Antec Sonata Owners - TruePower 380S making it quieter

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

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gksam
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Antec Sonata Owners - TruePower 380S making it quieter

Post by gksam » Sun Apr 20, 2003 9:43 am

Hi,

I was wondering if any of you who have purchased Antec Sonatas with the TruePower 380S could tell me how the bottom of the powersupply looks -- is there a hole or vent space? (the bottom which is closest to your CPU).

My powersupplies are usually modified to sport 2 80mm 7V fans -- but the TruePower 380S only comes with 1 @ 12V. So, I was wondering whether there was enough space in there to either cut a hole in the cover for another 80mm fan, or to move a cover froma nother powersupply which has the fan already in it.

If somebody has an interior picture, that would actually be really good :)

Thanks!

MikeC
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Post by MikeC » Sun Apr 20, 2003 11:23 am

Your info about the 380S is incomplete -- and somewhat incorrect. (Fan does not get 12V, for example.) See the SPCR review. Under Power supplies. http://www.silentpcreview.com/modules.p ... =61&page=1 The simple mod to make it quieter is to swap the fan for a Panaflo "M" (medium speed). That would make it very quiet.

I don't see any advantage with using 2 fans in the PSU, btw. push/pull dual fan airflow is limited to the airflow of the slower of the 2 fans. Pressure is increased, but not airflow. A good rig with a single fan in the psu cools the psu perfectly fine espoecially impedances are minimized. The typical 2nd PSU fan simply sucks hot air from the CPU into the PSU (making the PSU run hotter & maybe increasing thermistor temp so fan speed goes up), and your outflow is still limited to what the back PSU fan can push. The 2nd fan in the PSU would be better used as a high back panel case fan -- that would create a more direct exhaust path for your CPU heat and increase the overall case airflow.

gksam
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Post by gksam » Sun Apr 20, 2003 12:04 pm

Thanks for your reply. So yo'ure saying if my powersupply is (seemingly) running fine with 2 fans (I'm using 7V L1A's btw), then it should run fine with 1? I was theorizing (perhaps incorrectly) that having 2 fans would reduce resistance (by having it flow more easily), and also blow air directly onto the heatsinks.

I am not sure how an M1A would sound, but I think the bulk of the noise from my system comes from 7V L1A's.... so thats why I was kind of hesitant about going with the M1A mod. I would maybe try an L1A at constant 7V.

(i have no case fans in my system -- just an SH powersupply with 2 7V fans, a 7V L1A on my P4 [email protected] (1.525V) on AX478, and a 5V blowing down on my 8500LE with Zalman ZM-17 heatsink (the SH powersupply has a fan at the bottom and a fan at the back of the powersupply -- similar to enermax i assume)

My other system (T-bred 1700+ @ 2000+) has a normal powersupply where I replaced the stock fan with a 7V L1A, and cut the front of the powersupply, and put another 7V L1A. They are somewhat staggered, so the fans are not in direct line of sight of each other. I'm not sure what the effect on this is. I blew a motherboard on this powersupply with 1 7V L1A in the powersupply. (this was after 2 weeks of 24/7 operation). Though I'm not sure it was heat related, I just put the second fan to make sure there is more airflow on the heatsink fins. (Also put a Zalman NB cooler on the NB).

Thanks for the link to the review, I didn't know that this PS was reviewed separately. It would appear that the 380S heatsinks have a larger area than in the powersupply which I'm using.

Thanks for the insight

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Post by MikeC » Sun Apr 20, 2003 12:24 pm

Here's an article on "fan stacking" (what I call dual push/pull fan config): http://www.amdmb.com/article-display.ph ... 2&PageID=6 Same conclusions. You might have a bit more airflow but the improvement is very small.

The Panaflo M & L have the same acoustic signature; the M can ramp up higher. at 5V, it is ~quieter than the L at 7V and pushes almost as much air. Because the Antec 380S (and many other quiet PSUs) have a default start fan voltage of 5V, this Panaflo M makes a perfect relatively safe swap -- it has a max airflow of 32 cfm instead of the 24 of the L, yet at low speed, is basically indistinguishable from the L.

