Disappointed with noise savings from enermex PS

[satori]

Well, just got my Enermax/Enermex (sp?) from the UPS guy. Threw it in my system and powered up, and from the 5-10 minutes I tested before heading off to work, the system seems just as loud as before. With the system running, I did a quick test by unplugging my Sunon 60mm and my panaflow L1A, and the noise level didn't noticeable change. Unless one of my other devices was causes the racket (HD? CD/CDR?), the biggest noise producer was the Enermax PS, which seemed about the same noise level as my previous PS (some no-name LD or LC PS).

Well, the voltage outputs reported by the Abit HWMonitor were a lot better than my previous PS. +12 was something like 12.3, so everything seemed within +/- 3%. My previous PS would put out something like 13 volts. The CPU voltage was still on the low-side though. When I set the BIOS for 1.7V, HWMonitor would jump between 1.66 and 1.68. When I set it for 1.80V, it'd report it around 1.75-1.76.

 

[HaVoC]

Your power measurements assume the mobo monitor is accurate to within 3%. I seriously doubt that. I would use a quality digital multimeter if you want to take power measurements and compare the two. Temp and voltage readings from mobos seem less and less trustworthy to me these days.

The Enermax simply may not be significantly quieter than your older powersupply. However I am pretty sure the power output probably more reliable. If you are daring, you could try taking out the PS fan and rewiring it to spin at a lower speed. Be careful with the capacitors in the power supply and do this at your own risk!

Or you could replace the 80mm fan (I assume this is the size in the back of the Enermax) and put in a quiet Panaflo.

 

[cwand]

Is it the "Whisper" series or the regular Enermax?

 

[pbrain]

the enermax EG651P-VE i have is very quiet. while i was testing it out i couldn't hear it over the computers i had running in the same room. just my experience w/ enermax's.

 

[nnnyyy]

The whisper series is a little bit quieter than the regular, but not by much. I think the main reason for getting an enermax is the reliability of the power and also the two fans which keep the system cool. You cant really expect it to be noiseless since the power supply has spinning fans.

 

[marcio]

Rewiring the fans would be a mistake. Doesn't Enermax use thermo control fans?

 

[satori]

Yah, the fans are thermo-controlled (at least that's what the box says). HWDoctor (I've got an Abit BX133, FYI) reported the fan spinning at 1500-1600. I guess I'll go dig around and look for my Fluke and check out the voltage's. I don't think I'll be able to measure the CPU voltage, but the 12/5V voltages should be easy to measure.

I got the non-Whisper model. EG351P-VE. I didn't really think I'd need the extra control from an FC model or the gold-plated grills. We've got an extra antec 303x at work, so I'll bring that home tonight to compare the two PS's.

Anyways, I could be wrong about the noise. I only had 5-10 minutes and I didn't unplug any of my other components, so something else could've been causing the noise. Maybe the fan on my GF2? Maybe I'll just say screw it and build one of those carpetted boxes that someone linked to yesterday or the day before. My computer is in it's own corner in my room and basically hidden by the computer desk, so it wouldn't look >too< bad.

 

[marcio]

Does your mobo and os support suspend mode? With my system, suspend mode stops every fan, including the CPU fan. I can also choose to stop the hard drive, so the only noise would basically come from the power supply. You can then find out how much noise the PS makes as well as find out how much additional noise the rest of the components make by just waking up your computer.

 

[Hanky]

I also have the non-Whisper 330W Enermax PSU and it's one of the quietest PSUs I've heard so far. Not the quietest but there are much louder 300W PSUs on the market. In my system my 5400rpm Samsung HDD is WAY louder!

 

[Jhhnn]

I strongly suspect that some other component is the culprit, judging from the performance of my own Enermax EG351P-VE.

To test the psu by itself, unplug everything and jumper the green wire on the mobo plug to any black wire. It will fire up and you can evaluate the noise level.

The fans are temp-controlled. I recently tested this feature with a heat lamp and voltmeter, cover off, 92mm set aside and 80mm blocked. At room temp, the fans were supplied with 5v, which rose to 11v as it warmed up. Didn't take any temp readings, but I got the impression that it would have to be quite warm to get to 11v. Still pretty quiet at 11v, almost inaudible at 5v.

Don't trust the voltage or temp readings from either the bios or MBM, they are basically for comparison purposes only. The credibility of even the best multimeters is stretched when the alleged discrepancy is a few hundredths of a volt.

 

[satori]

Well slap me upside the head with the stupid stick. In one of my replies from work, I mentioned that it >might< be my Geforce2 fan. I hadn't thought of that when I'd tested the computer out yesterday morning. I only tested the noise by stopping my intake/outake and CPU fan and assumed the PS was the only thing going.

ANYWAYSSSSS... first thing I did when I got home tonight was turn on the computer and stick my finger on the fan for my Geforce2 and ... VOILA!!! ... big noise gone!!!

All your stupid belong to me!!!

Doh!!!!

So... what the hell am I supposed to do with the freaking video card fan? It's the stock one that came with the card, and from the specs of the video card coolers on 2cooltek, these small fans are pretty freaking loud (30db?!?!). Lesse... enermax PS fans... spinning at 1600... low DB... 2 panaflows at 21dB... quiet sunon for the CPU... seems about the same as the panaflos... video card fan.. 30db?!?!? WTF?!?!?!

 

[Hanky]

30dbA is still relatively silent...but usually the fans on video cards are made with cheap sleeve bearings and very often they are near failure after only a few months (and then they often get extraordinary loud). In this case you may ask your video card manufacturer for just a new fan.

 

[satori]

Hanky: Yah, 30 dB wouldn't be too bad. But, it's just weird that now my video card is the loudest noise producer in my system. This past weekend, I was swapping the card in and out constantly, 'cause my roommate's card died and I needed to use his computer a few times. Maybe I did something to throw the fan out of whack. I don't have a sound meter, so the card fan could very likely be greater than 30dB.

 

[HaVoC]

The small, relatively high-RPM video fans can often be quite noisy. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a lot of sound coming from turbulent airflow around those busy little blades.

Maybe you can try on your GF2 one of the new low-profile CPU coolers which are quite a bit larger. It will be overkill, but the slower, larger fan should be quiter.

 

[Beowulf]

I ordered myself a whisper enermax ps after getting my Inwin Q500n with a generic ps(Macron or something it was a POS).Hopefully its pretty silent like I have heard I have a few sparkle ps's and they dont sound loud to me.

 

[HeavyB]

I was pretty sure you were wrong about the Enermax being noisy. I replaced my Enhance 300W PS with the 431W Enermax and the thing is barely audible. The old Enhance was quite the noisemaker, and the new Enermax is making me rethink my idea of installing a fanbus to turn my other 4 fans off on demand. The case as is is pretty quiet with the Enermax now.

HeavyB