SPCR

a coolmax CR-450B, a unit that has a 14cm fan, rather than a 12cm fan, which, all else being equal, i would expect move more air.

over at newegg,

http://secure.newegg.com/app/Custrating ... 17-159-031

there are more people rating the coolmax cr-450b than the seasonic models,
and they rate it highly for its silence, and at $52, it is very competitive in pricing. unlike seasonic, it has a switch that lets you select the fan speed.

still seasonic has a definite edge in efficiency as the tornado is over 80% efficient, the coolmax other models are listed as only over 65% efficient, with no power correction, active or passive.

it would appear though from the standpoint of price and silence, based on newegg customer reviews, the coolmax beats out the seasonic, despite the seasonic generating less heat than coolmax

In my experience the reviews from people who have already bought something are inflated since they've already made up their mind. All these reviews are from non-spcr readers who have probably replaced a standard quality chainsaw loudness PSU with a quieter one. That doesn't mean this PSU isn't quiet; just that we have no frame of reference to take these comments against.

ckolivas is right. Newegg user reviews have very limited value. You can't use them to compare products, and it's doubtful they can even be used as a rough quality indicator (how many dead pixels an LCD has, or how fast a certain memory will run) because the reviewers could be uncritical, exaggerating, or positively/negatively biased.

The Seasonic Super Tornado is the quietest known fanned PSU here at SPCR, because it combines high efficiency, a well-designed fan control circuit, and one of the quietest 12cm fans on the market. I suppose it's possible (though very unlikely) that the CR-450B is quieter, but if so, how much quieter could it really be? Unless you want to take a long-shot gamble with the Coolmax, your best bet is to get the Super Tornado, which is guaranteed to be very good. SPCR reviews are here for you to use!

As the owner of a Coolmax Taurus 450B, I can't speak for this particular model, but I can say that the coolmax brand in general is a reasonable choice for an inexpensive but relatively quiet power supply.

The audible noise from my coolmax falls somewhere between the noise level of my 300W Seasonic and my Fortron Source (which is quieter than average, but no where near silent). I would expect the CR-450B to fall somewhere in that same range. Just don't expect complete silence from a power supply that's half the price of the best power supplies on the recommended list.

hello,
i would imagine 14cm would push more air than 12cm, just as a 14 inch pizza is quite a bit more pizza than 12 inch.

would you say the seasonic power supplies are "silent"?

also, the coolmax and superflower have a switch that lets you switch to "quiet/silent" mode -- i would imagine they would be "silent" in that mode.

dan wrote:hello,
i would imagine 14cm would push more air than 12cm, just as a 14 inch pizza is quite a bit more pizza than 12 inch.

It's true that when two equal quality fans of different sizes (12 vs 14cm) produce the same amount of flow, the larger one will be quieter. However the lowest airflow and speed possible with a larger fan will also be higher than the lowest airflow and speed of a smaller fan, and this is almost always louder than the smaller fan. As virtually any 12cm fan produces ample airflow for a PSU even in it's quietest mode, I doubt that a 14cm fan will offer any benefit.

Note the number of caveats in the comparison though

Well I can't compare it to some of the higher end PSUs, but even with my ears against the grills on the back it's very hard to hear the PSU fan turning when it's set to low mode.

For the price I consider it a good choice.

I'm debating between the coolmax 450W and waiting for a 330W or 380W seasonic s12. The efficiency and extra features (24 pin w/o adapter) of the seasonic are nice, but considering I can pick up a 450W coolmax for $49 shipped that, since it'll push a lot more air, will keep the rest of my fans from speeding up I'm very tempted to just go with the coolmax.

Anyone have anything to say about the efficiency / line stability of these coolmax psu's?

ckolivas wrote:As virtually any 12cm fan produces ample airflow for a PSU even in it's quietest mode, I doubt that a 14cm fan will offer any benefit.

Of course it provides an additional benefit. A 14cm fan pushes more air than a 12cm at the same noise level thus doing a better job of exhausting case heat and preventing other case fans from spinning up. Larger fan = better overall temps and lower noise from other case fans.

I have the Coolmax Taurus CX400B (see sig). I have the fan speed selector set on AUTO. No gaming, but I fold 24/7. I can't hear the PSU over the Nexus fans at 12v. I leave the fans at 12v to muffle the annoying buzz of my CRT monitor.

One caveat. I haven't been able to verify what the warranty period is for this PSU.


Rich

Morpheusman wrote:The audible noise from my coolmax falls somewhere between the noise level of my 300W Seasonic and my Fortron Source (which is quieter than average, but no where near silent). I would expect the CR-450B to fall somewhere in that same range. Just don't expect complete silence from a power supply that's half the price of the best power supplies on the recommended list.

The Coolmax Taurus is a 120mm-fanned PSU, right? And what specific Seasonics and Fortrons are you comparing the Coolmax to?

Oh, and for those of you still reading Newegg user reviews: check out Ralf Hutter's dire warning!