SPCR

As most of you all know, Fortron/Sparkle make some of the best, if not THE best power supplies.

I was very pleased to see Fortron's newest 300W and 350W power supply with 1 big 120mm fan in it! This means a quiet and cool power supply!


Model numbers are FSP300-60PN and FSP350-60PN.

Newegg has the 300W version for only $32 shipped!

XPDirect carries the 350W version
Coolcases.com is also carrying the 350W version.

Note: The (PF) versions are much louder than the non PF versions. If looking for a quiet PSU, Do Not order the FSP300-60PN(PF) or FSP350-60PN(PF) versions.

A larger fan can push more CFM at less RPM, translating into less noise. Of course, this doesnt necessarily mean that the manufacturer will use a quieter fan, but it is more feasible.

I'd really like to see a review on this one. I wonder how it is to have the fan is inside the case instead of at the rear. Would it be enough to cool the system with this only, since it sucks air from the processor?

it would be pretty easy to design a shroud to extend from the bottom of the power supply to cover the cpu heatsink. I dont know about eliminating the heatsink fan, but you might get away with just the power supply as exhaust.

attnet wrote:A larger fan can push more CFM at less RPM, translating into less noise. Of course, this doesnt necessarily mean that the manufacturer will use a quieter fan, but it is more feasible.

I agree that 120mm fans blow more cfm but it generally creates more noise from the fan blades. Yes you could have 120mm fans running at very low voltages, but realistically many fans will not start below 4 volts which still makes much more noise than a 80mm fan at 5volts (less cfm or course). To me the noise advantage gains from a 80mm fan out do the gains of more cfm.

Important note, generally speaking more air = more noise, air turbulance is the no.1 source of noise from a fan!

Thats why we undervolt fans to reduce air turbulance and of course whine.

There is another way to look at it. Example:
80mm fan pushing 53 CFM = 39 dBA
120mm fan pushing 55 CFM = 26 dBA

Since noise is doubled ever 3 dBA, the above example shows the 120mm fan is 1/3rd as noisy as the 80mm.

Granted many of us from this forum wouldn't be using fans at high CFM, but the point is, larger fans can move the same amount of air more quietly, simply because the larger fan opening allows the to air move slower.

Katana Man wrote: Since noise is doubled ever 3 dBA, the above example shows the 120mm fan is 1/3rd as noisy as the 80mm.

Who says a noise is doubled every 3dBA, a more realistic figure would be about 10dBA.

Secondly it really depends on what level of quiet computing you are looking for, regardless I cannot stand the noise of a 5 volt 120mm fan which is only less than half your quoted cfm rating. So even a 80mm fan at 5 volts pushes much less air, I much prefer the noise level which to me it's much quieter.

The bigger the fan does not mean the less the noise! Big fan blades cutting through air genrates a lot of noise. A large external fan no matter how slow it is spinning causes a lot of noise.

ez2remember wrote:

Katana Man wrote: Since noise is doubled ever 3 dBA, the above example shows the 120mm fan is 1/3rd as noisy as the 80mm.

Who says a noise is doubled every 3dBA, a more realistic figure would be about 10dBA.

Secondly it really depends on what level of quiet computing you are looking for, regardless I cannot stand the noise of a 5 volt 120mm fan which is only less than half your quoted cfm rating. So even a 80mm fan at 5 volts pushes much less air, I much prefer the noise level which to me it's much quieter.

The bigger the fan does not mean the less the noise! Big fan blades cutting through air genrates a lot of noise. A large external fan no matter how slow it is spinning causes a lot of noise.

I think it is 10db... but it's been a year since I took physics.

Google decibels, its a scale. Every 10 decibels = 10 times more noise.

To figure out the difference in noise of 2 fans, take 10^((louder_fan_noise - quieter_fan_noise) / 10) which will give you the number of times louder the louder fan is.

To find the decibel difference that yields twice the noise, take log(2)*10. So yes, every 3 decibels = double the noise. Remember, decibels is an exponential scale (or logarithmic, depending on your perspective) , like the Richter scale..

Katana Man wrote:There is another way to look at it. Example:
80mm fan pushing 53 CFM = 39 dBA
120mm fan pushing 55 CFM = 26 dBA

Since noise is doubled ever 3 dBA, the above example shows the 120mm fan is 1/3rd as noisy as the 80mm.

Granted many of us from this forum wouldn't be using fans at high CFM, but the point is, larger fans can move the same amount of air more quietly, simply because the larger fan opening allows the to air move slower.

Actually, the 120mm fan is 1/20th as noisy as the 80mm. But this shouldn't surprise anyone, 80mm fans are not meant to push 53CFM

Wow, you are right, the 13dBA difference would be much better than 1/3rd quieter. Did my math wrong.

But nonetheless, we're getting a bit off topic. The point is, I sooo glad that Fortron/Sparkle came up with this model. I have not fired up the PSU yet, but if the 120mm fan is too strong at 12V, I'll reduce the voltage for sure. I'm not sure how to do that for certain inside the PSU.

Hello Katana Man:

Please do tell us how it works -- $32 is a lot less that $60 which is what the 300watt SilenX PS goes for. It may have the disadvantage of more awkward air flow (the "90 degree" bend) but it may be quiet at 5 volts and still move a lot of air. And the fan is "buried" a bit inside the case, so this may may it somewhat quieter than it might otherwise be. Hey -- is the fan speed controlled? The 2nd image on New Egg has a sticker that says "W/NOISE KILLER".



That might work out even better...

I may be way off base here, so correct me if I'm wrong:

10 dB = 1B = 10x more sound power (or is it really pressure?), but to our ears, it is perceived as about 2x the loudness.

