Silverstone Tek 600W SFX PSU is WAY too loud

[JacobCC]

I just installed a Silverstone Tek 600W SFX PSU inside a RVZ01 case with a GTX 780 and an i5 4690K (other specs I believe are irrelevant. If not tell me) and the second I power up my build after 4 and a half hours of hard work. It sounds stupid loud. Like unbearable.

What's the issue?

Should I take it apart and replace the fan? or should I just get a new one? Or something else?

 

[nukemaster]

I would not take the power supply apart under warranty. Also note the fan is a slim 80mm and not too easy to come by.

Contact SilverStone to see if they have any advice or if it is just a defect. Even good product lines can have a defect from time to time.

I know the older 300 watt units are not quiet, but not that loud either. You may have some limits squeezing upto 600 watts from such a small unit. Heat needs to be removed some way or another.

 

[JacobCC]

I honestly don't care about voiding the warranty. I've always been one to mod things. Especially electronics.

I went to my local Frys store. Bought a slim 80mm fan (only one they had lol) that runs at the same rpm and makes less than 11dBA compared to at least 60 for the original.

I took the PSU apart, took the fan off, and screwed the new one in.

There was one tiny issue. The original PSU fan was a 2 pin fan and the new one was a 3 pin.

I just ran the fan power cable out the power supply as I put it back together and plugged it into the proper power port.

End result: Nearly silent PC.

My build is here. I can play almost any game at max with AA and AO off. And I'm very very happy with the end result.

 

[nukemaster]

A fan claiming to be 11DBA almost has to be silentX and they have been shown to lie quite a bit on specs(or simply rate noise at a MUCH farther distance).

As long as things do not get too hot, I do not see an issue.

I actually had swapped the fan on my 300 watt unit, but left the power supply in control. I brought the 3rd wire out so my board can monitor the fan speed(this gives me an idea of how much cooling the power supply is calling for).

Ohh and your system specs are GREAT.

 

[JacobCC]

Yeah it is a SilentX. But it really is super quiet. I can barely hear the entire setup.

And if it gets too hot and overheats I'll make another thread or comment here again to let anyone attempting this know. But I'm running it at full power so it should be fine.

And that's an amazing idea nukemaster. I should have thought of that. It's a bit late now seeing as I've get everything all put together for a third time. It takes like an hour every time I mod something in the case. lol

And thank you. 😛

 

[nukemaster]

At full speed, I think you would have to load it pretty hard to overheat.

How does the air flow feel passing that rather tightly packed power supply.

 

[JacobCC]

Yeah I figured.

And it feels pretty good actually. Feels like it's moving even more air than the old fan.

 

[nukemaster]

From what SilverStone lists the old fan should go upto about 2300 rpm at heavy loads. By the ratings on the fan I am guessing if needed it could extend to 3400+, but I do not know if the controller in the psu would ever allow this.

As long as it does what it has to, it is all good. Every now and then check to make sure things do not feel too warm and enjoy the more quiet system.

I do not think SilverStone will warranty my system

 

[Ncase M1 builder]

endd result: Nearly silent PC.

My build is here. I can play almost any game at max with AA and AO off. And I'm very very happy with the end result.

Yeah I figured.

And it feels pretty good actually. Feels like it's moving even more air than the old fan.

Any updates or issue curious because the noise is the main reason I'm unsure about the sfx 600w

 

[Kaitain Jones]

Yeah it is a SilentX. But it really is super quiet. I can barely hear the entire setup.

I'm considering doing something similar...my 600W's fan is rattling intermittently and frankly it feels like the engineering isn't good enough. The rest of my case is whisper-quiet with Noctua fans and then there is this one crappy fan in the PSU ruining the whole thing.

Was there a specific model number for the fan you ended up using? Am wondering what width I need to stay inside. And how easy/hard was it to open the PSU and replace the fan?