In search of a QUIET power supply. Any ideas?

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beestung

Member
Jan 4, 2001
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I'm in the market for a quiet power supply to replace my horrendously loud Sparkle 300W in a semi-decent computer. I'm looking at the Enermax 330W Whisper PS, which goes for around $65, but I don't want to buy another PS that might end up being just as loud as my current one. The Sparkle 300W I have is noticeable when you aren't even listening for it... something that isn't acceptable for me.

Anyone have any experience with these power supplies and can comment on it? Anyone have any opinions on quiet power supplies? I'm not worried about my hard drive, CPU fan, or anything else... just the power supply for now.

-Jason
 
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CygnusX1

Member
Dec 6, 2000
110
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Hello,

Probably the quietest power supply around is sold by Quietpc.com It isn't the cheapest but comes in a 300W version. Check it out:
Quietpc.com

Mark.
 
Dulanic

Dulanic

Diamond Member
Oct 27, 2000
9,965
590
136
I own the 330W Enermax and its EXTREMELY quiet.. the fans run at like 1600 RPM +/- depending on temp.
 
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TomY

Member
Nov 7, 1999
111
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0
PC Power & Cooling's Silencer line of Power Supplies are real quiet. They are a bit expensive though but the reliability factor should also be factored in. I believe they rebadge power supplies also so if you can find the power supply that they rebadge, you can save a few bucks. I remember seeing a post about that on here a few months (approx 6 months) back.

Tommy
 
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hagbard

Banned
Nov 30, 2000
2,775
0
0
Buy and Antec, and when it dies, it'll be really quiet. :)

(sorry, couldn't resist).

...hag
 
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HeinekinMan

Senior member
Nov 2, 2000
207
0
0
The p/s that I replaced my Antec PP303X with was, you guessed it, an Antec. It didn't die, the cooling fan just started to get a tad NOISY (too lazy to replace the fan) but it's managed to hold up for almost 8 years so I doubt that this replacement will die anytime soon...but Antec is located right here in Fremont, CA so RMA'ing won't be a problem for me!

I've had several PC Power & Cooling items FAIL (a Turbo Cool 300 p/s, and two CPUCool cooling fans) within two years or so, overpriced and overrated...but nice and helpful tech support personnel.
 
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Auric

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
9,591
2
71
Why buy a new PS when you can just replace the fan? Heck, just remove the fan and see how that works. One thing to try if you decide the PC does need a fan in it is to cover up all the extra holes so there is only one path of airflow from front to back. It depends on how the current PS is positioned, but you may use one fan in the PS or one in the front of the case. You can also have it variable speed with a heat sensor.
 
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hans007

Lifer
Feb 1, 2000
20,212
18
81
power supplies come with a certain type of fan for a reason. queiter fans are generally less powerful, but some power supplies heat up a lot. The antec is what i have, and for the money you cant get anything better, its pretty quiet since its got a temperature controlled fan.
 
glenn1

glenn1

Lifer
Sep 6, 2000
25,383
1,013
126
i've used both an Enermax "whisper" series PS, an Antec, and a plain old generic model. My 'puter sits on top of the table, right near my ear, and my apartment is concrete block, so you can definitely tell any difference in decibel levels.

My assessment after trying several different power supplies expressly for the purpose of noise reduction: go with the Antec. I like the Enermax, and it is *slightly* quieter (but not dramatically) and better quality (perhaps) than the Antec, but not enough to make it worth twice the price, IMHO.
 
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Tonec

Golden Member
Feb 29, 2000
1,505
0
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The entire Enermax whipser series is overrated. The bottom 92mm is quiet but the 80mm temp controlled fan is louder and outputs more than a 36cfm/32dB sunon 80mm under load. Certainly not worth upgrading to since you already own a Sparkle. You do not want a temp controlled fan that is loud when you use your computer and quiet only when you're not there. Most of the Sparkles come with a chrome grill preinstalled so it will only a few minutes to put a nice quiet 24cfm/21dBa panaflo in there-should look like this
Now that the initial hype over the Enermax is beginning to die down, you'll start to hear more and more people questioning whether the enermax was actually worth $60. I pad all my cases with accoustic foam and dampening material so the ps is always the loudest fan. The enermax under the right conditions will seem very quiet compared to a typical generic fan but a normal ps with a panaflo/adda fan is a far better choice. Buy the enermax for its looks and quality, not for its quiet reputation.
 
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chrislong

Member
Jan 10, 2001
84
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Tonec, when you say that you pad your case, do you mean inside or out? how thick is the foam, and of what consistency?
Thanks
 
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SteveGrimm

Junior Member
Dec 8, 2000
5
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What I want to know is, why doesn't anyone make an external power supply like the one the Mac G4 Cube uses? Apple managed to build its machine with no cooling fans at all, in part by using an external power brick instead of an internal PS. I see no reason the exact same thing couldn't be done for Intel PCs. I know I'd buy one.
 
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inode

Member
Apr 13, 2000
98
0
0
I have the Enermax 431 Watt PS. It is undoubtedly one of the best power supplies out in the market. I think they can be had for about $85.
 
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cockeyed

Senior member
Dec 8, 2000
777
0
0
An Antec PS which has the variable speed fan depending on the air temp., would be a good choice. I had one of these in an old Baby At sytem which I was able to make super quiet. Before I bought the PS from them, I checked the electrical specs. on their web site; a silent PS is of little value if it cannot put out clean voltage. Anyway, I found that the electrical specs. were generally the same or better than another highly rated PS. As I recall, the quiet PS was one of their "silent" series of power suppliers.
 
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CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
5
0
Yeah I have an Antec PP303X and it's certainly pretty quiet.. I myself have not usually cared about PS noise cause there are too many other fans around.. but it seems to be pretty quiet nonetheless. It does indeed have a variable speed fan which is very nice, and it's not expensive either. I paid like 65 Cdn or so (give or take some, I can't remember) and its been just fine.
 
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Finality

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,665
0
0
Running an Enermax 450W Pws.

The noise from my Golder orb is louder than these fans. It automatically sets the speed depending on its needs. So you dont hear any unnecessary noise :)
 
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Leo V

Diamond Member
Dec 4, 1999
3,123
0
0
If you only need ~150Watts, you can get completely fanless open-frame PSU's from TKPower.

I'm using a QuietPC.com 300W AMD-approved PSU. It cost me ~$75 shipped due to a group order from QuietPC that I organized. It uses just 1 ultra-quiet Adda fan. I wouldn't think of using any other PSU, for two reasons: the QuietPC PSU's beat others in all comparisons that I've seen; and QuietPC seems to take the problem of quietness the most seriously/scientifically.
 
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