Antec Power supplys and other cool questions.

[BoomAM]

Hi.
First, about the Antec PSUs.
I just got an Antec TrueBlue 480W PSU.
Awsome PSU, i can barely hear my PC now. It also has a nice blue glow behind it.
Few questions;
1) It has two connectors just for fans, so it can auto adjust them. How does it auto adjust?, does it have a temp sensor in the PSU? Or does it just 7v the fans?
2) Ive just noticed a "throbbing" sound coming from the PC. Not loud, very feint, is that normal? Its probably a fan, but just checking.
----------------------------------------------
Second. Other cooling questions.
Im thinking of going water cooling in January.
Im definately WCing the CPU. Maybe the Mobo as well.
But is it worth watercooling my 9700pro? Would i see any significant OCing gains from watercooling it, over, for example, a Zalman HP cooler and a 120mm fan blowing on it?

Thanks in advance guys/gals.

 

[RaymondY]

I have a TruePower 550W PS. I love it. The connectors marked FAN ONLY basically cut the voltage the any fans connected to them to 7 volts, thus reducing noise produced. Think there is a temp sensor in the power supply that will allow the fans to run at 12volts if the temps are high. However, I have never seen my fans run at full voltage in the 2+ years I have had my 550.

 

[RalfHutter]

The "Fan Only" connectors supply voltage that ranges from 4.7-5 volts at normal load to a max of around 10.5-11 volts at high load. They are not thermally controlled, they are controlled by the load on the PSU. The fan voltage slowly starts ramping up around 100-150W and increases exponentially.

 

[BoomAM]

Im thinking of disconnecting them from the fan only headers. They`re silent fans anyway.
Cos the lack of airflow the system is getting is affecting the CPU. I used to get no higher than 40*c, when under load or if it had been on for a couple of hours. I got in from work last night, and it was reading 50*c!. So i think i`ll disconnect them.
Im thinking of buying a fanbus and 3 higher powered fans. With all my fans connected to that. So i can have them all running silent when its doing nothing, and them on max when the temps are high.

 

[Paveslave]

I am running a truepower 550 also and to tell you the truth, those fan only connectors are annoying. I was always listening to my 80mm exhaust fans wavering up and down in speeds. I have all my case fans hooked up to normal connectors now, my fans are not that loud anyway. Even at the highest RPM they are no where near as annoying as the wavering tone.

 

[BoomAM]

Same here.
As soon as i put the fans on the "proper" connectors, the "wavering" sound went away.
Gonna buy a fanbus on thursday, 3 high powered fans (probably smartfan2s), and a Zalman HP for the video card.

 

[hasu]

I am also shopping around for a new PSU with approx 480W. Very much leaning towards Antec TrueBlue480, since I love my current True330. But, according the recent AT review Fortron and Zalman models came to the top. ThermalTake looks promising too.

I am looking for one with the lowest noise, but the it should not get too hot also!
Any recommendations, for such a PSU?
Edit: How much better will be the one with Active PFC ?

 

[InlineFive]

Originally posted by: RaymondY
I have a TruePower 550W PS. I love it. The connectors marked FAN ONLY basically cut the voltage the any fans connected to them to 7 volts, thus reducing noise produced. Think there is a temp sensor in the power supply that will allow the fans to run at 12volts if the temps are high. However, I have never seen my fans run at full voltage in the 2+ years I have had my 550.

Correction: The Fan Only connectors operate at 5v because 7v can cause fans damage in the long run.

 

[beatle]

Originally posted by: PorBleemo

Correction: The Fan Only connectors operate at 5v because 7v can cause fans damage in the long run.

I have never heard this. Where did you hear it?

As for a good, quiet, stable, cheap PSU, look no further than the Forton 300w w/120mm fan. It's even quieter than my Antec and also has solid rail readings.

 

[JimRaynor]

The Fortron is amazing... It is DEAD silent.

 

[BoomAM]

By DEAD do you mean literally?