Which PSU is quieter? [Archive] - RedFlagDeals.com Forums

Avenger

Apr 7th, 2005, 06:22 PM

I am curious - which is more silent - the Antec TruePower 480w (which I currently own right now), or the OCZ OCZ45012U-450W MODSTREAM POWER SUPPLY PCI-E READY W/ EZMOD CABLE SYSTEM & BLUE LED FAN currently on sale at NCIX? Or is there another power supply which is even quieter? I need something at least 450w. Thanks for any advice!

radeonboy

Apr 7th, 2005, 06:40 PM

Get a 120mm fan PSU and you are virtually silent buddy!

I would go look at the 120mm PSU from Seasonic (solid rails) and 140mm PSU from CoolMax USA. Both good stuff, and quality. They are kinda heavy, not those dinky light "made in China" junk included with cheap cases.

ShadowVlican

Apr 7th, 2005, 07:32 PM

get an enermax noisetaker 2nd version

those are real silent and you can find them locally, unlike the seasonics (if someone knows where to get one locally, pm me :lol: )

JIS

Apr 7th, 2005, 07:34 PM

What's wrong with the TP480? I have one and it's pretty quiet.

What about the Fortron 500W on sale at Ncix? It has a 120mm fan and i've heard good things about them.

Avenger

Apr 7th, 2005, 08:27 PM

I find the antec tp a little noisy, and I was hoping someone would know of something considerably quieter, if it is possible. I was just curious to see if there was anything else out there.

PennyArcade

Apr 7th, 2005, 09:00 PM

head over to Tomshardware.com They did a review on super quiet Power supplies.

Cool and quiet PS's (http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20050401/index.html)

Epower's Lion 450 is something that might be good for you... though really expensive.

akwok

Apr 7th, 2005, 09:15 PM

JIS

Apr 7th, 2005, 09:47 PM

akwok - did you get it locally?

Avenger

Apr 7th, 2005, 10:41 PM

NCIX sells it - so there is a huge noticeable difference between the antec and this one?

akwok

Apr 7th, 2005, 11:10 PM

I got it from NCIX, express delivery ($9) and it arrived the day after I ordered!

Yes, there is a noticeable difference. This PSU does not ramp up very much, and even at max speeds it's MUCH quieter than the Antec at around half. It is just airflow noise, no motor noise/buzzing at all. The Antec, Enermax, OCZ, etc all inhibit bearing noise, it just depends which company has the most. ThermalTake's 'silent' PSU had the most, it was an annoying clicking sound ever 2 seconds. Enermax/Antec are fine at idle, but when it ramps up all hell breaks loose. OCZ is mediocre, somewhere between Enermax/Antec and TT.

Of course, my ears are very sensitive. But if the prices are about the same and is not that big an issue, I would definitely go with the S12-430. You will NOT be disappointed - message back when you get it (if you do), :).

EDIT : Anything above 430W is not really necessary, SPCR has done tests with basically max'd components and it only drew about 260W max output. Besides, the more wattage it claims the higher power the fan will be, and the louder it will get.

ShadowVlican

Apr 7th, 2005, 11:16 PM

ugh..... if only a local store sold S12-430...

makes me "fall back" to enermax noisetaker series...

akwok

Apr 7th, 2005, 11:23 PM

I don't see why you don't just buy directly off of NCIX, the shipping isn't too atrociously expensive. The cheapest is $8, most expensive (+ most useful) is $9.

Ehh. Since you're in Markham, Bigfoot would be the closest place. I heard the SilenX power supplies aren't too bad, but then again you can't be too sure. I bought a 120mm SilenX iXtrema fan and it kind of blows..

Avenger

Apr 8th, 2005, 02:37 PM

Keep in mind NCIX will pricematch any price pretty much - plus you do not pay PST, which in this case would be made up for in shipping cost - so it is just like buying locally. I might just replace my Antec TruePower 480! I just bought the friggin thing a month ago too! If only I had checked first - I just read reviews and thought it sounded good :(

ShadowVlican

Apr 8th, 2005, 03:45 PM

shipping isn't the problem... just that i don't buy stuff online... (ie no credit card... no trust in encryption ssl stuff... ya know :| )

it'd be nice if bigfoot carried seasonic... but then again.. they are located quite far away from markham :lol:

boy i'm picky :lol: :twisted:

poppa

Apr 8th, 2005, 04:16 PM

akwok

Apr 8th, 2005, 05:01 PM

I think what he means is COD (which NCIX does not offer, only BF does)