Politik wrote:Google decibels, its a scale. Every 10 decibels = 10 times more noise.

To figure out the difference in noise of 2 fans, take 10^((louder_fan_noise - quieter_fan_noise) / 10) which will give you the number of times louder the louder fan is.

To find the decibel difference that yields twice the noise, take log(2)*10. So yes, every 3 decibels = double the noise. Remember, decibels is an exponential scale (or logarithmic, depending on your perspective) , like the Richter scale..

I have one of these power supplies in a relatively low-powered system (K6-2/475MHz) and the fan never runs above its slowest setting. The thing sounds pretty quiet to me but I have no other system to compare it to right now, either.

I have to hop in.......GREAT forum btw

I modded a Enermax 350 from Aconto (Germany) that was originaly equiped with a tempcontrolled Papst fan. This PSU runs extremely hot so I decided to cut the hole at the bottom from the PSU to 120 mm and mounted a 120 mm Papst fan, not on the inside, but the outside from the PSU and closed the vents on the back (inside case) to prevent hot air blowing back in the case and disconnected the tempcontrolled fan. I attached the fanpower to a fancontroller. The papst is now running @ 6 volts and if I turn all my other fans down, I here almost nothing And another important thing: the PSU is for sure 75% cooler than before the mod!!!

(Please ignore my bad grammer...English is not my native language)

About sealing up the back vents.. I am not sure about covering those, because maybe they're there to encourage air to flow over components back there? Does the back of your PSU get hot?

Politik wrote:About sealing up the back vents.. I am not sure about covering those, because maybe they're there to encourage air to flow over components back there? Does the back of your PSU get hot?

No, the back doesn't get hot . I've tested with the vents open but the result was that hot air was blowing back in the PC case. The air coming out the PSU is a little warm.

KatanaMan! I am waiting eagerly to hear your experience with your PSU

Me too! Bought an ATX tester off of a reputable buyer on ebay, and the darn thing is taking forever to get here. (He's getting a negative feedback, long story).

I hope it'll be in the mail today. I'll let you know.

http://www.tomshardware.com/business/20 ... index.html
I already posted this but I think it would be good in this thread too. Its a fortron 120mm fanned power supply with an adjustable pot on the back (like some enermax fans have). Also the fan appears to have blue leds built in.

Bump for more information!

Politik, my ATX tester is still not here, but I'll let you know as soon as I fire up the new PSU

GamingGod wrote:http://www.tomshardware.com/business/20 ... index.html
I already posted this but I think it would be good in this thread too. Its a fortron 120mm fanned power supply with an adjustable pot on the back (like some enermax fans have). Also the fan appears to have blue leds built in.

This PSU seems pretty much the same as the Forton. Even the part number is exactly the same.
Also, Aopen also does seems to sell these PSU's under their own name now. The partnumber is also exactly the same.
I've already seen this PSU because Aopen now puts them in their latest line of cases.
I think I'll go and try one out, I'll try and get my hands on one this afternoon.

Got this PSU fired up. Here's my report:
Umm... Wow!

Before I heard this PSU in action, I thought that I may want to swap out the 120mm fan with something quieter. Turns out, this won't be necessary. This thing is so quiet !! From 2 feet away, I have a hard time hearing it!

When you first power it up, the fan breifly starts at full speed, then cuts back the throttle to about 1/4. Awesome, awesome! If I had to guess, I'd say this thing idles around 14-17db. It's one of those things where you wish you had it earlier

Hello:

Katana Man wrote:Got this PSU fired up. Here's my report:
Umm... Wow!

Before I heard this PSU in action, I thought that I may want to swap out the 120mm fan with something quieter. Turns out, this won't be necessary. This thing is so quiet !! From 2 feet away, I have a hard time hearing it!

When you first power it up, the fan breifly starts at full speed, then cuts back the throttle to about 1/4. Awesome, awesome! If I had to guess, I'd say this thing idles around 14-17db. It's one of those things where you wish you had it earlier

This is the most excellent news! I have two of these ordered from New Egg, along with the Evercase 4252, Athlon 2100+, etc. Thanks, you've made my day!

So how much air do you think its moving? You could easily make a duct to cover your cpu heatsink and help get rid of some heat. I dont think I would run the heatsink fanless, but it would probably help some.

I'd say it's moving a small amount of air. I'd guess around 30 cfm. The 120mm fan rpms are really cut back. I can say this, because I know what it sounds like at full speed (during the initial start). I would also guess that it's running around 5V or less at idle.

Keep in mind, I've only run this with an ATX tester which has a 25W load, along with a few other fans. The ATX tester was very warm. But the PSU fan speed has not budged yet. I'm looking forward to seeing it perform in a case enviroment as well. I have no doubt it's going to be awesome.

Thanks for the info, Katana Man. I ordered one of these up from newegg today, and I've got an Evercase 4252 coming in tomorrow. I'll let you guys know how the combination sounds after I get it together, but from your findings it sounds like we need to get this one added to the recommended PSU section.

One slightly off topic case-related question: When you have an 120mm PSU exhaust fan like this one has, is it a good idea to close up the exhaust vent on the back of the case (below the power supply) or should it still be left open? (I'm assuming I don't need a fan there ...)

Also, there wouldn't be any harm in completely removing the wire grill from the power supply, would there?

Aopen will be shipping these PSU as well.

As you can see here:
http://www.aopen.nl/products/power/fsp300-60PN.htm

and here:
http://www.aopen.nl/products/power/fsp350-60PN.htm

So availabilty will become better. Especially for people in Europe