thing I'd never do with my PC.

Karnor00: Oh, and I wouldn't take it pot-holing either