Seasonic Super Silencer vs. Super Tornado ???

unwired · Post by **unwired** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 3:08 pm

Could someone please clarify the differences between the Seasonic 300W Super Silencer vs. 300W Super Tornado? There seems to be a lot of confusing information posted on this website and even in the reviews. Which is the correct model number for each?

Thank you.

klingon · Post by **klingon** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 3:32 pm

300W Super Silencer: SS300AGX
300W Super Tornado: SS300FB (Retail), SS300FT (OEM)

For the details, check out the below link:

http://www.seasonic.com/product/pc_atx.jsp

unwired · Post by **unwired** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 4:35 pm

so which is quieter and do you have a link to a review of each?

MechanicalMan · Post by **MechanicalMan** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 4:40 pm

unwired wrote:so which is quieter and do you have a link to a review of each?

You do know that there are reviews on this site, right?

If you want to look at some more, there are links to some at seasonic.com and seasonicusa.com.

klingon · Post by **klingon** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 4:59 pm

It is difficult to judge summarily which one is quieter. So, this is strictly based upon my own experience and my subjective opinion. I have 300FB and 300FS (not 300AGX but similar construct) and both of them are recommended by SPCR.

Under CPU idle or low load (web surfing, editing Word documents), I would say 300FB is quieter because the fan runs at very low RPM (850 or so). Under full load (3D games, MPEG encoding, etc), I would say 300FS is a little quieter than 300FB (120mm fan of 300FB runs at ~1500 RPM makes noise + more vibration than 300FS).

Again, this is my VERY subjective opinion.

unwired · Post by **unwired** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 5:28 pm

klingon, thanks for your input. I've seen the review of the SuperTornado300 which does look impressive. What seems surprising is that people have spent hours comparing the FB to FT version acoustics yet why has no one tried the Super Silencer 300AGX? Wouldn't it make the most sense to focus on the model the manufacturer promotes as their quietest?

MechanicalMan · Post by **MechanicalMan** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 6:09 pm

I'm not sure what you mean. There are plenty of reviews of the 400AGX. Why don't you just look at those if you want to hear more about the SS models?

MechanicalMan · Post by **MechanicalMan** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 9:52 pm

Hey, I told you where to find some reviews. That is what you asked for, right? SS reviews are mostly of the 400, not the 300. Does it really matter? Sorry I assumed that SS400 reviews might be helpful if you wanted to know more about the SS300. I'm sure they are VERY different.

klingon · Post by **klingon** » Sun Oct 26, 2003 2:27 am

Unwired,

I have the same feeling that it is a little weird why most of the reviews are focusing on 300FB and 350/400AGX. Although it is not really an educated guess, it looks to me that it is due to the availability of those Seasonic PSU's. In my neck of the woods, Only 350 and 400AGX are available. They only sell 300FS for 300 watt unit.

I guess it might be due to Seasonic and/or their distributors' marketing strategy.

Again, this is just my pure guess so no flames please

BTW, regarding your comment on "promoted as quietest by the manufacturer", I think 300FB is promoted to have 22dBA and 300AGX for 25dBA. So, it is not necessarily true that 300AGX is promoted by Seasonic as THE quietest PSU.

unwired · Post by **unwired** » Sun Oct 26, 2003 8:07 am

klingon, all good points and I agree with everything said. I'm going to try and call Seasonic tommorow. Its certainly possible the acoustics of the Super Silencer and Super Tornado are the same.

Has anyone else noticed that the Power and efficiency comparison table on the back of the Tornado box lists the Super Silencer and specifications ? I'm not saying there is any conspiracy, its just odd that a different model is listed on the box.

MechanicalMan · Post by **MechanicalMan** » Sun Oct 26, 2003 12:17 pm

klingon wrote:BTW, regarding your comment on "promoted as quietest by the manufacturer", I think 300FB is promoted to have 22dBA and 300AGX for 25dBA. So, it is not necessarily true that 300AGX is promoted by Seasonic as THE quietest PSU

No, it isn't. I guess it is okay when you point these things out.

unwired wrote:Has anyone else noticed that the Power and efficiency comparison table on the back of the Tornado box lists the Super Silencer and specifications ? I'm not saying there is any conspiracy, its just odd that a different model is listed on the box.

seasonicusa.com gives the SS model numbers on the Tornado page, which isn't too smart either.

