New Psu

[xPETEZx]

Hi Guys,

 

I currently have a PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610W ESP12V.

 

My PC has 4 Case fans, all 120mm Antec's. controlled by a Fan controller, and by FAR the loudest thing (not including the soon to be replaced Raptor X) is the PSU Fan.

The most annoying part is that it is a different frequency to all other fans. So even when other fans are at full RPM, the PSU can still be heard.

 

Tbh, its driving me insane. My Pc sits next to me on the desk, and has a mess side, so its close to me.

 

 

 

I was considering replacing the fan in the PSU, but this would require modding it, and voiding the warranty, besides that, it would have to be another 80mm, will similar airflow, which would probably not be quieter.

 

 

So, my question,

 

What is a PSU which is LITERALLY SILENT (Passive Mabye?) that can power the system in my Sig. (Allow room to upgrade to an 4870X2)

 

 

I was looking at Tagan, Cosair, OZC and Hiper?

 

Any specific models you could recommend? Also what are "Be Quiet" PSU's like? There name suggests that they are silent?

 

 

Id like it to be modular, but thats only a secondary, main concern is that it is SILENT.

 

 

As a benchmark, my Second PCs PSU (OCZ 500W) I would consider near silent enough.

 

 

Thanks guys!!

[jammin]

OK then, so we are talking quiet, preferably modular and probably in the 600W+ range if you are considering a 4870 X2.

 

There are probably a few options that would be quieter than your Silencer (which despite the name, isn't really that silent).

 

The options I would be looking at would probably be:

 

Corsair HX620 - It has been around for a while now. Still regarded as quiet, well built etc.

Enermax Modu82+ 625W - Apparently quieter than the Corsair. There is also the Pro version, which is cheaper (but not modular). Hopefully that has the same fan / controller arrangement.

Zalman ZM750-HP - if it is anything like the 1000W version then it should also be very quiet.

 

That's three that are reasonably proven, though anything with a decent reputation and a 120mm (or larger) fan will likely be an improvement, with Corsair having other pretty quiet options in their line up. I haven't seen a BeQuiet measured anywhere, but they are also supposedly decent on the noise front.

My own Tagan is very quiet, but I don't know how their more recent PSUs compare.

Seasonic also have a decent reputation for low noise PSUs.

 

Narrow it down to a few options you would consider then see if anyone over at SPCR has experience with them if you still can't decide (their standards on what is quiet should be much tighter than they would be here).

Edited November 29, 2008 by jammin

[Silverfox]

Well from my experience, Hiper are far from silent as claimed.

 

My father has an Antec Phantom that seems to be rather decent - it's totally passive, but has a small fan in case temps get stupidly high. There are some good passive PSU's out there, but when I last hunted them, it seemed that more beefier supplies were hard to find in passive form.

[xPETEZx]

Thanks for the suggestions Jamin!

 

Really appreciate that.

 

I already had the Cosair in my cross-hairs as a possible candidate.

 

Thanks for bringing up the Zalman and the Enermax, they look like solid candidates too.

 

 

Anybody own any of these personally? Good Experiance with the Company?

 

They are all in the same price bracket, so it really is just a case of which is gonna be best?

 

I like the Cosairs cables better than the Enermax, but this really inst going to be the deciding factor!

[paulktreg]

xPETEZx

 

Surprised you find the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610W noisy. I have read reports of the fan speed ramping up when it's asked to do some work so I presume you find it noisy when gaming or is the fan noise too much even when your PC is idle? (Your system shouldn't push it too much anyway).

 

I don't think you will find one that's alot quieter and fanless designs are currently limited to about 300W.

 

Another alternative, but it's expensive, is to fit a power supply way over powered. It should run very cool with low fan speed.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[crash]

Ihave a OCZ modstream 550 in one case and it is 99% silent. I have a kingwin mach 1 650 in another case and it is VERY quiet, modular, and has a ton of connectors.

 

Zalman makes a fanless PSU I believe too....

 

Or build a custom watercooled PSU!-)

[xPETEZx]

xPETEZx

 

Surprised you find the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610W noisy. I have read reports of the fan speed ramping up when it's asked to do some work so I presume you find it noisy when gaming or is the fan noise too much even when your PC is idle? (Your system shouldn't push it too much anyway).

 

I don't think you will find one that's alot quieter and fanless designs are currently limited to about 300W.

 

Another alternative, but it's expensive, is to fit a power supply way over powered. It should run very cool with low fan speed.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

The fan isnt terribly loud, so its not like a tornado or anything, its just a very annoying pitch.

 

It sounds like an electirical whine.

 

All the other fans in my case, all you hear is air flow, but with the PSU, all you hear is the motor.

 

I like to just sit and work at my PC with no sounds or music on, and the PSU fan is just very annoying, my brain locks on to it so to speak.

 

 

I have been looking for a passive PSU, but cant find any

 

I just discovered both the Cosair and the Zalman have an ADDA fan, which is same make as the one in my PC P & C, so im not sure.... maybe those will make the same electrical whine I hear with this one?

 

I dont know of anywhere I can "test" a PSU and none of my freinds have any of those...

 

 

What Id really like to hear, is if someone has one of these PSUs, and could just test the PSU. With a load on it, and let me know of the sound.

 

The OCZ one I have in my second rig, is litteraly silent. If I put my ear right up to it, I can just about hear it, other that nothing. And the sound is pure airflow.

[Jenova69]

My corsair 620w is really quiet i can't hear it at all over my fans or if i get close to it.

[HITandRUN]

I have a OCZ GameXStream 700 for sale which I ran in my gaming rig and never had a problem with it being too loud. It has a nice 120mm fan which is much better compared to the 80mm fans used on other PSUs. Give me a PM if you are interested.

[xPETEZx]

Thanks for all the replies guys!

 

Thanks for the offer HitandRun, but I live in England, and from your location it says NY, so shipping etc is gonna be a problem.

 

 

I have narrowed it down to these 2: any comments?

 

Be Quiet! DarkPower Pro 650W

 

Cosair HX 620W

 

Opinions?

 

I very much like the cables on the Cosair, but have read very good reviews for the DarkPower. Especially in relation to noise.

[jammin]

Subjective reviews on noise do make things a bit difficult, and as I mentioned I haven't seen a BeQuiet measured anywhere (well, considering that SPCR is the only place I know that actually bothers with accurate measurement at all, this isn't surprising).

 

Personally I'd go with the Corsair from those two, simply because there are a lot more people that have them and therefore a lot more information is available.

 

I'd be interested to know what you think of the BeQuiet if you did decide to go with that though

[kingdingeling]

Hey Pete, BeQuiet are mainly sold in Europe, that's why the crowd on here never really heard of them / there are little reviews on them on English sites. They are up there with the best quality wise and are very quiet! I had a Straightpower 500W before, it was awesome! I'd get the BeQuiet