Help choosing a PSU

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

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makeyourself
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Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2013 9:17 pm

Help choosing a PSU

Post by makeyourself » Sun Nov 04, 2018 8:52 am

Hi, looking for a new PSU for my five year old near-silent build as the current one is broken. Currently I have it narrowed down to either a Seasonic SSR-550FX, Silverstone ET-550-HG or a Corsair RM550x. Anybody know what the quietist one of those with the least possibility for coil whine is likely to be? I'm also looking for quality though to be honest, I notice the Silverstone only has 3 years warranty which makes me wonder a little. My last PSU was a Nexus NX-5000 and it went out with a bang, literally (still hoping it didn't take any other components with it).

CA_Steve
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Re: Help choosing a PSU

Post by CA_Steve » Sun Nov 04, 2018 9:50 am

Both the Corsair RMx (2018) and the Seasonic Focus Plus are good choices. I've had the Seasonic for a few months - no whine and the fan is passive at my loads. Feedback on the Corsair is similar.

Abula
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Re: Help choosing a PSU

Post by Abula » Sun Nov 04, 2018 9:57 am

I would go with Corsair or Seasonic, Corsair RMx series has been suggested and bought by many users here with great results, worth mentioning that Cosair recently revised it to v2018, so things might have change or not. The Seasonic is also getting good reviews, there is also the SSR-550PX that for $12 more you get platinum efficiency. Both seasonic and corsiar have big warranties so either should be a good option. About the coil whine and which is less likely, its hard to say, to me its more a match of hardware or a certain draw where its more likely to appear, no PSU is immune to electrical noise, just some are more apparent than others.

makeyourself
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Re: Help choosing a PSU

Post by makeyourself » Sun Nov 04, 2018 6:53 pm

Thanks for the replies, I'm leaning towards the Corsair RM550x 2018 now, I'm liking the 140mm fan on that one and I've also read that Corsair tend to put a little more focus on quiet operation. Also, I'm not sure how much credibility Lambda noise ratings have, mainly because I only found out they existed about 60 minutes ago. However the RM550x 2018 is rated at A++ (quietest possible). The SSR-550FX only gets an A+ although to be fair their recorded average measurements were only about 4dB apart between the two.

yakuman
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Re: Help choosing a PSU

Post by yakuman » Mon Nov 05, 2018 7:18 am

I have the SSR-550PX, which I can't imagine being that much of an improvement over the SSR-550FX in terms of noise or efficiency. I also researched using Lambda's reports and I think they're reliable based on user reports of certain other brands and models.

Quote myself from earlier this year when I curious on the noise:
My PSU fan has an ugly ticking tone when in non-hybrid mode. It's lower pitched compared to case fans like Fractal Design's; more in the mid frequency. But this is only audible within 2 feet. As far as noise levels, it's pretty quiet. At >= 27 inches from the fan directly pointing to my ears it's inaudible. Luckily for me, mine will be tucked inside a Fractal Define C on the floor with its fan facing the carpet and more than 1 m away from my ears.
In daily operations I don't hear it at all.

makeyourself
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Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2013 9:17 pm

Re: Help choosing a PSU

Post by makeyourself » Mon Nov 05, 2018 10:25 am

Thanks for the info yakuman, I have a similar setup in that I have a Fractal Define R4 case. Anyway, I've gone for the RM550x (2018), I'll try and report back here how it performs when I get it. That is if my mobo/CPU aren't fried from the previous PSU's failure, in which case expect a somewhat longer delay!

makeyourself
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Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2013 9:17 pm

Re: Help choosing a PSU

Post by makeyourself » Wed Nov 07, 2018 1:24 pm

OK the PC works! And the PSU is silent, completely silent for me so far as I can tell. I can't even get it out of fanless mode by running Prime95 on all 4 cores for 5-10 minutes. For reference I am running on integrated graphics at the moment and my CPU is an i5-3750k, overclocked by 900MHz. Nothing fantastically special in terms of other peripherals.

If I listen very close to the PSU grill, at idle I can hear some very faint clicking noises but I suspect they are coming from my old case and CPU fans.

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