ShadowVlican

Apr 8th, 2005, 06:06 PM

I think what he means is COD (which NCIX does not offer, only BF does)

you got it.... i'm against any type of electronic internet money transfer... i prefer cheque and money orders...

picky aren't i :lol:

felix

Apr 8th, 2005, 06:41 PM

akwok, I see you've done your research! :D

I too agree with ShadowVlican on the Enermax. After buying 2 (yes, TWO) fanless power supplies (Antec Phantom 350, costed $185 & $195 + tax!!) and having both of them die on me within 1 week (don't buy this if you have the DFI Lanparty NF4!!), I went to the local computer shop (cty.ca) to buy a spare power supply because I needed my computer to work. I ended up getting the Enermax 485W EG495P-VE SFMA ATX 2.0. Boy was I surprised at how quiet it was! Definitely far from the older Enermax 350W we had before! Wish I never bought the Phantoms now, still waiting for one of them to come back from RMA (the other one I returned, thankfully the store took it back as it was on the last day of the 7 day warranty. :) )

Avenger

Apr 8th, 2005, 07:16 PM

Darn! I was thinking of buying the phantom due to the "fanless" aspect. I might just stick with my Antec Truepower 480 now X_x

nathan_chan168

Apr 8th, 2005, 07:46 PM

someone once said

generally anything antec is ****

i bought an antec fan, and hes right. what a waste of money
the plastic is so weak, and the fan is very noisy

id go with the ocz or the enermax

-nathan

felix

Apr 8th, 2005, 08:18 PM

Well, it really was completely noiseless while it lasted. Which was a very good few days. :)

They are coming out with a Antec Phantom 500W version too! But if it has the same problems as 350W version then so much for that. There are many other reports including a poll of such a problem on silentpcreviews forums. It's due to overheating. Guess we still have to be stuck with fanned power supplies for now. >:(

My Enermax was only $87 + tax by the way. Half the price of the faulty units!!

Any idea how many times I can send a PSU to RMA? My phantom has 3 year warranty. And I'm sure this won't be the last time. :D

Avenger

Apr 8th, 2005, 08:32 PM

Did you keep case fans on in order to properly ventilate when the Phantoms died?

eloytron

Apr 8th, 2005, 11:19 PM

I like the Seasonic Super Silencer 300 or 400.

felix

Apr 8th, 2005, 11:44 PM

Did you keep case fans on in order to properly ventilate when the Phantoms died?
yup, of course. 2 fans (Nexus 120mm and a 80mm fan). Anyway, it works fine with the Enermax and with only the Nexus 120mm undervolted. Temps are okay (http://forums.redflagdeals.com/showpost.php?p=1523728&postcount=32). So definitely a power supply issue. >:(

felix

Apr 8th, 2005, 11:47 PM

I don't trust anything from Tom's Hardware.

I do trust stuff from SPCR (http://www.silentpcreview.com)

The Seasonic S12-430 is the best power supply on the market right now HANDS DOWN. It is the quietest fanned power supply to date, and it's stable as a rock. I bought one and I couldn't be happier! I've tried OCZ, Enermax, Antec, and Thermalcrap and none of them are even close.
How does this compare to the new Enermax ones? I was in a hurry and didn't want to wait a week for NCIX to ship it. Otherwise that's the one I would have purchased for a couple bucks more + shipping (we both visit the same sites! hehe ..)

akwok

Apr 9th, 2005, 01:46 AM

The last one I used was a 420W Enermax (I think? I sold it for $30). It beats that one for sure, because it uses 2x 80mm fans.

Even if the new Enermax uses 120mm fans I can almost guarantee that it will not be silent according to SPCR standards. I firmly believe that the Seasonic S12-430 or the S12-360 is the quietest on the market (The S12-500 and more use a louder fan). Although silence is objective ;), so maybe the Enermax sounds fantastic through your ears and not too great through mine.

Enermax are stable buggers though, love them for that. They usually have huge amps, and I think the new ones have dual railings now.

Regarding fanless power supplies; I think it's a waste. I too was one of those people who went nuts with glee when the Phantom first came out, but if you think about it you can't run a computer nowadays fanless. So there's really no point, if you already have a fan in there why not just go with a quiet fanned power supply and save the hassle? :)

BTW I lurk around [H]ard, anandtech, sudhian, hardcoreware and SPCR mostly, ;). I now love RFD!