I used and wrote about the SH PSU in this article about quieting an oc'd P4 a whole year ago: http://www.silentpcreview.com/modules.p ... =14&page=1 What I would differently now is seal up the hole left by the removal of the 2nd fan (duct tape alone might do fine -- maybe with a piece of sheet metal/hard plastic) & open up the intake slots as much as possible by twisting the metal in-between the slots 90 degrees. (Think about it... all it takes is a pair of needl nose pliers)

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Post by MikeC » Sun Apr 20, 2003 12:26 pm

re- your blown PSU -- if it was a generic, I am not surprised. They usually can't supply their rated power and don't have enough heatsinking to withstand low airflow.

gksam
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Post by gksam » Sun Apr 20, 2003 8:43 pm

Hi. It was a more or less generic powersupply. L&C I believe (Single fan, 300W). It seems L&C has two types of powersupplies. One is the really cheap ones (tinny metal, and very light), and the other is considerably heavier -- this latter one was the one I used. The computer was actually folding when the mobo blew. CPU temps seemed to steady around 42oC after several days. Then all of a sudden I come home from work and it was dead.
digitalix wrote:Which PSU did you use when you blew out the motherboard? I would imagine a single L1A @ even 5v should provide enough airflow for your setup on the Antec TP380S, perhaps a better Q would be, how heavily was your system being utilized?

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Post by MikeC » Sun Apr 20, 2003 10:25 pm

L&C and Deer are brands used by the same manufacturer. I've heard of some "300W" models of these labels being sold to retailers for under US$10 ($7 to be precise). Avoid them like the plague is what I have been told by people in the know in the PSU industry. Not sure whether they are made by Channel Well, another well-known avoidit brand. Ditto Codegen AFAIK.

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Post by Doomer » Wed Apr 23, 2003 12:26 am

MikeC wrote:L&C and Deer are brands used by the same manufacturer. I've heard of some "300W" models of these labels being sold to retailers for under US$10 ($7 to be precise). Avoid them like the plague is what I have been told by people in the know in the PSU industry. Not sure whether they are made by Channel Well, another well-known avoidit brand. Ditto Codegen AFAIK.
Channel Well Tech low quality? Hmm. The transformer in Truepower had the letters "CWT" on it...

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Post by MikeC » Wed Apr 23, 2003 12:32 am

That's not unusual either; they used to make a majority of Antec PSUs. Aparently being cut back considerably now because Antec wants to improve reliability, and Antec are using other OEMs more. Antec is a brand, a marketing company. Very successful at marketing. They don't make anything by themselves or own a single factory AFAIK, everything is made to spec by the successful OEM bidder who wins their business. S'bizness.

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Post by energy » Wed Apr 23, 2003 7:02 pm

Indeed the Antecs are made by CWT, I've cracked mine (330 TP) open several times, and yes the hipot transformer is labelled CWT, but I was never really impressed with the internal layout and build quality (visually), even though I've never had trouble with Antec PSUs and they are generally regarded as top-class. One of the reasons the TruePower series are noisy is the amount of components crammed in that case - turbulance noise is horrific.

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Post by NeXt » Sun Apr 27, 2003 12:49 am

i'm from the greater toronto area and it appears that the panaflo "M" is not widely available. i was wondering if it would be safe to have the panaflo "L" instead? if anyone knows of a place in the GTA that i can find the panaflo "M" please let me know.

thx

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Post by starsky » Wed May 14, 2003 12:24 am

Am i the only one who thinks that the Sonata 380 powersupply is a big disappointment???

It just isn't quiet like they say it should be.

Every other noise reducing feature I like, but the powersupply (albeit better than my old heap of crap) just isn't what I thought i was paying for. Their advertising says "hear the silence" not "hear the humm of your power supply all day and night !!!

Can others please provide their feedback on their Sonata power supply. For me I will probably not buy another Antec case that comes with a power supply....

wu299
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sold it

Post by wu299 » Wed May 14, 2003 12:26 am

I sold it for $50 (I have no idea if that's good or bad), but I was fine with it. I love the rest of the case and after selling the PSU it essentially cost me around $60, which seems fine.

ciz28
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Post by ciz28 » Wed May 14, 2003 6:59 pm

starsky wrote:Am i the only one who thinks that the Sonata 380 powersupply is a big disappointment???

