PSU fan making an odd 'grinding' noise

Yes, I'm aware that this post does not follow the guideline about posting your system specs to a T, but the problem has already been identified. I simply want some second opinions on what I should do, or if there's something I forgot that I could do myself to remedy the issue.


Lately every once in a while my computer would make a strange 'grinding' kind of noise. Usually it would go away after about a minute.

Last night it started really suddenly and wouldn't stop, so I removed the access panel and found that it was the Power Supply fan. The PSU is a Corsair CX600.

I read that this can be a common occurrence from dust buildup, a bug getting up in the fan, a wire getting close to the fan blades, or the fan falling out of the bearing. I disconnected my computer from power and took out the power supply and opened it. I found that there were no loose wires, I dusted the fan off, and re-aligned the fan with the case and screwed everything back together as tightly as I could.

When I returned power to my computer it seemed fixed, but after an hour and a half it started again.

Is the fan just going bad? Should I get a new PSU or fan to replace the old one?

The fan bearing is probably wearing out. The fan is not likely to fail anytime soon, nor is it likely to fail catastrophically, but the noise will probably just get worse / more frequent over time.

Depending on the bearing type, you might be able to just apply a very little bit of oil to it to solve the problem temporarily. Replacing the fan is also an option, as there is probably nothing wrong with the rest of the PSU. Replacing the whole PSU is probably the easiest option though.

Be careful when mucking around inside a PSU, they contain large capacitors that can retain enough power to shock you even after you disconnect it from the mains.

Thanks for the advice. As of now I am on the problem PC and there's no Issue, if it persists I'll probably try to doctor the fan up a little bit more.

I don't know a ton about fans other than their purpose, but according to newegg.com the one in the case is a 'sleeve bearing.' Would the aforementioned method of applying oil to the bearing do anything for this kind of fan?


If that doesn't help I guess on to something else...