s12 430w: Noisy fan

MassMan · Post by **MassMan** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 2:09 pm

My Seasonic s12 430w Rev. 1a is very noisy for some odd reason. It is by far the loudest surce of noise in my system and it never ramps up or down, it just stays at the same level all the time. I don't know if it has been this way always or if it is a problem that started recently as I only switched the extremly noisy a8n-e chipset fan a week ago, which left the seasonic as the loudest component. Could it be a defective fan controller or the fan itself?

---
antec 3000b
ath 64 3200+
asus a8n-e w/ zalman chipset cooler
passive gigabyte gf6600gt
Samsung P120 250gb

JazzJackRabbit · Post by **JazzJackRabbit** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 3:20 pm

Check your RPMs if you can. Seasonics usually idle in low 800's RPMs. If you have significantly more than that it's likely your seasonic is defective.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 6:24 pm

Greetings,

If you have the PS fan RPM sensor plugged into the motherboard -- try it with it unplugged?

MassMan · Post by **MassMan** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:25 am

There is no difference with PS fan RPM sensor plugged into the motherboard or not.

But how do I see the rpm of the psu? In bios there's only 3 fanspeed monitors: CPU, CHA1, CHIP.

Using bios 1001 btw..

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:32 am

how do I see the rpm of the psu? In bios there's only 3 fanspeed monitors: CPU, CHA1, CHIP.

Plug the PSU RPM sensor into one of the headers monitored in BIOS (doesn't matter which one, CPU or chassis or chipset fan header) and then go into BIOS and check the relevant readout.

MassMan · Post by **MassMan** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 10:48 am

It reports ~760rpm but I don't know if the readings are correct. The noise that the psu fan generates is WAY more than the antec 3000b case fan at low setting and the cpu nexus fan at 700rpm.

JazzJackRabbit · Post by **JazzJackRabbit** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:32 am

If it reports 760 then either it's wrong or you have really really sensitive ears. 700-800RPM is very quiet to my ears. Yes, an identical fan at identical speed in seasonic PSU will be louder because the air has to turn 90 degrees before it exits out of the back grill and because of the backpressure, but overall I still feel it's very quiet. Perhaps it's time for you to switch to phantom?

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:36 am

Perhaps it's time for you to switch to phantom?

Cost of new quiet 120mm fan for S12 + Zalman Fanmate: ~$10 ex. shipping

Cost of 500W Antec Phantom: $155

There's nothing wrong with his current PSU that a little modding won't fix.

dfrost · Post by **dfrost** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 12:57 pm

It reports ~760rpm but I don't know if the readings are correct.

This sounds like (bad, unintentional pun) a defective fan in the Seasonic, but the fan controller seems OK. The Yate Loon in my early S12-430 idles at 720 rpm and might ramp up as high as 900 rpm under sustained high load (780 is more typical under load). It's noise is very muted regardless.

If you're considering a different fan, the Globalwin that lots have been mentioning might be a good alternative with low noise and a long-life bearing.

JazzJackRabbit · Post by **JazzJackRabbit** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 4:24 pm

jaganath wrote:
Perhaps it's time for you to switch to phantom?
Cost of new quiet 120mm fan for S12 + Zalman Fanmate: ~$10 ex. shipping

Cost of 500W Antec Phantom: $155

There's nothing wrong with his current PSU that a little modding won't fix.

It depends on individual case, but my seasonic already gets very warm. I wouldn't want to slow the fan any more. Besides if I'm not mistaken the voltage supplied by seasonic to the fan is already low so if you introduce another resistor inline, the fan might not start. So I'd either live with it or consider buying phantom 350/500. Of course there is one possibility I missed that dfrost pointed out - it's possible the psu is ok, it's only the fan that's defective in which case a simple fan swap would cure the problem.

dfrost · Post by **dfrost** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 4:56 pm

JazzJackRabbit wrote:It depends on individual case, but my seasonic already gets very warm.

I hear about warm S12's, including a series of complaints awhile back about warm/hot internal "exhaust" vents. But mine has never been warm there, and I check the temperature of the actual exhaust at the back of the case in every temperature test I've run, using an IR thermometer.

At idle that temperature is only a few degrees above ambient, and under sustained (20 min. minimum) load it only rises 5-8C. It's rarely been above 35C in more then 75 tests so far.

JazzJackRabbit · Post by **JazzJackRabbit** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 9:09 am

dfrost
I did not measure the exhaust temp. I just did a finger test when it was inside. I don't think the back vent exhausting hot air inside is the issue because my seasonic is mounted in P180 with fan installed between psu and drive cage. It's just very warm, that's all. Not alarmingly hot but very warm, even at idle. On the contrary my precious PSU Enermax Noisetaker was hot under load reaching 50 degrees on the top of the PSU, but it was very cool under idle. Seasonic on the other hand always stays warm.

v3n · Post by **v3n** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 12:43 pm

just stuck a s430 in my Socket A htpc and its fan is inaudible

dhanson865 · Post by **dhanson865** » Fri May 26, 2006 6:56 am

JazzJackRabbit wrote:dfrost
I did not measure the exhaust temp. I just did a finger test when it was inside. I don't think the back vent exhausting hot air inside is the issue because my seasonic is mounted in P180 with fan installed between psu and drive cage. It's just very warm, that's all. Not alarmingly hot but very warm, even at idle. On the contrary my precious PSU Enermax Noisetaker was hot under load reaching 50 degrees on the top of the PSU, but it was very cool under idle. Seasonic on the other hand always stays warm.

Have you tried any alternate configs?

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... ht=#264180 shows the post in full but the key points for a P180 owner are:

When using a dual chamber case like the Antec P180 be sure to tape off intake holes that aren't needed to force air to come in from openings that would cool the drives better. See http://www.silentpcreview.com/article255-page8.html for a picture and some text describing this interaction.

No matter what power supply you use do not assume what fan configuration is best. Test muliple configurations with an open mind and objective measurments.

It is entirely possible a change in airflow/pressure could change the behaviour/noise of your Seasonic PS.

JazzJackRabbit · Post by **JazzJackRabbit** » Fri May 26, 2006 7:07 am

dhanson865 wrote:Have you tried any alternate configs?

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... ht=#264180 shows the post in full but the key points for a P180 owner are:

When using a dual chamber case like the Antec P180 be sure to tape off intake holes that aren't needed to force air to come in from openings that would cool the drives better. See http://www.silentpcreview.com/article255-page8.html for a picture and some text describing this interaction.

No matter what power supply you use do not assume what fan configuration is best. Test muliple configurations with an open mind and objective measurments.

It is entirely possible a change in airflow/pressure could change the behaviour/noise of your Seasonic PS.

I tried both configs: open exhaust vents with fan in the lower chamber and exhaust vents taped off without fan. The PSU stays warm even under idle. I suppose that's how all seasonics are, as long as it doesn't die on me I'm fine.