It just isn't quiet like they say it should be.

Every other noise reducing feature I like, but the powersupply (albeit better than my old heap of crap) just isn't what I thought i was paying for. Their advertising says "hear the silence" not "hear the humm of your power supply all day and night !!!

Can others please provide their feedback on their Sonata power supply. For me I will probably not buy another Antec case that comes with a power supply....
i agree. for a while it was definately the loudest component in my case. i just switched the fan for a panaflo l1a, and it is definately a large improvement. initial stress testing seems positive, too.

starsky
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Post by starsky » Wed May 14, 2003 7:23 pm

ciz28,
do you have an electrical buzz out of yours ?

Either I am getting progressively better hearing every day, or this PSU is getting louder every day.

Thank god I have a silenx coming!!

ciz28
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Post by ciz28 » Wed May 14, 2003 7:49 pm

starsky wrote:ciz28,
do you have an electrical buzz out of yours ?

Either I am getting progressively better hearing every day, or this PSU is getting louder every day.

Thank god I have a silenx coming!!
nope, none at all.

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Post by Mr_Smartepants » Thu May 15, 2003 10:18 am

ciz28 wrote:
starsky wrote:ciz28,
do you have an electrical buzz out of yours ?
nope, none at all.
It's only a matter of time my friend! :cry:

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Post by starsky » Thu May 15, 2003 4:51 pm

I am tempted..... when my silenx arrives.... to send my Sonata power supply to Antec with a letter attached.


This power supply has been delinquent and not followed your explicit instructions to be seen and not heard. Please take it to your torture chamber, apply sledge hammer and melt it down for scrap metal.

Kindest regards,

Ex Antec Customer.

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Post by silent_bob » Fri May 16, 2003 7:07 pm

Doh... just received my Antec Sonata. Hotwired the PS and listened to it under minimal load (just the 120mm fan and blue LEDs). There's definite bearing chatter--it sounds like a cricket mumbling. Is this normal? I'm hoping it will be less notable when the PS is under load.

That being said, it's a heck of a lot quieter than my True430W. It's also a very handsome case.

AndrewC
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Post by AndrewC » Fri May 16, 2003 7:36 pm

Just wondering. How do you hotwire the PSU and make it come on?

Mr_Smartepants
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Post by Mr_Smartepants » Fri May 16, 2003 10:51 pm

Generally speaking, short the one and only green wire to any black wire on the ATX plug.

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Post by KenAF » Sat May 17, 2003 4:35 pm

What's involved in swapping out the fan in the TruePower 380S with a M1A? Does the TruePower use a standard fan connector inside the power supply? Is it a matter of just unplugging one fan and plugging another in? Or do I have to do some soldiering?

Will35
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Post by Will35 » Sat May 17, 2003 5:07 pm

Is it a matter of just unplugging one fan and plugging another in? Or do I have to do some soldiering?
The fan connector in the Sonata's 380 is a nonstandard (for fans) unit. Shouldn't be too much trouble to take the plug apart and solder in your new fan leads. I'm standing by till the Panaflo M1BX is back in stock (6-7) at Digi-key to do this mod myself. Hopefully this will make the PSU quiet enough to put back in service!

BTW... welcome to SPCR. Are you folding? :)

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Post by starsky » Mon May 19, 2003 10:13 pm

Will35,
so what is the blue/black fan connector that comes out of the PSU and goes to the MOBO ?

http://www.bluecouch.com.au/reviews/sonata/fans.jpg

the blue and black in this is the inside of my case.

Will35
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Post by Will35 » Mon May 19, 2003 10:37 pm

Starsky,
The blue/black connector is a RPM lead that reflects the PSU fans rpm.

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Post by starsky » Mon May 19, 2003 11:06 pm

ahhhhh... so that is idependant of the fan. so I could mod htis with a quieter panaflo m series fan and it would work well.

Will35
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Post by Will35 » Tue May 20, 2003 7:09 am

ahhhhh... so that is idependant of the fan. so I could mod htis with a quieter panaflo m series fan and it would work well.
Well, the RPM lead comes off of the stock Atec PSU fan, if you want to maintain the RPM monitoring you'll need to get the Panaflo that supports RPM monitoring. For the M it's part# FBA08A12M1BX .

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