Post by **MikeC** » Sun Oct 26, 2003 1:06 pm

I quote from my own review, not out of vanity but to show you that the difference between the Silencer & Tornado have been clearly spelled out here:

The Super Tornado is based on the same circuit topology. What is different is the use of a 120mm fan to increase airflow and cooling potential. This does necessitate a host of mechanical changes, including reduced height heatsinks and components to accommodate the 1" depth of the fan, a completely different case and so on.

Other than the above, they are THE SAME. Any other differences are consequences of these. And the 120mm at min voltage IS quieter. That, too is very clearly noted in the review.

unwired · Post by **unwired** » Sun Oct 26, 2003 2:59 pm

MikeC:

Based on your testing of the Seasonic power supplies, do you think a Super Tornado or a Super Silencer, both of same power rating, is quieter?

MechanicalMan · Post by **MechanicalMan** » Sun Oct 26, 2003 3:44 pm

unwired wrote:MikeC:

Based on your testing of the Seasonic power supplies, do you think a Super Tornado or a Super Silencer, both of same power rating, is quieter?

Ummm...a Tornado. Have you...like...read his reviews?

Post by **MikeC** » Sun Oct 26, 2003 3:45 pm

unwired --

please reread my last post. When they are both a full speed, the Tornado is probably louder but it has >50% airflow. Once you get above 50% of rated power, they're all loud. All fan cooled PSUs I mean. They need to be in order to stay cool enough, otherwise, you risk othermal failure.

unwired · Post by **unwired** » Sun Oct 26, 2003 5:57 pm

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Sun Oct 26, 2003 6:58 pm

kinda harsh words, you need to relax, unwired

MGP · Post by **MGP** » Sun Oct 26, 2003 7:35 pm

unwired wrote: Mr MechanicalMan,

How about just not posting in a thread if you know NOTHING. Please run along and troll somewhere else.

Since you clearly cannot read, the original unedited post in this thread was a comparison of the Super Silencer 300 vs. the Super Tornado 300.

Agreed. Take a DEEP breath...

I never thought a PSU could ever make someone so rude towards one who is only trying to be helpful.

Post by **MikeC** » Sun Oct 26, 2003 7:58 pm

MGP - couldn't help smirking at your location. Governator indeed. Should that be hail, not heil? Ooooohh mebbe that's too low...

MechanicalMan · Post by **MechanicalMan** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 2:55 am

unraveled wrote: MechanicalTroll:

MikeC did great reviews on a ST 300 and a SS 400. I appreciate his input in this thread.

You on the other hand continue to troll in a thread ignoring the original question which was a comparison of a ST to a SS at the SAME power rating.

Your contributions to this thread = 0

Unraveled, stop crying and freaking out for a minute so you can hear me, okay? The SS300 and SS400 are going to have the same design and fan, see? Same with the Tornados. So even though you don't want to believe me, you really DON'T need to see a bunch of reviews of, for example, the SS300 to get an idea of what kind of noise it will make. Seriously. I wouldn't lie to you, man. Have you seen where Mike's reviews show db levels at different loads/voltages? Well, there you go, friend. That should give you a pretty good idea of how much noise the fans will produce at different voltages. And then you can use some of that fancy math you learned in school to figure out roughly how much noise a 300W SS, 400W Tornado, etc. would be making at different loads. Is this making sense at all? When Mike told you to reread his post, I think it is fair for me to say that he meant this part: "the 120mm at min voltage IS quieter." You see, the 120mm fan used in the Tornados is quieter at the lower voltages & loads than the 80mm fan used in the SS models. So that means that you and I can probably assume that a properly functioning Tornado is going to be quieter than a properly functioning SS of the "SAME power rating" at an equal minimal load...or something like that. You know what I mean? Sorry, I could probably explain it better if I wasn’t such a stupid troll. Anyway, you can go back to listening to Bombtrack and punching your pillow or whatever…

But I am giving myself a half-point for this post, unraveled.
My contributions to this thread = ½

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:41 am

MechanicalMan wrote:Sorry, I could probably explain it better if I wasn’t such a stupid troll.

That's so freaking funny. Very good response, mechanicalman