I purchased a customized computer 2-3 years ago and it's located in the bedroom, I need to modify the computer so that it's quieter. I've replaced the original CoolerMaster DP5-6 60mm fan to an 80mm Vantec Steath fan using a 60mm to 80mm adapter. The noise is still there, and the only fan left is the one in the PSU. My existing PSU came with the Inwin S508 mid-sized tower, the model name is Powerman FSP300-60BT, 300W.

My first question is, how many watts do I need? I have everything I need installed in the system with 300W, and so far it seems to be working fine. How would I know if 300W is not enough? I'm just an average user that runs Photoshop and goes online, no games. CPU is not overclocked.

Secondly, I've seen reviews about the SilenX fans and PSUs. If I replace my current FSP300-60BT PSU with the SilenX ones, will there be a huge difference? BTW, can someone tell me what's the dBA for the FSP300-60BT?

Thanks in advance, woudl appreciate any help!

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MOTHERBOARD: MSI K7T266Pro2
CPU: AMD Athlon XP 1900+
HEATSINK: CoolerMaster DP5-6 w/Vantec Stealth 80mm fan
MEMORY: 512MB DDR PC2100
SOUND: On-board
VIDEO: nVidia GeForce2 MX-400
PCI CARD: Network Card 10/100
DRIVE: Teac 1.44 Floppy
DRIVE: LiteOn 16x DVD
DRIVE: Plextor 8x4x32 CD-RW
HARD DRIVE: Maxtor 40GB U100/5400rpm
HARD DRIVE: Maxtor 20GB Uxxx/7200rpm

For DBA of your PSU ...

Welcome to the forums,
Before you go about replacing the PSU's stop all the fans w/ your fingers for a momment to see if the PSU is causing the noise for sure. I doubt its the PSU because most PSU's are real quiet

If it is the PSU, then first thing is i am asuming you have a 300watt PSU

All you would need is another 300Watt psu, if thats working fine for you, id use 350 and up just to be safe tho

Thanks for the help! As for the DBA of the PSU, I've previously done a Google search and couldn't find any technical specs. All I found was this article: http://www.overclockers.com/articles716/

It mentions my PSU as being 62dBA tested on a Radio Shack sound meter. If my existing PSU is 62dBA and the SilenX ones are 14dBA, that's a significant difference!

I would recommend the Noisetaker line of power supplies from Enermax, they are soooo quiet. You can also mod just about any PSU by changing the fans to something like Panaflo L1as. Check out silentpcreview.com for a list of recommended quiet computer components. That place is the bomb.

Bruce

vantec stealth 520watt is always a good quiet option or the enermax 400watt fanless psu thats right a passive cooled psu you might also try this sink http://www.svc.com/thsibo.html on the processer it works really well and is ver quiet you might also check the fan on your g2 mx400 if you have a fan on it

I've been fiddling with online wattage calculators for an estimate of how many watts of a PSU I need. According to this calculator (http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/), I need at least 290 watts of power (not including USB scanner/printer and perhaps some other peripherals I left out). Should I be worrying about the shortage of power since I've been using a 300 watt PSU? Everything seems to be working fine for about a year now...but maybe I'm not aware of some other problems that it may cause.

Thanks!

You just may be borderlining on having enough power.. but if you plan to upgrade later I'd get at least 350w, it's probably close as 300.

But first, as p8baller said, try stopping your other fans with your finger for a second to make sure it's the PSU.. I've never heard much out of power supplies...

There is no way in hell that PSU is 62DBA... My volcano 12+ isnt even that loud(48 dBA at 5500 RPM) and it can be heard in my parents room. But 14dba is very quiet you prolly wont even hear it. Again there is no way your PSU is 62DBA

As for power due to lack of wattage, most that could prolly happen is your PC randomly resets durring full load...if that didnt happen after 1 year you'll be fine with 300watts, but id get 350 to be safe, i myself am running a 530watt PSU and its real quiet(3 x80mm fans on it too)

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Do you mean that *before turning on the computer*, use my fingers to stop the fan from spinning to see if it's that specific fan that is causing the noise? It could be the GeForce2 fan too...I'll have to check.

As for the noise...it's a low humming noise that can be heard IN the bedroom, not a high cranking noise. So maybe I'm a little too picky. Could it also be the positioning of the tower? I have it underneath the desk in the corner.

Just trying to find more ways to improve this noise issue...

My PSU is Enermax.. I can't tell if it's noisey over my tornado fan (ha)

as soon as i saw the 62 dba he put up i was like dang ear plugs must have come with that thing. anyways thats wrong unless its badly broken

my psu = 33db and i dont think its loud at all ... i guess im used to the loud . fans

Man, seriously, I stand by my Enermax Noisetaker 470 suggestion. It is the highest ranking 300+ watt PSU on SilentPCReview.com--and those fools are so obsessed with silence that if a cat farted three blocks away, they'd have a caniption fit!

Bruce

Lol 62 would be a little loud.Vacuum cleaner's are 65-70.Anyway, QuietPC, looks like you've got a bunch of options, let us know how the quest goes.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I bit the bullet and just ordered an Enermax Noisetaker EG375P-VE-SFMA. It's 370W but totally enough for me since I've been using 300W. Also got an extra Vantec Stealth 80mm fan for the case to cool things down a bit.

Hopefully this PSU could live up to the name of "Noisetaker"...