Which Power Supply for low noise

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

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sebmack
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Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 12:22 am

Which Power Supply for low noise

Post by sebmack » Tue Dec 04, 2007 1:04 am

Hi,

I just bought a Thermaltake ToughPower 750 and it seems to be no quieter than a no-name brand. Previously I had an Antec 450W Earthpower and that was beautiful.

I hope to return the Thermaltake - and replace it with either:

An Antec TPQ 850
Coolermaster Modular 700
Silverstone ST85ZF
Zalman ZM-750

Can anyone give me a recommendation. QUietness is essential.

BTW - Config is:

CASE: Antec Sonata II
HDD: 4 x SATA
M/Board: Asus P5K Deluxe
VGA: Asus 8600GT
PCI: Modem, TV Tuner
Removable: DVD-R/W, FDD
Processor: Intel Core2Quad 6600

Thanks

burebista
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Location: Romania

Post by burebista » Tue Dec 04, 2007 1:57 am

Corsair VX450 or HX520 if you want modular.
From your list Zalman.

sebmack
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Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 12:22 am

Thanks for the tip

Post by sebmack » Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:20 am

Thanks!

I'm just concerned about power - the calculators tell me 579W...

Atmosper
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Location: Västerås, Sweden

Post by Atmosper » Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:27 am

There is no way in hell that your system can ever draw 579 W.

It's just not possible. Those calculators are usually pretty far off but not that much. Divide by four and you'll be a little closer to the truth.

I second the opinion on Corsair.

burebista
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Location: Romania

Re: Thanks for the tip

Post by burebista » Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:13 am

sebmack wrote:I'm just concerned about power - the calculators tell me 579W...
Yeah, I know those on-line power calculators. Try this, is more accurate at stock speeds.
On your configuration it suggest me something like this

Image

Seems fair to me. :)

Joe Public
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Location: Norway

Re: Thanks for the tip

Post by Joe Public » Tue Dec 04, 2007 6:23 am

sebmack wrote:Thanks!

I'm just concerned about power - the calculators tell me 579W...
I'm guessing you used the Outervision calculator and selected quad CPU instead of single CPU. (Q6600 goes as single CPU). Anyway, that way the result is even further inflated.

Wibla
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Re: Thanks for the tip

Post by Wibla » Tue Dec 04, 2007 10:01 am

burebista wrote:
sebmack wrote:I'm just concerned about power - the calculators tell me 579W...
Yeah, I know those on-line power calculators. Try this, is more accurate at stock speeds.
OT: Thank you for that link, seems more reasonable than the inflated numbers you get from other calculators

sebmack
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 12:22 am

one more Q

Post by sebmack » Tue Dec 04, 2007 1:17 pm

And if I don't need modular...any recommendations. The Antec Earthpower whispered - but maybe the others are even quieter...

Lensman
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Post by Lensman » Tue Dec 04, 2007 9:24 pm

You should definitely be fine at the levels you've been quoting lately, but if you do decide you want a bigger PSU, you should look at the Corsair HX620w and the TX750w.

Mikael
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Location: Gothenburg, Sweden

Re: Thanks for the tip

Post by Mikael » Sat Dec 08, 2007 1:58 am

burebista wrote:Yeah, I know those on-line power calculators. Try this, is more accurate at stock speeds.
Wow! That PSU calculator actually nailed my computer's power consumption! I have measured 237W at the wall socket, which translates into ~200W consumed by the components (I use a HX520W). This calculator reported max sustained power consumption by the components to be 203W.

merlin
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Re: Thanks for the tip

Post by merlin » Sat Dec 08, 2007 4:09 am

Mikael wrote:
burebista wrote:Yeah, I know those on-line power calculators. Try this, is more accurate at stock speeds.
Wow! That PSU calculator actually nailed my computer's power consumption! I have measured 237W at the wall socket, which translates into ~200W consumed by the components (I use a HX520W). This calculator reported max sustained power consumption by the components to be 203W.
I still don't trust psu calcuators, but it's interesting to see this one is much closer to my actual power consumption then most. Probably only overestimated by 10-20 watts.

On the topic at hand, if silence is really key, pick a low end seasonic or corsair, those will have very good fan controllers. Some options are VX450 and Seasonic S12-II 380/430.

dhanson865
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Post by dhanson865 » Sat Dec 08, 2007 3:13 pm

If you want quiet look at the better quality Seasonic or Corsair units.

If you want cheap quiet look at Antec Earthwatts 500W, but I don't recommend it or the the regular S12-II models anymore. The Corsair VX and HX models have stolen the spotlight.

