Fanless PSU for Antec p180

gronne · Post by **gronne** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 3:43 am

Hi, Which Fanless PSU would go best (and fit) with the Antec P180 Case.

Spec being:

1) MoBo Asus a8n premium
1) AMD - Athlon64 X2 4400+, 2.2 GHz, Dual Core
1) Asus 7800gtx top
1) Regular maxtor Hdd
4) 120mm low noise fans (inside case and cpu fan)
1) Thermalright xp 120
4) 512mb dual channel 3200 ram. (2gb total)
and ofc Dvd drive etcetc small stuff

Any advice?
Ive read that the Antec phantom 500, isnt as quiet when the fan kicks in, so maybe thats a bad choice for psu?

gitto · Post by **gitto** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 4:06 am

Go for a Phantom 350, with a 120x25mm fan in the middle chamber. I have a Glacialtech Silentblade at 5v in there, moves very little air, but it is enough to keep the Phantom cool. I really can't imagine when it could be heard in that situation. A Nexus at 5v apparently moves about the same amount of air.

Bob_the_lost · Post by **Bob_the_lost** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 6:11 am

Or go for the 500 and use the fan that's already there in the case to move air through the PSU, you'd have it on for the HDs anyway.

gronne · Post by **gronne** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 6:28 am

Cool so my choice of a Phantom 500 for the p180 is descent, when it comes noise/psu.

And thanks for the reply.

Post by **MikeC** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 7:16 am

For ease of installation and good cooling. I think the Fortron Zen is actually the best choice -- it's smaller than the Phantom 500 and much more open so it can take better advantage of whatever airflow is there. The Phantom 500 is a real pain to install because of its depth and not quiet once its fan starts. Personally, I'd go with one of the standard depth PSUs -- Silverstone, Phantom 350, Zen. I guess it depends whether you really want/need all that power. With the 500, it is possible to remove the fan... if you are a handy type.

stromgald · Post by **stromgald** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 7:31 am

I haven't had any experience with fanless PSUs, but I can tell you that 500W is totally unnecessary for your setup unless you're running 4+ HDD/Optical Drives in that 'etcetc small stuff'. 350W should be plenty for your setup.

klankymen · Post by **klankymen** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 8:29 am

not to steal the thread, 2 quick questions?

1. wouldit be allright to run a zen or phantom350 without the 120mm fan or any HD's in the bottom?

2. would it be ok to use a zen without any fan at all, just sitting on the floor or somewhere out of the case?

in regard to heat that is....

Post by **MikeC** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 8:50 am

klankymen wrote:not to steal the thread, 2 quick questions?

1. wouldit be allright to run a zen or phantom350 without the 120mm fan or any HD's in the bottom?

2. would it be ok to use a zen without any fan at all, just sitting on the floor or somewhere out of the case?

in regard to heat that is....

1) maybe, but I don't recommend it. A quiet fan is almost the same as no fan acoustically but much cooler and safer. If you want to try this, use a PSU that uses the casing as a heatsink (not the Zen) and remove the silicone rubber strips on the PSU mounting U-bracket and the thing it sits on. You want to maximize the heat conduction path between PSU and case. You want all the steel in the chassis around the PSU getting warm.
2) yes

klankymen · Post by **klankymen** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 9:22 am

ahhhh, ok, thanks Mike, thats good to know!

hmmmm, now i'm very seriously considering ordering your Zen, just gotta figure out how to pay it... (no paypal unfortunately

) if you still have it that is.

gronne · Post by **gronne** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 1:19 pm

I didnt think 350w would be enough for PCI-E really, would it be enough even if I ran SLI config *2 PCI-E cards?

Is there any other fanless psu's available that will actually fit inside the Antec p180?
Im having trouble finding this Fortron Zen in Europe to be honest.

any help?

Post by **MikeC** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 1:40 pm

gronne wrote:I didnt think 350w would be enough for PCI-E really, would it be enough even if I ran SLI config *2 PCI-E cards?

Is there any other fanless psu's available that will actually fit inside the Antec p180?
Im having trouble finding this Fortron Zen in Europe to be honest.

any help?

