Suggestion for a silent power supply. Should I go fanless?

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tracerit

Senior member
Nov 20, 2007
457
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EDIT: Nm, decided to go with the Seasonic 660W Platinum in the reply.


I'm aiming to build a silent ITX system to place on my desk so I would like something quiet.

My parts planned so far will be:
i7-3770k @ stock speeds
Coolermaster Hyper EVO 212 w/ Gentle Tyhpoon 1450rpm
ASUS GTX 750 Ti 2GB
Fractal Design Node 304 ITX case
Fractal Design 92mm R2 fans (intake)
Fractal Design 140mm R2 fan (exhaust)
Crucial M4 SSD
Western Digital Red NAS 3TB HDD

This will strictly be a Plex server, DVR for wifi cameras at home and for web browsing. Gaming will be non existent pretty much.

My current power supply in the build in my signature is a Seasonic G-Series SSR-550W. The fan on it spins all the time and it seems to be the loudest part of my build when the WD Red HDD isn't writing data. I know already that I do not want to use this Seasonic SSR-550W PSU in the ITX build.

So I looked into fanless PSUs and it seems only Seasonic makes them, but it's $120 for a 400W Platinum. That should be enough for me I think. But then for the same price +/- $15 I can get a Corsair 750W HX750 that has a "hybrid" mode where it doesn't spin unless it's at 20% load or more. This is enticing since 20% of 750W would be around 150W. And at idle, I will probably be around 40-60W. During usage, it may jump up to 80W? But the added insurance of a fan seems appealing.

Any advice on which power supply would best suit me?
 
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voodoo7817

voodoo7817

Member
Oct 22, 2006
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Not sure how truly silent it will be, but Newegg has a great sale on the Seasonic 660W Platinum right now, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151121. It also has that hybrid technology that you described. It's $80 after a $20 rebate. Here's a link to the post on the Hot Deals page: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2387610.

The deal ends today so hopefully you can take advantage of it if you want. I purchased one for my new build, but true silence wasn't a priority (there are actually a fair number of complaints about coil whine, but I'm 'chancing' it anyway). This is just a screaming deal for an amazing PSU.

Otherwise it seems like you're asking all the right questions and I don't consider myself a real expert so hopefully someone else can chime in about silent PSUs.
 
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tracerit

Senior member
Nov 20, 2007
457
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just jumped on that PSU too. Read reviews and it seems to be what I'm looking for. Thanks!
 
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Xantac

Junior Member
Jan 4, 2013
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Heck of a psu there, I'm using the 860 and also have a x-1250. They have great costumer service as well.
 
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tracerit

Senior member
Nov 20, 2007
457
1
81
Got the power supply from Newegg. Problem is that there seems to be some whine/buzzing coming from it. It's very small, but when the room is entirely quiet, it's audible. It's located inside a Node 304. I have it with the fan set to off.

Took out the video card, disconnected all other fans and hard drives and I have narrowed it down to the power supply.

I recall that all power supplies will make some type of noise even if they're fanless. But this kinda bothers me. I just wanted to see if this is "normal". I think I'll end up trying to exchange for another but if it does the same thing I will just return it and keep my previosu Seasonic G550 and stash the case under the table.
 
fleshconsumed

fleshconsumed

Diamond Member
Feb 21, 2002
6,486
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Yeah, sadly Seasonic has gained reputation for whiny PSUs in the past few years when the platinum series came out. From what I understand it is a complete luck of the draw, there is no pattern to it, it can be anything from specific PSU sample to unfortunate combination of components (mobo/videocard) that makes PSU whine.

That's why when I got the latest PSU for my main PC I went with rosewill rebadge of SuperFlower 500W fanless PSU. As far as I can tell it's pretty much silent. If there is any kind of buzz/whine I cannot hear it.
 
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tracerit

Senior member
Nov 20, 2007
457
1
81
Ah, don't feel bad for suggesting it. It's definitely quieter than my previous PSU (Seasonic G series 550 Gold) but I had it underneath the table and it was positioned further back. I will return the PSU and try the Rosewill "Super Flower" variants while I have this Newegg Premier trial still on haha.

The deal itself was excellent though!
 
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tracerit

Senior member
Nov 20, 2007
457
1
81
that's not a brand available in the US it seems. What other brands does Super Flower sell to>?
 
mindless1

mindless1

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2001
8,729
1,745
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All you needed to do was mod the PSU for lower fan RPM. That's usually possible by simply swapping a 5 cent resistor in the control loop or a 15 cent resistor in series with the positive fan lead.

In other words a PSU need not be fanless to be inaudible, rather to spin the fan at a low enough RPM that you can't hear it. You can do this to "almost" any PSU with the exception of some fancy-smantzy ones used in servers that have rotor lock protection and shut down if fan RPM drops too low.
 
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tracerit

Senior member
Nov 20, 2007
457
1
81
After trying out a few power supplies courtesy of Newegg, here are my basic observations regarding their acoustics:

1. Seasonic G-550W Gold. Fan is always on. There is a noticeable clicking noise from what I believe to be the fan. You won't notice it, but from 1-2 feet away it's there.

2. Seasonic 660XP2 Platinum. a hybrid model where it turns the fan on after a certain amount of load (40%?). At idle with the fan off, there's a buzzing sound from the unit. No comments on the fan since I never went above 20% load.

3. Rosewill Capstone 450W Gold. THis is a Super Flower unit which I was hoping would be quiet. The fan is always on. Unfortunately the fan itself is noticeable, more so than the G-550.

4. Corsair HX650. Another hybrid fan made from Seasonic. Just like the 660XP2, there's a buzz from the unit when idle.

5. Corsair RM650. This was the last power supply I tested and if it wasn't "Ultra-Quiet" I was just going to return everything and keep the Seasonic G-550. Wasn't too optimistic opening the box but I'm glad I did! THis one is also a hybrid fan and there is absolutely no noise, no buzzing, no whining at all when on idle. Had to make sure it was working by plugging it into my Belkin Watt meter. I haven't tested the fan yet and probably won't just because I don't think I can hit 40% load to start the fan up.


So there you have it, if you're looking for something completely silent, ignore PSUs 1-4 and try the RM650 first and see how you like it.
 
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GoStumpy

GoStumpy

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2011
1,211
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Furthermore for silent fanless operation, I bought a Corsair A70 cooler for my i3-2100 (LOL!) and removed the fans, and the CPU ran at completely normal temps without any fans.

Might be something to think about :)
 
fleshconsumed

fleshconsumed

Diamond Member
Feb 21, 2002
6,486
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GoStumpy said:
Furthermore for silent fanless operation, I bought a Corsair A70 cooler for my i3-2100 (LOL!) and removed the fans, and the CPU ran at completely normal temps without any fans.

Might be something to think about :)
Click to expand...

Generally speaking tower heatsinks perform well enough with just residual case airflow if you do not overclock your CPUs. This is the reason why I'm going to hold on to my Scythe Ninjas for as long as I can. For my most recent haswell upgrade I just bought new backplate so that I could reuse my old Scythe Ninja. Scythe Ninjas are simply awesome at keeping my CPUs cool with just the case fans moving the air. I haven't actually had fan on the heatsink since 2005. I even bought Mini Scythe Ninja for my HTPC on ebay, despite being Mini it still works passively with just the positive pressure from two 800rpm case fans.
 
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