Does Cooling fan for Power supply on computers need to be on all of the time

[flflasch]

Does the power supply circulating or cooling fan ( one in the same) have to be on all of the time or is it controlled thru thermistor to go on and off as temperature demands?

 

[13thmonkey]

depends on power supply, on anything but the weakest PC's you'll need some kind of airflow, so typically more than 1 in the case.

If it is too noisy get a better PSU, get a better case.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Personally, I'd prefer to have things louder and know that it's cool.

 

[soundefx]

It doesn't have to be, but it is better if it is because you are sure that the temperature will be kept low at all times.

If it turns on periodically and it stops turning on, you wouldn't be sure if it doing that because it went bad or of your computer is constantly cool.

 

[diellur]

It depends on the PSU. Some don't turn the fan on until the temperature or load gets beyond a certain point, but these tend to be the better brands. A Google will point you in the right direction. A PSU isn't as central to airflow as it once was, as this should be the remit of case fans - a lot of newer cases tend to have the PSU mounted in the bottom, with the intake on the bottom of the case.

 

[kajabla]

^this. Some fancy PSUs will keep the fan off until a certain (fairly low) temperature is reached.