Hey everyone,
I've got a single fan Antec PS (PP-303XP) 300W, I looked inside and the fan that it has is plugged into a fan header. Checking online it resembles a relabled Enermax Thermo Controlled fan (#B011388 is stamped on the label). Its rated at:
Application 12 Volts
Amp 0.23A 3 Watts
Fan Size 80x80x25 mm
Rated Voltage (V) 12 Volts
Noise Level(dBA) 18-34 dBA
Air Volume (CFM) 18/21/26/31CFM
I was thinking of replacing it with a Panaflo L, since its not one of those PSUs that are marketed as "quiet" (Seasonic, Zalman, Nexus, etc... and I don't have the cash to drop on it), would this be a viable solution or would I be dangerously close to killing my PSU with heat?
Thanks!
Antec & Panaflo
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee, Devonavar
I have the almost exact same psu (Antec PP303X).
I replaced the noisy fan in the Antec PSU with a Panaflo L1A and have been running for roughly 5 months with no problems at all. I had to run the Panaflo tail outside the PSU and use a 3 to 4 pin adapter to get it some juice.
The only thing I would like to do is run the Panaflo at 7 volts to further reduce the noise.
Jonestown.
I replaced the noisy fan in the Antec PSU with a Panaflo L1A and have been running for roughly 5 months with no problems at all. I had to run the Panaflo tail outside the PSU and use a 3 to 4 pin adapter to get it some juice.
The only thing I would like to do is run the Panaflo at 7 volts to further reduce the noise.
Jonestown.
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powergyoza
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I'd just do what a previous poster mentioned.. get a 3 pin fan and run the tails out of the PSU to the mobo.. i have seen another person do this to their PP-303X..
My PP303X ran at 1800-2200RPMs without a sweat... i would think that 1500-2000 would be a smarter range... any fan within that range should run fine.
My PP303X ran at 1800-2200RPMs without a sweat... i would think that 1500-2000 would be a smarter range... any fan within that range should run fine.
Why not just drop in a Panaflo at 5V?
What do y'all think of just replacing the fan in that Antec 300W supply with a drop-in Panaflo FBA08A12L, tail running outside the PSU to an internal 4-pin molex connector, and operating at 5V?
In Mike's article "Run a Power Supply Without a Fan?" he says:
In Mike's article "Run a Power Supply Without a Fan?" he says:
Wouldn't this be a worthwhile idea then?"A Panaflo FBA08A12L 80mm fan at 5V probably provides ample cooling for most PSUs in most cases. At 5V, it is inaudible except from within one foot. This fan is rated for 21 dBA and 24 cfm at 12 VDC. At 5V, I would guess the airflow is down to 12 cfm or less, and the noise is below 10 dBA."
My 380W Antec Sonata PSU (It's up now! Yay!) is thermally controlling an L1A without ever spinning above 5v equivalent. But, I am running a cool system and it's 5 degrees outside. Whether or not your powersupply will work with a low-flo fan is entirely dependent upon the temperature of the air it takes in, rather than the volume of the air it expells. If your case runs hot, the temperatures in your PSU may run hot as well. Try putting some thermometer probes inside your PSU, and see if it is within Antec's specifications.
I agree that your case temps and internal components will play a alrge part in this... if your case has poor cooling, run the L1 @ ~2000RPM's... if it already runs cool or has good cooling run it at 5v or 7v.... or you could just compromise with 7v.... personally, I think 5v on an L1 might be too slow...seishino wrote:My 380W Antec Sonata PSU (It's up now! Yay!) is thermally controlling an L1A without ever spinning above 5v equivalent. But, I am running a cool system and it's 5 degrees outside. Whether or not your powersupply will work with a low-flo fan is entirely dependent upon the temperature of the air it takes in, rather than the volume of the air it expells. If your case runs hot, the temperatures in your PSU may run hot as well. Try putting some thermometer probes inside your PSU, and see if it is within Antec's specifications.
As an update to an earlier post I made here, I'm running all fans (L1A on a SK-7/XP 1600, L1A case fan, and the L1A in the Antec PSU) at 7volts now just to test noise. My case temps have remained fairly constant at 26-28 degrees Celcius. The CPU is at 52C idle and 54-55C after playing 10-15 minutes of MOHAA. The CPU temps were roughly 7-8C cooler with the L1A at 12 volts.
Even at 7 volts, my case temps were pretty much where they were with the L1A's at 12 volts, but with the benefit of a MUCH quieter system.
Jonestown
Even at 7 volts, my case temps were pretty much where they were with the L1A's at 12 volts, but with the benefit of a MUCH quieter system.
Jonestown
I've been reading this thread with some interest. I'm thinking of undervolting the replacement Panaflo L1A fan I stuck in my Antec SmartPower 300 to 7 volts, but I'm deathly afraid I'll fry the thing if there's not enough air going through to cool it.
I currently have it hooked up to the old fan header in the PSU, and it appears to work well. The only problem is that because I have a smaller case (Antec SLK2600), my case temps are a little high(~31c), so the fan speed goes beyond where I'd like it to in order to compensate for the heat. It doesn't sound like it's going at the full 12v, but I know the voltage is greater than 7v because I have another exhaust fan that does and it's definitely louder than that one.
Has anyone one else done this before, or is this a bad idea?