Code: Select all

Model       Output (W)  150     200     250     300     400     500
        Efficiency
Corsair VX450W          82.6%   84.8%   83.3%   83.0%   81.8%
Corsair HX520W          81.0%   84.5%   85.2%   85.1%   83.7%   81.3%
     S12-550E+          81.9%   84.8%   84.3%   84.1%   82.9%   81.2%


         Temp Rise (°C)
VX450W                   4       7       9      11      16
HX520W                   7       9      12      13      12      11
S12-550E+                5       8      12      10      12      13

         Noise (dBA@1m)
VX450W                  21      21      22      26      35
HX520W                  22      22      22      22      29      43
S12-550E+               20      20      21      25      38      40
Corsair VX450W $75
HX520W $100
S12E+550W $120

VX450
Pros:
Best efficiency of the three when under 200W
Lowest Price of the three
roughly tied for 2nd flattest fan curve (only the HX520 has a flatter curve)

Cons:
lowest output in watts of the three (pretty minor con)


HX520
Pros:
Modular
Flattest fan curve
2nd lowest price of the three
Highest efficiency above 250W and highest of the three PSUs at any of the measured points (85.2%)

Cons:
Efficiency is low under 150W (this can be significant when you buy this PSU for a system that can't get above 150W.)


S12-550 E+
Pros:
Lowest idle noise
roughly tied for 2nd flattest fan curve (only the HX520 has a significantly flatter curve)

Cons:
Expensive compared to the VX450 and HX520

afunguy26
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Post by afunguy26 » Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:27 pm

Corsair Hx750

NeilBlanchard
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Post by NeilBlanchard » Fri Dec 14, 2007 6:43 am

Huh?
afunguy26 wrote:Corsair Hx750
This is about 2.5X more power than the OP needs... :roll:

dhanson865
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Post by dhanson865 » Sat Dec 15, 2007 1:45 pm

afunguy26 wrote:Corsair Hx750
First off there is no such thing as a HX750. The corsair 750 watt PSU is a TX model. I'm not sure why you want to recommend the TX750.

I still think paying the extra for the HX620 is a waste of money for the average system but I wouldn't have complained if you suggested he go for it over the HX520. Going up one grade for the color preference or just to future proof your investment has it's merits but don't be fooled into thinking you absolutely have to buy a 750 watt PSU just because you read some joe on a board recommending it with no data to back up his recommendation.

Code: Select all

Model       Output (W)  150     200     250     300     400     500
        Efficiency
Corsair VX450W          82.6%   84.8%   83.3%   83.0%   81.8%
Corsair HX520W          81.0%   84.5%   85.2%   85.1%   83.7%   81.3%
Corsair HX620W          79.9%   83.6%   84.5%   84.7%   83.9%   81.9%

         Temp Rise (°C)
VX450W                   4       7       9      11      16
HX520W                   7       9      12      13      12      11
HX620W                   7       9      12      12      12      11

         Noise (dBA@1m)
VX450W                  21      21      22      26      35
HX520W                  22      22      22      22      29      43
HX620W                  22      22      22      22      29      43
Take a close look at the numbers comparing a HX520 and HX620 and tell me you see a good reason to spend the extra 40% (I see them as about $100 to about $140) for what is only an extra 20% in wattage.

Heck you can get the VX450W for under $75. At least in that comparison the HX520 gets you a flatter fan curve, modular cables, and better heat management.

For 40% higher price you ought to be pretty darn sure you need that wattage unless you have money to burn...

dhanson865
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Location: TN, USA

Post by dhanson865 » Sat Dec 15, 2007 3:40 pm

Heh, Corsair has their own PSU calc now

http://www.corsair.com/psufinder/default.aspx

Core2Quad + Geforce 8 series other + 4 hard drives with no overclocking = VX450W

overclock the CPU less than 30% - no change still VX450W

overclock the CPU less than 30% and overclock the video and it still allows the VX450W.

overclock the CPU more than 30% and it still recommends the VX450W

to get it to stop recommending the VX450W I had to change it to:

Core2quad over 30% overclocked
Geforce 8800GT overclocked
and 8 or more hard drives.

Or just change it to SLI anything with even 1 hard drive. As the VX450W is never recommended for SLI even though it would work quite well in a midrange SLI setup.

flaxkikaren
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Post by flaxkikaren » Sat Jul 12, 2008 9:02 am

I have actually had both the Corsair 750 and the corsair 650 along with bluestorm II and thermaltake 750 at home.

The blustorm 2 sounded worst of them. I didnt have time to compare the Corsair 650 with the thermaltake but the specs are the same if not better with the Corsair 750 so......

Well, the Thermaltake sounded a litter less than the corsair 750 actually. I had the same equipment connected to them and had them side by side switching on and off by jumpstart. The Corsair 750 souned as i said more overall and most important, it sounded a lot more than the Thermaltake at the back where its hard to do anything about it. :( The corsair 750 also had some strange noise from the fan rotating which the Thermaltake didnt. Ive compared them extremely carefully as i HATE noise!!!! The corsair 750 went back :) No coil whine from either of them. I use watercooling system so i dont want any extra noise from the PSU!!
I also compose music so a quiet psu is a must!

A few reviews of the Bluestorm 2 at the stores website told me that it was totally quied. Yeah, if u have a CPU fan running at 40db im sure it is ;)

Is i recall the Corsair 650 was about the same as the Corsair 750 in noise.

Have to compare yourself i guess....


/Fredrik

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