Quiet PSU

[jaydee999]

Can anyone recommend a really quiet standard ATX modular PSU for a living room HTPC? It needs to power 1x SATA HDD, 1x SATA DVD, 1x PCI Tuner Card, 1x PCI video capture card, 1x PCI-E 7600GS graphics card, USB wireless network adapter and wireless k/b and mouse. Plus the occasional data transfer from sticks and cards in the built-in card reader and firewire, .
I don't want fanless, but I can pretty much exclude them anyway by setting a budget up to £70. . But I do want as silent as possible. I don't want to be able to hear it when sat watching TV or DVD / surfing the net 8 feet away. It will not be used for gaming.

Thanks

 

[miceri]

Not tried it, but I've heard alot of good reviews for Seasonic S12-600W (I think that is the model), or the latest one with better efficiency or something. I believe it is also modular for connectivity.

It might be out of your budget. They also do a smaller 400ish W model I think...

 

[halephil]

I'd also suggest Seasonic - the SS-430HB will be more than capable and within budget.

Phil

 

[Andy98765]

Can recommend the Seasonic range although quite, I am not sure it will be that quite at 8ft. Just found this one, fanless, but with a fan for backup http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=510107
From the makers of quite.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-014-ZA&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=240&code=

 

[jaydee999]

I forgot to mention that I want it to be totally "quiet" on the colour front as well. So I have to discount the Zalman, and any other LED-ridden beauties.

I'm a regular Scan website "scanner", so I've seen the NorthQ range before, but not seen any reviews from people who have used them.

 

[Andy98765]

Try this company as they deal with Media PC's, http://www.mediapc.tv/index.html?lmd=39189.898391

 

[Pbryanw]

I have the Seasonic S12-650 and I can say that it's fairly quiet but not as quiet as my previous PSU, a Seasonic S12-500. For the modular Seasonic PSU's you want to look at the M12-500/M12-600. The 430W Seasonic, mentioned earlier, should be enough for a HTPC as long as you're not running a powerful Graphics Card or a lot of expansion cards.

 

[CCWashout]

I've just installed this one

http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/powersupplies/yes-fl-550atx

Seems to be pretty good so far - at least my TV makes more noise than the PC now

 

[Razor]

I have been running this psu for 6 months now and its 100% totally silent. You can adjust the fan as you wish or have it turned off. At the lowest setting its inaudible.

http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/powersupplies/nesteq-psus

10/10 for this psu.

 

[jaydee999]

Thanks for the replies. Sorry about my silence over the weekend, but I spent it actually building the HTPC with an existing PSU. I'd like to say it was easy, but I'd be lying. Still, it's up and running while I choose a better PSU.

 

[miceri]

Nice one, don't think I'll ever get round to building my HTPC

Comment: I would never trust a fanless PSU, its asking for trouble IMHO. HTPC are designed generally, to be placed in AV racks / furniture etc with little adequate ventilation. Heat build up needs a fan.

 

[philthyanimal]

I have been running this psu for 6 months now and its 100% totally silent. You can adjust the fan as you wish or have it turned off. At the lowest setting its inaudible.

http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/pro...es/nesteq-psus

10/10 for this psu.

can i just ask a quick question about psu this razor?
the cables that come out of the psu to go in to the computer, if i have the plug socket at the bottom are these at the top? _[]- like this or are they at the bottom _[]_ like this? hope you can help. thanks

 

[jaydee999]

Nice one, don't think I'll ever get round to building my HTPC

Comment: I would never trust a fanless PSU, its asking for trouble IMHO. HTPC are designed generally, to be placed in AV racks / furniture etc with little adequate ventilation. Heat build up needs a fan.

Agreed, which is why I willl go with one with a fan.. The lack of adequate ventilation (it's in AV furniture) is already causing the CPU fan to kick in faster and louder than I want at the moment. More work to do on this front yet.

 

[Razor]

can i just ask a quick question about psu this razor?
the cables that come out of the psu to go in to the computer, if i have the plug socket at the bottom are these at the top? _[]- like this or are they at the bottom _[]_ like this? hope you can help. thanks

The cables come out of the bottom middle of the psu. The power input is also at the bottom. I hope this helps.

