Getting a Quiet PSU

[wacki]

I've been looking for a Quiet power supply. I bought a quiet "Fortron" 400 watt power supply, but despite good reviews, it was way to loud for my tastes. So I returned it.

I have a Sparkle 400 watt PSU which is much quieter, and the price was right. I also bought a Zalman 300 watt PSU for my Linux box which I had to put my hand by the fan just to see if it was running!!! Now my dad needs a PSU, but he has a Radeon 9800, an AMD 2400+, DVD and CD burner, and 3 hard drives. Is the 300 watt Zalman enough power? Or do I need more juice?

 

[MDE]

Link

 

[mrbios]

I'd say that the 300W Zalman would work just fine in that system. In my computer, I have a Radeon 9800 Pro, Athlon 64 3000+, 1 Maxtor 120GB hard drive, 1 WD Raptor, burner, floppy, and a couple of 120mm fans running off it with no problems at all.

 

[Matthias99]

Did you have one of the 'Aurora' models with the 120mm fan? Or another Fortron?

You may also want to look at the Seasonic 'Super Tornado' 300W/350W/400W. I have one, and it's damn near silent when not under heavy load (the fan does ramp up when I'm playing 3D games, but it's still quieter than most power supplies). Plenty of power for a 2500+, CD/DVD burner, and a 9800Pro.

 

[beatle]

The Fortrons w/120mm fans are very quiet. I have a case with an 80mm L1a on the CPU and the Fortron PSU. The L1a drowns out the PSU!

 

[Texun]

How much power do you need and how quiet does it need to be? I have an Antec TP430 and it's not silent, but it's been good and I can't hear it unless the room is dead silent, and then I usually hear the HS fan over the PSU.

 

[axemanxt40]

I like the Thermaltake PSUs, good clean power...and they are pretty darn quiet!

Thermaltake Silent Purepower 480 - 55 bucks

or

Thermaltake Silent Purepower 420 - 42 bucks

 

[Nebor]

If the Zalman 300w isn't enough, just get the 400w. That's what I had. They're only $90 or so.

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: axemanxt40
I like the Thermaltake PSUs, good clean power...and they are pretty darn quiet!

Thermaltake Silent Purepower 480 - 55 bucks

or

Thermaltake Silent Purepower 420 - 42 bucks

According to Anandtech, i think they were the quietest. If I dared run my psu without any other fans going, Id probably have to agree on quiet.

 

[txxxx]

I just replaced the fan in my PSU for a Panaflo silent 80mm unit, transfers roughly the same amount of air CFM without the noise - does me well