Wassup Doc

Apr 9th, 2005, 02:08 AM

felix

Apr 15th, 2005, 11:54 PM

Although silence is objective ;), so maybe the Enermax sounds fantastic through your ears and not too great through mine.

No, I'm very picky, probably more picky than you! :D But now that I have my computers in my own living room (which is next to kitchen, etc) and not bedroom, obviously the noise isn't as noticeable as before when it was in the bedroom. :)

felix

Apr 16th, 2005, 12:07 AM

If you want quiet then get a seasonic. Get the 430 version, it has a quieter fan than the 500 and 600 watters. Only draw back with the 430 and lower models is there is no 6 pin connector for pci-e video cards. I have the 500w version is quieter than all my other parts, too bad seasonic had to use a ball bearing fan. Damn thing makes an intermittent clicking noises. Hopefully the fan will break in and stop the annoying or else i'm going to change out the fan.
Which video cards require this PCI-e plug? From the pics I saw online, I don't notice the 6600GT series requiring such a plug. I was thinking to upgrade to a 6600GT eventually. If only I had ordered the Seasonic ahead of time knowing my Phantoms were goners. Why do the folks out west always get the new toys first. :|

Madcatmk2

Apr 16th, 2005, 07:22 AM

Which video cards require this PCI-e plug? From the pics I saw online, I don't notice the 6600GT series requiring such a plug. I was thinking to upgrade to a 6600GT eventually. If only I had ordered the Seasonic ahead of time knowing my Phantoms were goners. Why do the folks out west always get the new toys first. :|

Can't you just get a peripheral(4pins) to PCI Express adapter for 2 bucks?

Is there a review that can prove if the certification is a marketing gimmick to force us to buy useless 500,600 watts power supplies?

IceMan77

Apr 28th, 2005, 04:42 PM

Of course, my ears are very sensitive. But if the prices are about the same and is not that big an issue, I would definitely go with the S12-430. You will NOT be disappoi

EDIT : Anything above 430W is not really necessary, SPCR has done tests with basically max'd components and it only drew about 260W max output. Besides, the more wattage it claims the higher power the fan will be, and the louder it will get.

If all you really need is 260W, why don't you save a few bucks and go with the S12-380. Should be sufficient...are there any other differences?

akwok

Apr 28th, 2005, 05:11 PM

A lot more headroom for a wee bit more $$$ is a good presumption in my book.

EDIT : THE THREAD IS ALIVE.. AGAIN!

JLee

Apr 28th, 2005, 06:15 PM

i use seasonic psu, i can't hear the damned thing =P

i think i'll go seasonic from now on anyway..

Avenger

Apr 28th, 2005, 06:17 PM

I just got my seasonic psu from anitec.ca and it works great, a noticeable change from my Antec Truepower. Very quiet!

akwok

Apr 28th, 2005, 06:55 PM

Yeah I got my second one from Anitec too, thinking of buying a third. :D

ynchu

Apr 30th, 2005, 04:06 AM

I have a Powerman Sparkle PSU, with a huge fan at bottom of it... it's 100% silent to me, too.

IceMan77

May 2nd, 2005, 10:55 AM

Just ordered the S12-380 from anitec. Let's see how quiet/reliable this bad boy really is.

fudge_u

May 2nd, 2005, 11:00 AM

I have a 480W Antec NeoPower, and that seems to be really quiet. It's also not very messy in my case.

WG.

Txiasaeia

May 2nd, 2005, 11:41 AM

Which video cards require this PCI-e plug? From the pics I saw online, I don't notice the 6600GT series requiring such a plug. I was thinking to upgrade to a 6600GT eventually. If only I had ordered the Seasonic ahead of time knowing my Phantoms were goners. Why do the folks out west always get the new toys first. :|

Leadtek series of video cards uses 4 pin power connectors, so maybe that would be an option? I know I'm going to be getting a 6600 GT Extreme with a Seasonic S12 380/430 (depending on availability).

IceMan77

May 6th, 2005, 11:07 AM

Just got my Seasonic today.

First impressions, the PSU is heavy, good sign, but the thing is ugly... I was also a bit disappointed that it doesn't have the "modular cable system" as some of the new PSU's have...I was evaluating the OCZ Modstream and it looks so much sweeter... In this case, since this PSU is going into my main box, I'll take stability/reliability over coolness/looks. oh well, I guess you can't have everything... >:(