Skip to main content ↑ ↓

Notice

Please note that most of the software linked on this forum is likely to be safe to use. If you are unsure, feel free to ask in the relevant topics, or send a private message to an administrator or moderator. To help curb the problems of false positives, or in the event that you do find actual malware, you can contribute through the article linked here.
Topic: What's a quiet Powersupply? (Read 3362 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

What's a quiet Powersupply?

I have a 650 amd K7 with a Antec Truepower supply(350 watts I think). The case I have isn't very insulated for noise, so the Antec power supply really sounds loud and annoying to me. Can anyone recommend a good powersupply that would be so quite I wouldn't be able to tell it is on?

Thanks,
-Darin
Cowon Iaudio X5 30 gig. It rocks!

What's a quiet Powersupply?

Reply #1 –
The BeQuiet! power supplies are very good for noise levels. That page and all of the google hits were in German, but something to consider.

What's a quiet Powersupply?

Reply #2 –
If you DON'T live in Germany or a European Country with access to Be Quiet!, I would recommend getting the Nexus NX-3000, which is supposed to be very quiet (and perfectly adequate for your computer).  The NX-3500 is also supposed to be good if you absolutely need a 350W power supply (unless you're planning a serious upgrade soon, you probably don't).

Are you sure that the power supply is to blame though?  Antec's TruePower 350, though not the quietest power supply in existance, is a lot quieter than most.  There are many other factors that can contribute to PC noise, such as heatsink fans and hard drives.

What's a quiet Powersupply?

Reply #3 –
Most likely it is your CPU cooler fan that makes the terrible, shrieking noise

Try to get a large CPU heatsink and a large fan with lower RPM (same goes for graphics card, if not passive cooled already), but of course a silent powerunit won't hurt either.

Harddrives are not really loud here, probably because I only use 5400 RPM ones

What's a quiet Powersupply?

Reply #4 –
Yeah, I thought the Antec True powers were supposed to be really quiet also. But I unplugged all my fans one at a time trying to find where all the noise was coming from and sure enough.... after all the fans were unplugged and the PS fan was the only one left, all the noise was coming from it. Maybe I'm just being to picky, but I can here it from the other side of my room.

Thanks,
-Darin
Cowon Iaudio X5 30 gig. It rocks!

What's a quiet Powersupply?

Reply #5 –
Have you stopped the power supply fans, just to make sure that they WERE the cause of the noise?  You can do that by taking a pencil, paper clip, or my favorite, a twist-tie (the little thing that comes with a loaf of bread so you can keep the bag closed).

Of course, I shouldn't complain since I'm bothered by my Antec Power Supply as well, but I've had to replace several things (like my heatsinks and hard drives) before I could get to this point.

What's a quiet Powersupply?

Reply #6 –
Sticking a paper clip into a power supply might not be the best idea.....

What's a quiet Powersupply?

Reply #7 –
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article28-page1.html

Fwiw, I'm using a Seasonics Super Tornado (300 watts, but >75% efficiency).  Very quiet, and have had no crashes or problems since installing it.  120mm fan blowing from inside the case through the PSU (no fan on the back), temp controlled of course.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article107-page5.html

What's a quiet Powersupply?

Reply #8 –
The Zalman PSU units are supposed to be very quiet.
edit:  Cleverpower is no longer  stocked, you might want to investigate the adjustable Fortron Source units instead.

What's a quiet Powersupply?

Reply #9 –
Hey guys, check this out. I found a powersupply that uses no fans, just heatsinks. tell me what ya'll think about it:

http://silentmaxx.net/catalog/ps_prosilence_350pcs

It's kinda expensive, but maybe it will be worth it.

Thanks.
-Darin
Cowon Iaudio X5 30 gig. It rocks!

What's a quiet Powersupply?

Reply #10 –
Quote
Hey guys, check this out. I found a powersupply that uses no fans, just heatsinks. tell me what ya'll think about it:

http://silentmaxx.net/catalog/ps_prosilence_350pcs

It's kinda expensive, but maybe it will be worth it.

Try a SilentPCReview forum search for "Prosilence" and see what you can dig up. Some people have been happy with it, others report a high failure rate and bad customer service.

Is the rest of your computer completely silent? If not, then don't bother with a fanless PSU. If you feel up to doing a little handywork, you can get a near-silent PSU for cheap. Take a decent 1-fan 80mm PSU, duct it so that it gets its own cold air supply and doesn't have to deal with the hot case air, and then swap the stock fan with a 6-volted Panaflo L1a in it. This PSU would be quieter than any 3.5" hard drive on the market, except perhaps the single-platter Samsung Spinpoint, and it would cost 1/3rd as much as the Prosilence. Actually, it would probably be quieter than any stock fanned PSU on the market, too!

It's not safe to do a low-speed fan swap and then just shove the PSU back in the case, but when you duct the PSU's intake, you drop the PSU's internal temperature by 10C (or whatever the difference is between ambient temperature and top-of-the-case temperature). That's why you can safely mod the PSU with a fan that's too slow for any commercial PSU.

I've been running my Antec 400W PSU with only one 7V Panaflo for a year now. It's powering two Palomino-core XP1600+ chips, and the ducting job isn't even that good.  It can handle hours of gaming or video encoding without any instability.
 

What's a quiet Powersupply?

Reply #11 –
I've been thinking about putting my own panalfow's in there just like you said. But I don't understand about the ducktapeing part....Is it really necessary to duck tape it? I'm not sure where you are talking about.

Thanks,
-Darin
Cowon Iaudio X5 30 gig. It rocks!