Will the P180 solve this?

[ericlala]

My bro has a P4 3.0(OCed to 3.8) which is using the xp-90 and a 80mm fan running at about 1000rpm.

The problem is the PSU, it is a Tisonic (ya i never heard of it) about 350w i think and it has 1 120mm fan on the bottom which is thermally controlled. Most of the time it will spin at 1500-2200rpm which is LOUD. I tried the PSU on an open bench and it seems to stay at around 1000rpm so I am guessing it is the heat from the CPU.

Would the chamber and the addition of the 120x35mm fan help keep the psu cool enough so the fan doesn't speed up?

 

[wasserkool]

the main problem i am seeing here is the PSU quality. I highly doubt that 350W is enough for your system. Especially you are OCing. I don't know what other components you have in that system, which most likely are all power hogs.

The PSU is overtaxed, causing it to work harder = increase in temp = lower efficiency = loud fan noise to cool it down

 

[ericlala]

well im wondering if the 120x35 on low and the seperation from the HOT cpu will be enough to cool the psu down so it's fan will slow down

 

[milleron]

Can't hurt. You may do it and find that it's still loud, but at least you'd have the best case you can get -- i.e., even if it turned out that you still need to upgrade the PSU, I wouldn't consider the money spent on the P180 to have been wasted.

 

[MDE]

You could get a new PSU which kills two birds with one stone (noise, cheap PSU)

 

[ericlala]

thought about that but the psu will be half the cost of a p180 and the case has terrible intake airflow

 

[milleron]

Originally posted by: ericlala
thought about that but the psu will be half the cost of a p180 and the case has terrible intake airflow

The P180 has "terrible intake airflow?" Where in the world did you get that idea. Nothing could be further from the truth. Have you read the reviews of the P180 at SilentPCReview.com?

 

[Tu13erhead]

Well, the front intake vent isn't exactly the best at allowing air in.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: milleron

Originally posted by: ericlala
thought about that but the psu will be half the cost of a p180 and the case has terrible intake airflow

The P180 has "terrible intake airflow?" Where in the world did you get that idea. Nothing could be further from the truth. Have you read the reviews of the P180 at SilentPCReview.com?

I believe he was referring to his old case having a bad intake.

 

[milleron]

Originally posted by: Tu13erhead
Well, the front intake vent isn't exactly the best at allowing air in.

I'm not sure about that either. There are two large air intakes, both filtered, one of which can be fitted with a 120mm fan and the other of which IS factory fitted with a 120mm fan (in the lower compartment). In addition, there are inlets beside each front-mounted drive. The entire front of the P180, outside the drives, is pretty much one big air inlet. Even when the door is closed there still about remains about 30 square inches of air inlet space along the sides and bottom which is more than adequate for feeding whatever exhaust fans you have PLUS, there is another air intake in the form of the VGA duct.
So, I'm thinking that maybe the front intakes might, in fact, be "exactly the best at allowing air in." If they're not, please point us to a case that's significantly better.

Ron

 

[ericlala]

Originally posted by: MDE

Originally posted by: milleron

Originally posted by: ericlala
thought about that but the psu will be half the cost of a p180 and the case has terrible intake airflow

The P180 has "terrible intake airflow?" Where in the world did you get that idea. Nothing could be further from the truth. Have you read the reviews of the P180 at SilentPCReview.com?

I believe he was referring to his old case having a bad intake.

correct

also, there seems to be a lot of people who thinks the 3 stock fans on the p180 is noisy even on low but the silentpcreview.com review says that it is almost the same as a nexus on 12v, which i have and find dead silent. who is right?

 

[milleron]

Originally posted by: ericlala
also, there seems to be a lot of people who thinks the 3 stock fans on the p180 is noisy even on low but the silentpcreview.com review says that it is almost the same as a nexus on 12v, which i have and find dead silent. who is right?

Well, my Antec TriCools are silent, but they should be. Two are controlled by the Antec PSU, the one inside the VGA duct and the lower-compartment one, by their own 12-7-5V switchws that are set to "low," and the front intake fan is controlled by Asus Q-Fan. The latter turns at 1,300 rpm, and I can hear it if my ear's right next to it, otherwise not. The others cannot be heard even if my ear is next to them, but they're sure not spinning fast. They're not rpm-monitored, so I can't tell you how fast but not fast enough to make any noise. My room air is 26°C today, and the "aux" temp reported by Everest, which I deduce is from a spot on the motherboard that reflects case-air temps, is reported as 25°. Obviously, that's impossible, but I think it's saying that the air temperature inside the case is about the same as room temperature. It certainly feels that way to my hand. The only exhaust heat detectable at CPU idle is the grill of the Antec TPII 550 PSU and the air being exhausted from it very slowly. The air exhausted around the sides of the PSU does not feel hot.

Fans have to run fast enough to keep the case air within a few degrees of room air. Any faster is a waste. I have six fans in my P180, including the CPU, and the only one making any audible noise is the CPU one. I believe that, db ratings being logarithmic, one gets a quiter PC with several fans resolving very slowly than with one or two revolving relatively fast. The only downside to this approach is a small one with cable management. I'm very well satisfied with how quiet my new rig is using all Antec TriCool case fans. I don't think it makes a tenth the noise of my A7M266 system in an Antec 1080 case, but it's running about 12-15° cooler.

The P180's stock fans are very quiet if there's no need to crank them up.

Ron

 

[ericlala]

okay excellent because around here, a 120 nexus runs for like $25CAN...

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: ericlala

correct

also, there seems to be a lot of people who thinks the 3 stock fans on the p180 is noisy even on low but the silentpcreview.com review says that it is almost the same as a nexus on 12v, which i have and find dead silent. who is right?

You are right for your purpose. If you think Nexus @ 12V is silent, then the stock fans will be very very quiet.

Some people feel that Nexus is only "silent" at <7V. I am one of *those*.

Seasonic S12 500 Watt will definatly be quiet and can be found for ~$115
The Antec P180 would be a good investment as well.


It may seem pointless to spend an extra $115 on a psu right now. Think of it as saving the $600 it costs to replace a fried cpu/mobo/ram due to PSU failure.

 

[ericlala]

my bro decided to just switch the 120mm fan on the psu with a nexus, the only reason he didn't do it earlier was cuz i told him it was spinning at 2200rpm cuz maybe it needed it


edit:

now im thinking about the p180 for myself. should I?
im not sure if smartguardian is reporting correct temps
idle: cpu @ 41C PWM IC @ 53C chipset @ 54C

yes... my case temp is higher than cpu... sad