I currently have it hooked up to the old fan header in the PSU, and it appears to work well. The only problem is that because I have a smaller case (Antec SLK2600), my case temps are a little high(~31c), so the fan speed goes beyond where I'd like it to in order to compensate for the heat. It doesn't sound like it's going at the full 12v, but I know the voltage is greater than 7v because I have another exhaust fan that does and it's definitely louder than that one.
Has anyone one else done this before, or is this a bad idea?
I originally replaced the fan in the rear of the Antec PSU with a single L1A fan plugged into the PSU fan headers, the case was incredibly silent, but airflow was dead, as it was the only exhast in my system. CPU temps were up 4 degrees, nearing 60 when playing a FPS in under an hour.
I went downstairs and pulled my dad's Antec PSU (PP352X, old model of the SL-350) which has 2 fans, Enermax 92/80mm. I replaced those with the L1a's (used 1 screw and a twist tie to hold down the other side of the fan in the 92 hole) and wired it into the headers ... These came really loud due to the airflow obstructions. In contrast, I have 2 other L1as in the system, both on a zalman fan bracket, one is over the CPU and the other is over the GPU. I tested noise through my fanbus, at the same voltage, the fans in the PSU are always louder by a good margin (don't have a meter), in both loudness and pitch.
My theory on airflow inside a PSU is that forced air cooling may do approximately 2-3 degrees better at best in a system that is meant to be silent ... while simply expelling the hot air (instead of trying to cool heatsinks) would be sufficient to maintain stability.
With this in mind (I could be seroiusly wrong cause I don't have temp monitoring equiptment), I wired the PSU fans out to my front fanbus. The second fan adds some additional pressure to pull air through the case while directing air at the PSU PCB. I had tried to use the PSU with only 1 fan, the "lower" one, figuring that if it was closer to the inside of the case, it may create pressure I was looking for while the case would simply exhast passively. The PSU top became somewhat hot to the touch. So I abandoned that idea.
I keep them at somewhere between 5-7V (its got pots, but I don't know the exact voltage) where they are silent now on idle. Its a slight breeze, roughly enough to push a tissue. CPU idling (web surfing, DVD watching) is at 45 degrees at worse. CPU max at 4:45am, when I have a virus scanner run, pushes the temp to 54 degrees. But when I want to play a FPS, I turn the fans up to 12V for maximum system exhast. The system, while no longer quiet but it doesn't matter with games, hasn't gone past 48 degrees.
So, instead of going for lowest cooling in all situations, I figured a trade off was in order. I stuck with keeping CPU temps at 42-44 degrees with low processes and around 49 degrees with max fans, the only time it goes above is when I'm asleep and its doing a virus scan at night around 4:45 and I'm not around to turn the fans on. But since its only for 20 minutes max, I think its fine.
Its been going strong now for about 2 weeks, basically 24/7. The exhast air, while not cold like it was down at my dad's comp (that thing's got 8 fans inc the Northbridge, etc...) is like room heater warm. System is stable, haven't had to restart once due to it.
I went downstairs and pulled my dad's Antec PSU (PP352X, old model of the SL-350) which has 2 fans, Enermax 92/80mm. I replaced those with the L1a's (used 1 screw and a twist tie to hold down the other side of the fan in the 92 hole) and wired it into the headers ... These came really loud due to the airflow obstructions. In contrast, I have 2 other L1as in the system, both on a zalman fan bracket, one is over the CPU and the other is over the GPU. I tested noise through my fanbus, at the same voltage, the fans in the PSU are always louder by a good margin (don't have a meter), in both loudness and pitch.
My theory on airflow inside a PSU is that forced air cooling may do approximately 2-3 degrees better at best in a system that is meant to be silent ... while simply expelling the hot air (instead of trying to cool heatsinks) would be sufficient to maintain stability.
With this in mind (I could be seroiusly wrong cause I don't have temp monitoring equiptment), I wired the PSU fans out to my front fanbus. The second fan adds some additional pressure to pull air through the case while directing air at the PSU PCB. I had tried to use the PSU with only 1 fan, the "lower" one, figuring that if it was closer to the inside of the case, it may create pressure I was looking for while the case would simply exhast passively. The PSU top became somewhat hot to the touch. So I abandoned that idea.
I keep them at somewhere between 5-7V (its got pots, but I don't know the exact voltage) where they are silent now on idle. Its a slight breeze, roughly enough to push a tissue. CPU idling (web surfing, DVD watching) is at 45 degrees at worse. CPU max at 4:45am, when I have a virus scanner run, pushes the temp to 54 degrees. But when I want to play a FPS, I turn the fans up to 12V for maximum system exhast. The system, while no longer quiet but it doesn't matter with games, hasn't gone past 48 degrees.
So, instead of going for lowest cooling in all situations, I figured a trade off was in order. I stuck with keeping CPU temps at 42-44 degrees with low processes and around 49 degrees with max fans, the only time it goes above is when I'm asleep and its doing a virus scan at night around 4:45 and I'm not around to turn the fans on. But since its only for 20 minutes max, I think its fine.
Its been going strong now for about 2 weeks, basically 24/7. The exhast air, while not cold like it was down at my dad's comp (that thing's got 8 fans inc the Northbridge, etc...) is like room heater warm. System is stable, haven't had to restart once due to it.