Power Supply Unit (PSU) excessive noise level

tioneb9

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Dec 20, 2014
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Beware of noise levels when buying computer power supply units (PSU). In particular, I bought an EVGA 600B PSU with unacceptable noise levels reaching 50 dB, killing my ears. Seems like the product behaviour is designed this way. Look at the information presented in this website, with measure noise levels reaching 50 db for the EVGA 600B.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/600B/6.html

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"The 600B puts out very little noise at up to 200-250 W; that is, during normal ambient. Its noise output slowly increased afterward, reaching 46-49 dBA, which can be intolerable for users with sensitive hearing. Fact is that typical load noise should remains between 37-40 dBA, which is, compared to Gold and Platinum units, low enough for a Bronze unit with increased thermal dissipation."

I wish I had known this before buying. I did look around the web before buying, including the EVGA website, but there was no indication of noisy behaviour.

Looking at one of EVGA competitor specs, Thermaltake, specifically the TR2 600, shows much lower noise level, below 40 dB. Refer to website

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00002032.

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I just bought a TR2-500 from them, very very silent.

The noise level beyond 300W for the EVGA 600B is not an inconvenience, it kills my ears. I asked EVGA for a refund. I recommend not to buy EVGA PSUs, look at other brands with respectable noise levels, such as Thermaltake.

Hope this will help others in keeping a quiet & enjoyable computing environment.
 
Bought the EVGA PSU 600B to replace a dead PSU in a 6 year old computer. The original PSU was a Rhinoceros 520W, was always quiet until it died. One would logically believe that a 600W PSU could replace a 520W PSU & provide better performance. Motherboard is ASROCK A780GXE/128M, 2 SATA hard drives, no graphic card (i.e. using the motherboard embedded graphic card).

I bought a few EVGA graphic cards in the past, was satisfied. But EVGA PSU, looks like another story. Companies need to be up front with their PSU noise levels & provide the information before customer buy the products, i.e. posted on their website at least.

TechPowerUp provides noise levels data for a number of PSUs. Consult it or similar sites before you buy a PSU.