I'm considering the following system for a general purpose/media server build and am wondering if noise would be low on it (<20dB).

Fractal Design Define Mini (w/ included fans undervolted via included controller)
Seasonic S12II 520W
Intel Core i5 2400 (or Ivy Bridge equivalent upon release)
Scythe Mugen 3
ASUS P8H67-M LE
Kingston 8GB DDR3 1333MHz
Intel 320 SSD 120GB
WD Green 1TB WD10EARX x2

My main points of concern for noise are the Seasonic PSU fan and the Noctua fan as the CPU HSF. I'm also not sure if the Fractal fans will be effectively silent at their lowest speeds (review reports them as near silent with slightly undesirable sound character). The system would need to be very quiet or effectively silent at ~1.5m+.

Any thoughts, suggestions?

If only 2 mechanical hdds is your planned server i would go with Antec Solo II and suspend both hdds, if more drives are desired then the mini seems like good choice. I would swap the fans for Slipstreams or Nexus basic.

I like spending on good PSU, and have had good experiences with current seasonic X series, Seasonic SS-560KM, should be passive most of the time, probably even on load without using a dedicated GPU. I would even say an overkill for you current components, but if you plan to grow into more hdds or a dedicated gpu, etc.

Fine, i would probably wait for ivy being less than 2 month away.

I would probably just go for Scythe Mugen 3, and use the included fan, it can spin down to 300rpm where it will be inaudible (depends on the mobo).

Whatever is fine.

Its fine.

I would go Crucial M4 128gb, since you have sata III, imo the best ssd on this gen price/performance.

If we assume that the S12II-500 has the same acoustical performance as the S12II-380, then you can do much better, since the S12-380 is approx. as loud as the Corsair VX450W (are they based on the same design?). The VX450W is not quiet enough for today's standard.

Have a look at the recently updated list of recommended PSU's. The Seasonic X and Kingwin might be too expensive. You may consider the Cooler Master Silent Pro M, Nexus NX-5000 or some of the Enermax PSU's which are quiet as well.

Also agree with Abula, a Scythe Mugen 3 will probably be as good as your combo. The excellent Scythe PWM fan can, as said by Abula, be run as low as 300 rpm which, from personal experience, is practically silent. A foot away, I can barely notice the fan at night, with no other background noises. 900 rpm might also be a bit too loud and unnecessary when your computer runs at idle. Here, the Scythe has the upper hand since the fan dials down the fan when the system is not stressed.

Intel 320 SSD, though very stable, is overpriced IMO. It should cost more than its competitors which it does, sadly. Once again, I agree with Abula: The Crucial M4 is the way to go (though remember to upgrade the firmware. A bug has recently been discovered & solved)

Thanks for the great input so far.

I was considering the Solo II but it costs $30 more than the Define Mini, and I'm not sure if the drive suspension will make much difference with these drives. I have a WD10EARS in my PC, suspended in an original Solo, and I don't notice any difference between suspension and mounting to the rubber grommets. It does make a huge difference with the 7200rpm drive, though.

The Seasonic X-560 is also the PSU I have in my PC, but at nearly twice the cost of the S12II 520 it's a tough choice. Perhaps the extra efficiency will really make it worth the upgrade if the system is going to sit around ~30w idle draw most of the time. The fanless Seasonic X-400 seems to be at the same price as the X-560 now, perhaps that would be the best choice? Lower max rating should mean slightly better efficiency at super low draw, right?

I will almost certainly be waiting for Ivy Bridge to build this and swap for the equivalent parts.

The Mugen 3 looks solid and I think I'll go with that instead, thanks for the recommendation! Unfortunately it only cuts about $3 off the cost.

The reason I chose the Intel SSD is strictly for reliability. Given its premium price tag I'm not sure that it will end up in the final build, but in this application I value the reliability over extra performance of other models.

The difference in low power efficiency between the X400 and X560 will be small. I measured 70% & 80% at 20W & 40W on the X400... compared to 65% and 77% for X650. Just 2W AC. But... at these lower power levels, the SII-380 was nearly as good as the X650 (within a watt). IMO, a watt or two really isn't worth sweating about; the main advantages of the X series is...
- the fan does not spin <200W, so except for possible electronic noise (which is generally very low in my experience w/ the X series), they're effectively silent most of the time.
- the modular cabling is great
- high efficiency at higher loads means less power draw and lower heat when it matters most.

On the other hand, though the SII-380 was undeniably noisier than any of the X series, its noise was measured in a live room, before SPCR's anechoic chamber was built. That 21 dBA/1m SPL translates to probably 18 dBA or so in the chamber. That's a guess. (Note to self: Check at least start/default noise levels on pre-anechoic chamber PSUs...)


Totally agreed w/ you there. Not only in this app, but just about any. Who cares that the zoomcar does 0-60 in 4.8s if it starts up only half the time?

That's good to know that efficiency is more or less negligible between the models in question.


Thanks for the clarifying that - I had suspected such. 18dBA isn't exactly "silent" per se, but I think it definitely falls into the category of "very quiet". It seems like the S12II might just suit my needs best given its cost/benefit ratio.