Noisy Power Supply

[SutterCane]

Hi, I just bought a OCZ Modstream that replaced an Antec True330 PS. The voltages have been rock solid, but man this thing is much much LOUDER than the Antec. I can even hear it from my kitchen. Would it be possible to replace the fan with something like a 120mm SilenX fan? It's impossible for me to sit by my PC for more than 10 minutes at time with this thing on...

 

[ribbon13]

Shoulda got a seasonic. Quiet > Modular toy

And yeah, you can replace the fan, but that will probably void any warranty

 

[Gamingphreek]

No do not replace it with anything. You need to have a thermal controlled fan that will not fail and will provide sufficient airflow.

Additionally, it should be much quieter than the Antec. Something might be causing the fan to throttle up or you have a defective model.

-Kevin

 

[pulsedrive]

Yeah, I just got one of these the other day and when it gets warm it does crank up the RPMS, but it is by now means "loud" it does get louder, but I can't hear it in the other room. So I would consider getting it replaced if you can still return it for another one.

 

[wisdomtooth]

If you don't want to go around messing with the innards of a PSU (which voids the warranty BTW), I would just get the Seasonic as Ribbon says.

You can't get any quieter than a Seasonic PSU without going fanless.

 

[Operandi]

Ditch the OCZ and go with the Seasonic. Not only is it the quietest PSU you can get it's better PSU all around.

 

[tallman45]

I use the Seasonic S12 and the system is so quiet that my wife had me put in a red case fan so she could see it was on, it is dead silent

 

[glorygunk]

Everybody is recommending you ditch the OCZ but I'm not sure you have to.

Depending on your situation, modding the PSU fan is definitely not out of the question. If you have a fan speed controller (for your case fans), you can reroute one of them to your 120mm PSU fan. Although opening your PSU will void the warranty, as long as you take a sensible approach, you shouldn't fry the PSU.

If you do this, know when the PSU tends to get hot, and turn up the juice.


P.S. Replacing the fan will help as well. According to other members, SilenX sucks. Go with Panaflo or Vantec.

 

[gate1975mlm]

Originally posted by: tallman45
I use the Seasonic S12 and the system is so quiet that my wife had me put in a red case fan so she could see it was on, it is dead silent

What else do you have in your system to make it dead silent?

 

[wisdomtooth]

My HTPC is close to dead silent as well. It has a Seasonic Super Tornado 400 PSU, Zalman CNPS7000 HSF running on the slowest setting on a P4 3.0C, Arctic Silencer on my 9800Pro vid card, and the rest of the fans on Zalman fanmates (two 60mm exhausts, 1 NB fan). All fans and HDs are rubber-washer-mounted to dampen vibration.

The only time I can hear it is if the optical drive spools up when reading a CDROM disc.

I would recommend the OP to just hang onto that OCZ as a backup unit, or sell it to recoup some cash towards purchasing a Seasonic. Don't open it and void the warranty.