You didn't say anything about SLI in your original post. Still, have a look at our article on the power draw of 6 different systems -- including one with a P4-3.8 prescott + 6800GT. The tables and data on page 3 are relevant. None of the system drew even 200W. (BTW, that Intel 670 processor pulls 30W more than any current single core A64.)

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 2:11 pm

Im having trouble finding this Fortron Zen in Europe to be honest.

any help?

Fortron Zen @ Pixmania

Hope that helps,

SebRad · Post by **SebRad** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 2:15 pm

These any help?
UK/Europe vendor
French vendor
UK Vendor
Sebastien

gronne · Post by **gronne** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 11:59 pm

Very nice, thanks to all of you.

Im sorry for the additional question there about SLI config, just wanted to know really.

And forgot to add the cpu being, AMD - Athlon64 X2 4400+ dual core.

gronne · Post by **gronne** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 12:32 am

Ive been reading that the Phantom 350w and many other fanless design PSU's wont cut it, if used at max load for several hours?

I do play alot of FPS and more demanding games in longer stretches, should I go for more Watt and then choose a non fanless design, Seasonic 430w? or is there a better solution?

thanks

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 4:12 am

hmmmm, now i'm very seriously considering ordering your Zen, just gotta figure out how to pay it... (no paypal unfortunately ) if you still have it that is.

I too would be interested in the Fortron Zen, if you still have it Mike.

Gronne, have you read all the SPCR reviews of fanless PSU's, such as the Silverstone ST30NF, Thermaltake W0050, Etasis EFN300, etc? From what I recall, and I think I've read all of them, there were no issues running these PSU's at max load, provided you have an adequate cooling solution, ie placing them outside the case, active fan cooling, etc.

gronne · Post by **gronne** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 4:28 am

Well, Ive read them, and since Im using an Antec p180 which has a 120mm fan pointing directly towards the PSU, im hoping it will be enough to keep the fanless Antec Phantom 350watt cool.

I still dont know if 350watt will run my system though. (edited that im using dual core amd x2 4400+).

So im torn between buying the Antec 350watt, and maybe not be able to run SLI config if I want that some day. (if money allows it)
Or
buying the Seasonic s12 500watt +the very needed extender cables, which ive read you need to reach the MoBO in the Antec p180 case.
And have enough watt, to expand to whatver i want.

What is the best solution?

Would be very happy if someone told me what to get for my system.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 6:11 am

Well in my opinion you should get the S12, for two reasons:

A) It's cheaper.

B) As you say, it "future-proofs" your system for whatever upgrades you decide to implement in your system, and the extender cables are a bonus as well. Plus you will have no problems fitting it into the P180, as it is a conventional PSU in terms of size and shape.

hmronin · Post by **hmronin** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 12:04 pm

If you're planning to run with dual SLI in the future, especially with dual 7800's, I would think the differences between an S12 vs. a fanless plus internal case fan would be negligable, as compared with trying to attenuate the acoustics of dual VGA cards. I'd wager you wouldn't even hear the S12, over dual VGA cards. Consider too that dual VGA cards will increase the resident heat in the upper chamber of a P180 case, where your CPU and MB reside, thus possibly causing your case and CPU fans to run at higher speeds.

The weakest link in silent pc's is always the loudest component. Sounds obvious, but you would be amazed how often this is overlooked...done this myself many times...

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 3:16 pm

If he does get some reserator1 action going on the gpu's he will be rather content.

Personally, if you have the money for the 7800gtx's, i would suggest going 2 reserator's for the system. yes, this might cost a bit, but in the end, complete silence and, a very stable system.

1 on the cpu and northbridge in a loop
1 on the 2 gpu's in a loop.

this might sound crazy, but trust me, it will work so well and those stupidly hot gfx cards wont heat up your NB and CPU.

The thing about water cooling is that in 2 years, you just buy new hoses. in 3 years, a new cheap Eheim pump. the computer can swap out at will, but the cooling system can be used for many years afterwards. I have found that the cost of the reserator1 system is actually less than I thought. I no longer go through set ups that dont work, no longer lookign for the cooler case, etc.

I would say that I would go antec slk 3700BQE and reserator with a phantom350.... why? i have it! 1 fan in the entire system at 6-8 volts.