 

[Razor]

Agreed, which is why I willl go with one with a fan.. The lack of adequate ventilation (it's in AV furniture) is already causing the CPU fan to kick in faster and louder than I want at the moment. More work to do on this front yet.

With the psu I have you have complete control. With the fan off it has a safety feature where the fan will spin up for a few secs every few mins (you cant hear the fan at all). Even with your head next to the case.

Advanced Silent Mode (ASM) is a very simple feature. It allows the PC power supply to run virtually fanless, with the 120mm fan only switching on when absolutely necessary. During our evaluation we installed the PC power supply in a system which incorporated 2 x 6800 Ultra graphics card in SLI mode, just to see how long it would remain silent. We were astonished to see that the fan hardly moved at all! About every two or three minutes the fan rotated for about ten to twenty seconds before stopping again. This approach seemed to keep the power supply relatively cool to the touch in comparison to other fanless power supplies. In fact, Nesteq state that their PC power supply will be completely fanless for 99% of the time while ASM is enabled!

 

[tinners]

Ive got a Zalman in mine (the 400w version of this)
http://quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/powersupplies/zalmanpsu

Am really happy with it.

 

[jaydee999]

With the psu I have you have complete control. With the fan off it has a safety feature where the fan will spin up for a few secs every few mins (you cant hear the fan at all). Even with your head next to the case.

I agree, it looks a good unit. It's just a bit more than I was wanting to pay, but yes, you get what you pay for...........

 

[Razor]

I agree, it looks a good unit. It's just a bit more than I was wanting to pay, but yes, you get what you pay for...........

If someone told me that I would end up spending 3 days researching a psu I would of laughed at them. But thats what I ended up doing.

For good totally silent psu's there is a premium but I do think it is worth it. I paid £115 for this psu and didnt really want to spend over £70 at the time. It is one part of my HTPC that I can honestly say is silent. I bank on using this psu for a few pc builds (ie a good few years to come).

 

[philthyanimal]

If someone told me that I would end up spending 3 days researching a psu I would of laughed at them. But thats what I ended up doing

still doing it. i need a silent 500+w psu, modular, that is 14-15cm long(not 16) that fits in a claritas case and has its fan facing the mobo and not the the wall of the case.
if anyone knows of one, please let me know

 

[Razor]

still doing it. i need a silent 500+w psu, modular, that is 14-15cm long(not 16) that fits in a claritas case and has its fan facing the mobo and not the the wall of the case.
if anyone knows of one, please let me know

The psu I have is 14cm long and the fan faces the mobo.

http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/powersupplies/nesteq-psus


Or you could get an external psu.

http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/powersupplies/nova600w

I hope this helps mate.

 

[Razor]

Just thought I would update this thread.

I have just finished building a new gaming rig and went for a Corsair 620 watt psu. I wasn't bothered about noise level as much as I was with the HTPC but the Corsair psu is also silent. Another great feature is that it is modular and costs me under £90 inc delivery with ebuyer and google checkout.

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114941

So far I am very impressed with this bit of kit.

 

[HMHB]

Just thought I would update this thread.

I have just finished building a new gaming rig and went for a Corsair 620 watt psu. I wasn't bothered about noise level as much as I was with the HTPC but the Corsair psu is also silent. Another great feature is that it is modular and costs me under £90 inc delivery with ebuyer and google checkout.

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114941

So far I am very impressed with this bit of kit.

That looks like the kind of PSU I'm looking for, cheers for the heads-up

 

[Razor]

That looks like the kind of PSU I'm looking for, cheers for the heads-up

My pleasure John. Its a nice psu, happy building.

 

[allosunshine]

I'm also looking for a quiet psu cos mine is the loudest component in my machine though its not that loud and someon pointed me to this website.
Link

 

[jaydee999]

The psu I have is 14cm long and the fan faces the mobo.

http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/powersupplies/nesteq-psus

Hi Razor
When you say this, do you mean that there is another smaller fan on the side of the PSU that we can't see? Or are you saying that you have your PSU set at 90 degress, so to speak?
Cheers
Jaydee