Silent Running: Two Fanless Power Supplies And A Quiet One, Tested

[Guest]

The power supply typically isn't the noisiest component in a high-end PC. Nevertheless, many folks are serious about cutting noise, and go the extra mile for a quiet system. We step in with a comparison of two silent models against one low-noise PSU.



Silent Running: Two Fanless Power Supplies And A Quiet One, Tested : Read more

 

[amuffin]

Seasonic, me gusta

 

[zeratul600]

Why does americans are so picky about the noise rate??? i never stop to think about that! it has never become an obstacle to enjoy my pc experience

 

[the1kingbob]

Fan noise has never bothered me much, which maybe why I own two 4870s... one of which has a jet plane I mean reference cooler on it..... sadly my wife doesn't care much for the noise, which lead me to buy her wireless headphones

I think it is quite neat that they have fanless option. I would never take the risk, but if I did I would chose seasonic, my 750W has done me well.

 

[s3anister]

[citation][nom]zeratul600[/nom]Why does americans are so picky about the noise rate??? i never stop to think about that! it has never become an obstacle to enjoy my pc experience[/citation]
Last time I checked, Americans aren't the only ones who enjoy a silent computing experience...

 

[amuffin]

[citation][nom]zeratul600[/nom]Why does americans are so picky about the noise rate??? i never stop to think about that! it has never become an obstacle to enjoy my pc experience[/citation]
Many companies that are focused on silence such as Noctua and beQuiet! are not "American."

 

[Deemo13]

I didn't know they made fanless power supplies....cool beans.

 

[uruquiora]

Seasonic for the win

 

[mesab66]

ZERTUL600......FOR THE VAST MAJORITY OF FOLKS, PERSISTANT/RELENTLESS NOISE QUICKLY BECOMES VERY ANNOYING!!..........give 100 folk a choice of 2 pc rooms - one near silent and one, noisy as hell. Riddle me this....how many go for the quiet room?
--> argument over.

 

[mitko]

A year ago I built a water cooled system with an i7 2600k and 2 x Radeon 6990. The whole point of the water cooling was to make things extra quiet, which it did, except for the power supply. I tried two different Corsair AX1200 units before switching to a Nexus RX1100. The power supply is still BY FAR the noisiest component in the computer. Does anyone have a suggestion how to reduce the noise? I could not find any currently manufactured water cooled PSUs. Do you think it is possible to use 2 low-noise PSUs to power components on the same motherboard? Any other ideas are also welcome. I need at least a 1100W PSU, as I've actually measured the power consumption to be 1067W at 100% CPU and GPU load.

For the record I am not an American and I don't live in the US

 

[belardo]

In a quality modern PSU... can anyone really hear the PSUs?

I've been buying Corsair and even $45 Thermaltake 500... and I cannot hear them... with the cover open. The problems with FANLESS PSUs and GPUs is that they become heat-sinks... sure they are quiet, but everything around them gets warm. You need to blow the hot air out.

Going from a fanless GPU to something with a huge fan (H.I.S. brand) - the fans barely makes noise and use a rear exhaust and I can run the system fans at a lower speed.


Mitko: get soundproofing material, apply to inside of case. Put case on floor.

My case is on the desk, a foot or so away from me... its no louder than the A/C vent blowing air in the room.

 

[jassenjj]

There are some things to consider with fanless PSUs:
1. The heat stress is the factor No. 1 for the lifespan of the capacitors, no matter if they are conductive polymer or very high quality electrolytic brand.
2. The case should use more higher intake flow to make sure that the power supply's heat does not enter the case.
3. A noise level of 10-13 dB can be tolerated for the sake of sustainability and avoiding the risk of heating up your case with the heat from from the PSU.

Personally, in the last 10 years I admire Seasonic for their stile... But I would use a passive solution that is still in the PC case just for a while.

