Q: Good PSU for HTPC with excellent retail availability?

MortyEU · Post by **MortyEU** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 7:39 pm

Dear forum members,

I'm looking for a PSU for my next HTPC. Unfortunately I'm having a hard time finding most of the SPCR recommended PSU's where I live. I'd like the Nexus NX-5000, but it's not available here.

So I'm looking for suggestions for good PSU's from brands with good availability in European shops. Right now I'm thinking about the Corsair VX450W with a modded fan.

The main requirement is low noise, preferably fanless at low power. This is for a Core i3 build with integrated graphics, expected idle power draw is well below 100W. Case will be Antec NSK-2480. Price -- well, it's hard to say, because pricing can very quite a bit. But generally I'd be willing to pay for low noise.

I would be grateful for any tips on which PSU's to look for.

Plissken · Post by **Plissken** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 10:20 pm

I don't know if Seasonic are readily available for you, but I just built an HTPC with an S12II-330W and it is very quiet/silent, and also 80-Bronze efficient. Excellent HTPC PSU if you can't go fanless.

Parappaman · Post by **Parappaman** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 2:05 am

My primary recommendation is Arctic Fusion 550R, then BeQuiet! Pure Power L7 (anything from 300w to 500w, I would recommend the lower powered one if you won't need dedicated graphics), or, if you want to go modular, Corsair HX450W (if you can find one

) or BeQuiet! Straight Power CM E7 480w.

MortyEU · Post by **MortyEU** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 2:56 am

Thanks for the tips so far.

I've read up on the Artic 550R and I've read the mini-review of the BeQuiet! L7 300 in this forum. I have found a shop here that has the BeQuiet! in stock, and at a very low price. The BeQuiet! looks attractive -- it's available here, it's cheap, and it uses a 120mm fan so I could mod the fan if needed. However, it's so cheap that I worry a little about the quality, if it's durable and dependable.

The more expensive BeQuiet! Straight Power BQT E7-450W (or 480) also looks interesting.

I'm still all ears for tips, hands on comparative experience, and recommendations.

Parappaman · Post by **Parappaman** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 3:10 am

You shouldn't worry about quality, they're durable enough to outlive many of your other PC components

The E7 is indeed a higher-level power supply, but only because of more, fully sleeved and longer cabling. The additional power won't affect you, the L7 will be plenty for your setup.

andymcca · Post by **andymcca** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 8:01 am

I went the super-cheap route on my new HTPC:
Sempron 140 w/ stock HSF
ASUS 785G AM2+ mobo (M4A785-M) w/ Cool n' Quiet + ASUS' QFAN voltage ramping
$30 Coolermaster Case w/ sideways oriented 5.25" bays (was a newegg sale) w/ included 120mm fan @ 7V
Rosewill 430W single 12V rail PSU

I can barely hear the fans on any of it from right next to it when I hit the power button. From the couch I cannot hear it at all.
I am very pleased with the Rosewill PSU, since it was super cheap compared to the competition (and I gambled on how quiet it would be). Someone on newegg claimed the same OEM as Nexus, but the UL # is registered to Rosewill + ABS if I remember correctly, so who knows..

EDIT: PS this is an 80+ PSU, and the smallest 80+ PSU I could find, too. It's not modular, but at 5.51" (140mm) deep, I could not find a more compact 80+ unit on NewEgg. Does require some CM though.

Edit2: Oh sorry I missed the European requirement. NewEgg is US/Canada only, isn't it? Sorry for the useless reply!

MortyEU · Post by **MortyEU** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 5:18 pm

@Parappaman: The Arctic Fusion 550R uses a PWM controlled 80 mm fan, which several reviews say is nicely quiet. I think I'm going for the Artic, since I can find it at a fair price, and it's a Seasonic OEM like the Corsair VX and other well-reputed PSUs.

But I worry about the 80 mm fan. If it used a 120 mm fan I would have better chances of installing a more silent fan, while still pushing a fair amount of air for cooling. If the stock Arctic fan is too noisy for my tastes, then it will be harder to find a truly silent 80 mm fan I think.

This would be a argument in favor of the BeQuiet! PSU's, they use 120 mm fans, so I think they have better modding potential. I'd like to avoid modding if possible, but it could be a way out if I find the noise unacceptable.

This HTPC will be standing in a open bookshelf about 1.5 m from my sofa, where I'm sitting during movie watching. I'm trying to get it really quiet.

I'd really like the Seasonic X-650, but I can't find any local shops who have it.

So I guess I'm asking "how silent is the Artic 550R really"? I know it's hard to quantify; is it fx audible from 1 meter away with the case cover off? Compared to the BeQuiet! models, how is it?

Parappaman · Post by **Parappaman** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 2:08 am

Again, they both are extremely quiet, they literally disappear once you close your chassis, I really don't understand why you are basing your decision on the ability to swap out the stock fan!

If you are not taking price into the equation (you aren't, as you are considering the utterly epensive X-650

) and silence is your primary objective, being even more important than efficiency and connectivity, then you should consider going fanless with a Silentmaxx MX460, Silverstone Nightjar or Fortron Zen, or, if your HTPC is a very low power one, a picoPSU (or DC-DC board) + external brick.