Best psu ( 400 - 450w ) for an Antec P182 + advice

jachin boaz · Post by **jachin boaz** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:40 am

Hi guys , i'm building a system for a studio and need a quiet pc.

ive earmarked

Antec P182

to house a quad intel 4 hd's ( 4tb in total ) which has a gt8800 graphics card.I am guessing i need about 400w psu but i am going round in circles deciding what to buy

any pointers on a nice psu to work inside the p182.I also wondered if anyone has any advice on case fans that come with the antec and if i should be budgetting to change these ?

any advice would be appreciated as my heads numb from reviews and stuff online.

matt

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 2:18 pm

Hi and welcome to the SPCR!

Nexus Value 430W is currently quietest actively cooled PSU that SPCR has tested. If you can get that, its excellent choice. For case fans. Nexus Real Silent, NoiseBlocker BlackSilent X1's, Scythe Slipstream 800 RPM are all excellent choice.

WilliamMGeorge · Post by **WilliamMGeorge** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 3:00 pm

I like the Corsair units personally, and have found them (and the Seasonics they are based on) to be very quiet. They have a 450W model, but it might be worth bumping up to 650W to help ensure that you are staying in the best efficiency / noise level range.

jachin boaz · Post by **jachin boaz** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 7:43 am

thanks for the info guys , i have to do a little shopping around and see whats what , i have considered higher 650w etc as i think this means it will run quieter than a 450w being run quite hard ? is that the thinking or reason for going for more psu pwoer than you need , so it runs slower ?

WilliamMGeorge wrote:I like the Corsair units personally, and have found them (and the Seasonics they are based on) to be very quiet. They have a 450W model, but it might be worth bumping up to 650W to help ensure that you are staying in the best efficiency / noise level range.

WilliamMGeorge · Post by **WilliamMGeorge** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 10:17 am

Yes - as you get closer to a power supply's maximum wattage the heat it puts out will go up, so its fan will spin up to compensate. It is hard to know for sure how much wattage your system will draw, but from the description you gave (quad-core, 4 HDDs, 8800GT) I would suspect in the 200-300W range overall... depending on load at any given time. If that is correct then the 450W-ish models should actually be perfect - but if you think you might upgrade later on then moving to a higher-end model would let you use more power in the system before the fan starts to get noisy.

Where I work we have seen a few of the older 450W Corsairs give off odd electrical noise, though, so if you go with that be on the lookout. If it happens just RMA it; they are supposed to have fixed the problem that was causing it, but if you happen to get a unit from an older batch that is still sitting around it could be an issue.

danimal · Post by **danimal** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 5:54 pm

once you get the load high enough on a power supply, the efficiency starts going down.

i'm just now evaluating moving from the p180b up to a p183, and i'd advise you to consider doing the same... the airflow through the door is better, and there is more overall dust filtering area on the front of the case.

but maybe the most compelling reason to get the p183 is the Antec CP-850... by all accounts, it's built like a tank, and the fan is exterally mounted, so it should be easier to access, if you wanted to change it... although by all accounts i've read, it's very quiet... since it's vertically mounted, you can use a fan with any bearing in it you want... horizontally mounted fans typically need ball bearings.

of course 800 watts is serious overkill, but once you hit 20% or so load, the efficiency is very good on this power supply, so the size isn't working against you... and you should have far better longevity than you'd get with a smaller power supply.

WilliamMGeorge · Post by **WilliamMGeorge** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 8:28 am

If you are considering the P182 vs P183, there are some good articles and comparisons out there (including one from here at SPCR):

http://www.silentpcreview.com/antec-p183

http://www.pugetsystems.com/articles.php?id=68

I still like the look of the P182 better, personally