Help What Silent PSU

[Darthshearer]

Hi Guys

I currently have the most noisiest PSU in the world! What quiet PSU would you recommend?

 

[Bahumat]

Hi Guys

I currently have the most noisiest PSU in the world! What quiet PSU would you recommend?

If you are upgrading your pc, make sure you know how many PCI-E connectors your graphics card will require. For instance, the 8800GTX requires 2 so a crappy PSU may only have 1 connector.

 

[Jonty]

Hi Darthshearer

We need more details! Firstly, what rating is your current PSU (e.g. 450W etc.)? I guess this is also for a standard (ATX) PC?

Before you buy anything, have you tried looking in the BIOS at the fan settings? Your other thread said your PC is old, but most motherboards have 'smart' fan settings which allow the system's fans to run more quietly when the system is not under load.

Kind regards

 

[Darthshearer]

Hi Darthshearer

We need more details! Firstly, what rating is your current PSU (e.g. 450W etc.)? I guess this is also for a standard (ATX) PC?

Before you buy anything, have you tried looking in the BIOS at the fan settings? Your other thread said your PC is old, but most motherboards have 'smart' fan settings which allow the system's fans to run more quietly when the system is not under load.

Kind regards

Its a 450W PSU for a Standard PC yes.

I dont have an uber GFX card etc. Ill have a look in't BIOS tonight and see what I can find out.

Cheers

 

[Gray]

I presently have an Enermax Liberty 620w.

Had it about 6month or so now. The onyl time its noisy is when you power the PC up, after that its near defly silent! [Almost anyway]

Enermax LIberty


Shame the pics dont work, but alas!

 

[Lethul]

Q: Simply stands for quality. It is our assessment of the product's overall design, performance and build quality, not including noise. Ranked from 1-10, 10 being perfection. A number rank followed by "?" indicates we have not fully verified the assessment.

Noise: The amount and quality of noise the PSU makes with a typical load in a noise-optimized PC.

Ranked from 1-10:

* 10 = completely noiseless,
* 9 = effectively inaudible (usually this means <22 dBA@1m with a very smooth character and no hum, buzz or intermittent sonic effects)
* 5 = very quiet (~25 dBA@1m with a benign acoustic signature), and
* 1 = borderline quiet (~30 dBA@1m).
* In this scale, 1 describes a usable PSU for a noise-reduced PC and quieter than the average PSU, which would have to fall into the negative numbers like -1, -2 and so on. We won't worry about that because we'll never recommend such noisy PSUs. Keep in mind that a noise-reduced PSU ranked at 1 may still be quieter than the other noise sources in many "standard" computers.
* A number rank followed by "?" indicates we have not fully verified the assessment. Any audible coil buzzing is noted in the comments.



250W to 399W
Seasonic S12-330 & 380 Q: 7+ N: 8?
(SS-330HB Active PFC)

The 330 is similar to S12-430 but the fan tends to get faster at slightly lower power than high power models. Newer sleeved version reviewed. The 380 was not officially tested but is used around the lab. It has the same size heatsinks as the 430, so the noise curve is pretty much identical to the 430. Aug 14/06.


Seasonic SS-300SFD 80 Plus Q: 7 N: 6

Highly efficient, powerful small form factor (SFX) PSU with Seasonic's excellent fan controller, slightly marred by a mediocre fan. Reviewed. Price: $60. Jan 3/06

400W+

Enermax Modu82+ 625W Q: 7+ N: 9-

First Enermax to be ranked #1, offers modular cabling, extremely high efficiency, excellent electrical performance, and acoustics that are incrementally but audibly quieter than the rest of the best. Reviewed. March 2/08.

Corsair HX520/620 Q: 7+ N: 8+

Combines the modular cabling of the Seasonic M12 with the quieter single 120mm fan cooling configuration of the S12. Highly efficient. About the best balanced of Seasonic's current offerings (under its own brand or other brands.) Reviewed. Nov 17/06.

Corsair TX650W Q:7+ N:8+

80 Plus efficiency, very quiet to a very high output level (300W on our test bench), made by Seasonic, well priced, hard to fault. It's basically a higher power version of the VX450W. Reviewed. March 16/08.

Seasonic S12 Energy+ 550/650 Q: 7+ N: 8+

Most efficient of Seasonic's current lineup, 80 Plus certified. The fan controller appears to be tweaked for lower noise even to very high power loads. Very quiet! Efficiency at very low loads (<65W) is no better than other models of similar rating. Reviewed. Oct 5/06.

Corsair VX450W Q: 7+ N: 8+

80 Plus level efficiency, even down to pretty low output load, very quiet to a very high output level (300W on our test bench), made by Seasonic, very well priced, hard to fault. Reviewed. Aug 16/07.

Taken from Recommended Power Supplies | silentpcreview.com

So basically, if you can afford Enermax Modu82+ go for it. Otherwise any Corsair or Seasonic will do you good

 

[Kryten]

Just to add to Lethul's excellent post, if you can locate a Corsair supply, get one (over a Seasonic). Nothing bad about Seasonic, but the "made by Seasonic" badge on Corsair's is a bit vague. It's just rebadged, exactly the same product as the SS ones and costs a fair bit less. More beer/petrol money

 

[Tom]

I've always used Zalman stuff. Almost silent and very reliable

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