Quiet Power Supply

[Alacrity]

I have two PC's. They both have Athlon 1.4's and Epox motherboards, 256k or 512K, a 7200 rpm hard drive, CD/RW, and Gforce 3's. One has an Enlight case with a generic 300W ps. It's nice and quiet and runs great. The other has an Antec 830 case with a 350W Enermax 365 ps. It runs great but it is really, really LOUD. I'm talking so loud that you have to turn the volume on the TV up when it's running.

I've done a little research and I've come up with a couple of options:

1) Get new fans for the Enermax. I know that it's dangerous to fool around with a ps. But, I've heard it can be done. Question. Specifically, what fans should I get that will keep it cool and will be MUCH quieter. Is this reasonable?

2) Get a new power supply. I've looked at the "Silencer"'s from PCPC. The 400W is over $150. That's too much for me. "Quiet PC" has a 300W ps that's supposed to be nice and quiet and is about $80. That's much more affordable. Does anyone have any experience with these? Finally, Antec has it's "True Power" power supplies. The 330True is about $50. They don't claim to be AMD approved. Has anybody used these?

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[usual_suspect]

The quite pc one is supposed to be very quiet. I would have gotten it if I hadn't needed a more powerful one. I just got done installing my enermax 550w Fan speed adjustable. (exhaust only). It comes with a 90mm fan also but I took that one out and put a papst 8412 NGL on the _outside_ blowing in to the psu through the back vent. This setup is very quiet with the exhaust fan on the low or even medium setting.

 

[stultus]

I hear good things about the Zalman PSU. Depending on how quiet I can get my P4/GF4 to run, I may pick one of thse up to replace my Enermax.

I've heard of people using the Panaflo 80mm L1A for the PSU. I would guess the Pabst would work too.

 

[Zukatah]

For the Antec TruePower, the people that got it seemed to be very happy with it. It's so quiet that they say the loudest thing in their computer is their HD. That's what I'll buy for my next rig... and it's cheap too !

Hope it helps

 

[Alacrity]

 

[Alacrity]

Thanks for the info.

 

[Jgtdragon]

Another vote for the dual fans Antec TruePower.

 

[John]

You already have a nice psu. Pick up a couple of Panaflo fans (21db) and replace the ones in your psu instead of buying a new one.

 

[hmsrolst]

I've compared the Zalman, PCP&C Silencer 275 (quieter than the 400) and Enermax Whisper, and either of the former are substantially quieter than the Enermax. However, I've also modded two Enermaxes with Panaflo L1A's and found that that results in an even quieter PSU and perhaps even a bit better cooling. (I'm guessing the two fans produce turbulence and poor air flow.) I replaced the inside fan entirely with a mesh 92mm filter which can be screwed in with the original mounting screws. You can also squeeze the Panaflo tail out the opening that the other cables go through if you cut off both of the little guides. Disclaimer: I'm not recommending that you open your PSU, however.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

put some panaflo L1A's in there. and why have the wires coming out? you're already at the power source, wire the fan to the 12v line inside the psu.

 

[hmsrolst]

I brought it out because it would've taken a lot of trimming to make the tail fit on the connector with the same orientation.

 

[SmirnoffIsTasty]

I just got the Zalman to replace my "silent" Enermax. Enermax is a joke. Drop $80 on the Zalman.

 

[John]

<< Enermax is a joke >>



Enermax is one of the most respected psu mfg's in the industry.

 

[SmirnoffIsTasty]

<<

<< Enermax is a joke >>



Enermax is one of the most respected psu mfg's in the industry. >>



With no warranty? Their silent series is horrible. Have a listen to their "silent" PSUs.

 

[McCarthy]

Enermax seemed to get real popular a year or so ago, though thinking back I'm not sure why. The packaging is nice. The gold plated fan gaurds are nice. All in all it's a nice LOOKING power supply. And they claimed to be quiet, though that's been called into question many times.

It's kinda like the Golden Orb. Lots of fanfare, lots of sales, lots of people loved them. But when you got right down to it they weren't the greatest sinks, even against sinks of the day they were nice, but not outstanding. And over time the gimmick has worn off. People seem a bit more inclined to stand up for their Enermaxs, though as they were a bigger purchase and still in use that's to be expected. I bought one. No plans for another.

--Mc

 

[xXgambitXx]

i've done some research about this the past couple days because i'm getting tired of my lawnmower enermax. the "Quiet PC" PS was my first choice but they're based out of Europe or something so S/H is like $40 extra, screw that. then i was torn between the Zalman and Enermax w/ the variable speed control. i should be getting the Enermax in a couple of days but from what's been said about it on this thread it appears i might be sending it back, if that's the case then i'll go with Zalman. has anyone else had a problem with the Zalman PS ? This Review says they're both pretty comparable but that the Enermax runs cooler and teh Zalman is quieter.

 

[joohang]

Get one from QuietPC.com or mod your PSU with quieter Panaflo, Pabst or Adda fan.

I tried modding one recently and ended up blowing up a PSU, though. Took a ECS K7S5A and a Duron 1 GHz with it.

 

[RanDum72]

Just got a 430w Antec True Power PSU and the fans are quiet.

 

[prontospyder]

<<I tried modding one recently and ended up blowing up a PSU, though. Took a ECS K7S5A and a Duron 1 GHz with it. >>

Did you do some soldering in the PSU or just plugged in the new fan?

I was thinking about changing the fan in my Antec 300W with a Panaflo, but I sure don't wanna blow up my components.

 

[VTrider]

<< It's kinda like the Golden Orb. Lots of fanfare, lots of sales, lots of people loved them. But when you got right down to it they weren't the greatest sinks, even against sinks of the day they were nice, but not outstanding. And over time the gimmick has worn off. People seem a bit more inclined to stand up for their Enermaxs, though as they were a bigger purchase and still in use that's to be expected. I bought one. No plans for another.

--Mc >>



Yeah no kidding, people were standing in line to (yours truly also) get one, lots of hype, lots of fanfare (still have it running in old BX system) - but when the smoke cleared, it was really nothing to right home about.. Okay to get back on topic here, I too am in the market for another PS. I was originally going the enermax route, and although I still think its a great choice, at this time I probably will be going with one of the newer Antec models. I'm also sick of noise.

-Vtrider

 

[thornc]

quietpc.com and PC-Silent sell good quiet PSU!!

 

[tmp]

I put a Truepower 480 in my rig a couple of weeks ago and I'm very happy with it.

 

[xXgambitXx]

i was feeling balsy and just finished splicing a Panflo into my Enermax Lawnmower fan power supply and i was pleasently surprised. it wasn't as hard as i thought and it's damn quiet, i'm never buying a quiet power supply now.....i'm just going to mod mine for now on. this rocks, no more noise ! -ALAN