Hit me with it - what is the quietest PSU (Seasonic S12?)

mo786 · Post by **mo786** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 8:26 am

I have some money to spend and I need the quietest PSU going (fanned one I guess as I have almost no airflow in my case)

I hear good things about the Season S12 and I am just ready to buy it - check there - (i know its currently out of stock) i am going for the 430w

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Seasonic.html

Any better ideas- i can buy anything from that site....

I currently have a ANTEC Smartpower 2.0 and I can hear the (single) fan as my PC is really really quiet now - I need something truly quiet that I just won't be able to hear... Cheers!

Post by **MikeC** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 8:53 am

In actual use, the S12-430 is the quietest off-the-shelf model. Your system has to be pretty quiet (or pretty hot) for this PSU to become an identifiable noise source. You can make it even quieter (by a dB or 2) by swapping the fan for a quieter sleeve bearing model, but they generally don't last as long in hot conditions -- and you lose the warranty.

One thing w/any PSU is to ensure that the intake air temp is not too high. If the PSU is acting as your only exhaust fan, then the chances of it ramping up and becoming audble are much higher.

Fonzie · Post by **Fonzie** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 11:06 am

I picked the right one then

Waiting for my S12 to arrive

Thx for info Mike

mo786 · Post by **mo786** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 3:21 pm

Question is now - do I

1) use the S12 as the only fan source in the PC

2) Buy a fanless PSU and run a Nexus at very low RPM (the Nexus is pretty much silent at 500rpm)

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:01 pm

Question is now - do I

1) use the S12 as the only fan source in the PC

2) Buy a fanless PSU and run a Nexus at very low RPM (the Nexus is pretty much silent at 500rpm)

It will probably be easier to give you useful silencing advice if you could list what components you have currently in your almost-silent PC, ie CPU, M/B, HDD's, optical drives, graphics cards, etc. Using the S12 as the only fan source in the PC is definitely the cheapest solution (a fanless PSU + Nexus fan will run to at least £100) but, depending on how hot your current setup runs, the S12 fan may ramp up more than you'd like.

HTH,

mo786 · Post by **mo786** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:39 am

I have
AMD 64 3000
Abit AV8 Mobo
2gb Ram
1 HDD
2 DVD drives
1 lowish end graphics card
adsl pci modem and normal 56k pci modem.

My PC is on for long periods.

If I stop the fan in my current power supply then it becomes totally silent so any fan will have to be VERY silent!

My 2 options are

1) Fanless PSU - with a nexus UNDERNEATH it running at very slow speed (no other fans - will this be enough - how will a fan underneath thhe PSU stop it getting very hot)

2) The Seasonic S12 wityh no extra fan - i read they updated it with a new fan which is lsightly louder- silence is KEY

Thanks.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 4:29 am

I'm curious; how do you cool your CPU with negligible case airflow? Is that the Winchester AMD chip with very low thermal dissipation? Or maybe you're using a Ninja fanless CPU cooler?

My 2 options are

1) Fanless PSU - with a nexus UNDERNEATH it running at very slow speed (no other fans - will this be enough - how will a fan underneath thhe PSU stop it getting very hot)

The way I see it, if you're going for complete silence (a laudable goal IMO, if only for the novelty factor), a fanless PSU (+ low-RPM dedicated PSU fan if required) is the best solution which won't cost ridiculous amounts of money. Can I ask, does the Nexus have to be underneath the PSU? Will it be used for CPU cooling as well as PSU cooling? If so, I don't think this will provide sufficient cooling. IMO you should create a PSU duct (see the PSU FAQ's in this forum) and have the fan blowing (or sucking) cold air through the PSU horizontally from the front to the rear of the case, not from underneath if at all possible. Or you could place the PSU outside the case, or cut a 'blowhole' in the top of your case to allow the heat to escape upwards.

My advice is to get a fanless PSU (+ dedicated fan if necessary) and sort out the CPU cooling separately. So for the fanless PSU you have essentially two choices in the UK:

1) the Etasis/Silverstone EFN-300

Etasis/Silverstone supplier

2) the Fortron Zen Fanless

UK supplier

If you aren't going to have a dedicated PSU fan the Etasis is the best choice, because it has that heatsink sticking out the back; if you do choose to have a fan the Fortron Zen is best, because the perforated case allows lots of airflow over the main heatsinks. Your system doesn't look at all power-hungry so the two PSU's above should be perfectly adequate.

HTH

mo786 · Post by **mo786** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 8:12 am

I have a Zalman 7700 AlCu for the CPU with a slow Nexus on it. That works pretty much silently.

The fanless PSU I was looking at is the Antec Phantom - which is available in the UK

I have quite a small case - Antec Sonata 2 - i better make sure the PSU is easy to change first - but I am unsure if I could put a fan directly underneath - what do you mean - i.e facing upwards so air is blowing onto the bottom of the psu?

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 8:47 am

I am unsure if I could put a fan directly underneath - what do you mean - i.e facing upwards so air is blowing onto the bottom of the psu?

No, like this:

Or this:

Lilla's PSU Duct page

SPCR PSU Duct Example

Antec P180 With Straight-Through PSU Duct

mo786 · Post by **mo786** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:06 pm

hmm, so i would put the fan on my air intake slot in my Sonata 2?

My case si pretty small...however I am def gonna go for the Phantom I think - altho the area around the PSU is solid metal in case so I aint sure where all the hot air will go!

How hot should a HDD go?

PanzerBoy · Post by **PanzerBoy** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 6:26 am

mo786 wrote:
I hear good things about the Season S12 and I am just ready to buy it - check there - (i know its currently out of stock) i am going for the 430w

I just replaced the no-name brand PSU in my workstation with the 380w Seasonic S12. The difference is night and day. It's definitely the quietest PSU I've ever owned. The noisest thing in my case is now the hard drives.

One thing about it - those boys at Seasonic have their sh*t together!

Chang · Post by **Chang** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 9:25 am

Hard drives have a very high max operating temp -- 55C or 60C depending on manufacturer.

If you're going with a Phanom, you really should use a case fan too. I think most will suggest you don't use a front fan, especially if your case is ontop of your desk. 120mm fans tend to be very efficient and having one in the rear in the normal position should be enough.

That said, I'd still push you towards the S12. The fan drops down to 800 RPM and is pretty quiet (though not silent). The quality on them is outstanding -- as is the power they output. I wasn't able to run my Mobile Barton Prime95 stable at 200 FSB until I got my Seasonic. The stock Aspire PSU and 5+ year old Antec only let me get up to 166.

And since I'm giving my opinion here, I don't think the 380W version is the right choice for anyone (sorry PanzerBoy, but Welcome to SPCR, nevertheless). When you compare the specs, you really don't get much going from 330W to 380W (an amp or two on the rails). If you're not maxing out the 380W (and you're probably not), you might as well save your money and get the 330W. Just my $0.02.

Hit me with it - what is the quietest PSU (Seasonic S12?)

Hit me with it - what is the quietest PSU (Seasonic S12?)

Re: Hit me with it - what is the quietest PSU (Seasonic S12?