 

[razor512]

the main difference with a silent PSU is the capacitor rating. Most noise ones use 1000 hour 105C capacitors, while a high end silent one will use caps that are in the range of 10,000 hour 105c, or even 125c

most of the voltage regulators are mostly the same though they may add a larger heatsink on them.

you could pretty much turn a standard PSU into a silent one by swapping the caps and heatsinks. High quality capacitors are about 3-5 times more expensive (may take the cost of a single cap from 5 cents, to around 15-20 cents)

 

[waxdart]

[citation][nom]razor512[/nom]the main difference with a silent PSU is the capacitor rating. Most noise ones use 1000 hour 105C capacitors, while a high end silent one will use caps that are in the range of 10,000 hour 105c, or even 125cmost of the voltage regulators are mostly the same though they may add a larger heatsink on them.you could pretty much turn a standard PSU into a silent one by swapping the caps and heatsinks. High quality capacitors are about 3-5 times more expensive (may take the cost of a single cap from 5 cents, to around 15-20 cents)[/citation]

Yeap, and you get a better, more reliable, energy efficient bit of kit too. Bit I don't think I'll be having a go a swapping them

 

[freggo]

[citation][nom]zeratul600[/nom]Why does americans are so picky about the noise rate??? i never stop to think about that! it has never become an obstacle to enjoy my pc experience[/citation]

Not an 'American' thing, but a medical one. Noise pollution is becoming more and more of a problem; and affects long term hearing quality.
No wonder people can no longer hear the difference between an MP3 and a CD recording.

 

[willard]

Seasonic's X series units are pretty damn good. I've got the X650, and its fan doesn't even turn on until you apply a substantial load to the unit. Even then, it's still inaudible over the other noise in my case.

Every now and then you can find it on sale for $120. A steal for the best 650W PSU in the world.

 

[Guest]

I've been using a fanless psu in my HTPC for a few years now. A computer in the living room has different noise thresholds from a gaming PC.

 

[vmem]

I ordered the seasonic just last night, needless to say, this article makes me feel very good about my purchase decision

it'll be used in an HTPC/home media server. to those that have doubts about the usefulness of such a PSU, I will ask: "what's the point of having that nice audio system in your living room if all you're gonna hear is fan noise in the background?"

 

[Guest]

I kinda wanted to see the KingWin 500W Stryker being compared to other fan-less units. Since it has 42 amps and it is platinum rated, it should be the best silent PSU in the market.

 

[majorlag]

I am currently using the Seasonic x400 fanless in my silent fanless HTPC system. And a x560 in my desktop build. One of the best power supply brands I have ever used. Currently my pick for new systems being built.

Another article is what got me hooked http://www.silentpcreview.com/Seasonic_X-400_Fanless_PSU, they basically had to resort to a hair dryer to make the thermal protection trip. A very good power supply that can put up with alot of heat before having to shut down.

 

[nebun]

[citation][nom]amuffin[/nom]Seasonic, me gusta[/citation]
translate please...don't understand...thanks in advance

 

[WickedPigeon]

The Seasonic 460 does NOT have a UL tested approval -
That is nuts, and a fire trap waiting to happen.

NO UL NO PURCHASE! Your life depends on it.

 

[hunter315]

FUD!

It is tested by TUV(german equivilant of UL) and cTUVus which is the Canadian and US branch of TUV, which are both on the OSHA list of Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories along with UL. It is far from a fire trap and has passed multiple testing labs around the world. Though thanks for posting that, now i just learned all about the testing labs here and around the world.

 

[nforce4max]

I think that people are just far to picky, the only few people that actually do have a reason to pursue such silent computing is audiophiles and musicians. Any modern unit as for noise is concerned is already silent compared to most cooling solutions for graphics cards and cpus are today. Can't expect silence when tossing in a gtx 680 and a i7 when fans are revving up and down according to preset thermal profiles. Second I haven't seen many power supplies that were loud over the years except for rack mounted servers.

 

[RedJaron]

I may be wrong, but the conclusion talking about heat dissipation into a room seems wrong. Given such similar loads, efficiency, and internals ( except the Silverstone, ) the actual amount of heat given off by the PSUs would also be very similar. The overall temperature in the room would be affected the same. The difference would be how fast or slow heat would build up in the case.