Zalman ZM-1000W, Seasonic X1050, or fanless ?
Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 9:04 am
Summary:
1) Should I keep using the Seasonic X-1050, or get my Zalman ZM-1000W back ?
2) Are there any 500-600W PSUs with watercooling ?
3) Would 520W be enough for my system ?
--
Recently I started the quest again for a silent gaming PC.
5-6 Years ago I ran a watercooled E8500 and 8800gtx.
I even had a watercooled PSU. No fans in the system at all.
Unfortunately the loop got clogged, and at some point my 8800gtx died.
Now I am trying again.
I have a i5-3570K and a gtx680.
During the last 5 years, I used a Zalman 1000W.
Two months ago, I needed a PSU for a second machine. I couldn't hold back, and bought a Seasonic X-1050. The X1050 is quiet during idle and desktop work. But when I start gaming, the fan spins up, and it does make a noticable amount of noise. I was a little disappointed.
My PC is not totally silent yet. But I am slowly getting there.
Two problems remain: the pump (Laing DDC-1T) and the PSU.
During idle and desktop, the only noise I hear is the Laing DDC-1T. I have undervolted it from 3900 rpm to 2700 rpm. (My estimate is that that's around 8V). The pump always seems to spin up fine). The undervolting did not change the volume of the pump much. Just the frequency. It is now my plan to put the pump outside my case, in an unused cupboard of my desk, and isolate it with loads of foam. (Temperature isn't an issue. My pump is wrapped in foam now too, and does not get hot at all).
When my pump is silent, the only remaining problem is the PSU when I play games.
So back to the PSU.
I will swap the Seasonic X-1050 with my old Zalman ZM-1000, just to test and compare them. But after reading the reviews on this website again, I don't think the ZM-1000W will be much more quiet. Maybe a bit at load. But I assume it will make slightly more noise when idle. So still not perfect. Has anyone even compared these two PSUs directly ? Any recommendation ?
Another option would be to go fanless. In my loop 5 years ago, I used to have a watercooled PSU. I loved that thing. Unfortunately it is only 360W or so. And old. So not good enough anymore. Are there still watercooled PSUs on the market ? Maybe this would be my favorite, if I could find a 600W watercooled PSU.
The last option would be the Seasonic Fanless 520W. I'm not very enthousiastic about it. Because of my slight disappointment with the X-1050. However, the review here is pretty good. But one problem is: is 520W enough for my machine ?
Current components: i5-3570K @ 4.2GHz, gtx-680, 1x SSD, 2x 5400 rpm HDD, ASRock Z77 Extreme4.
Fractal Design Arc Midi, with 3x 140mm fans (case) and 2x 120mm fans (radiatior). All undervolted to the minimum (~4V).
Waterblocks on CPU and GPU. 240mm radiator. Laing DDC-1T pump. Zalman Resorator1 reservoir.
Now when I use this tool to determine my PSU requirement, it suggests me to get a 600W PSU.
http://support.asus.com/powersupply.asp ... uage=en-en
When I look at Anandtech's review of the gtx680, they needed 362W at most.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5699/nvid ... -review/19
This was with a gtx680 and a i7-3960X @ 4.3GHz. The i7-3960X should be using more than my 3570k.
So what does my case have extra, compared to the Anandtech case ?
My waterpump ? 10W.
Five case-fans. 5x ~5W.
Two HDDs (only 5400rpm). 2x 15W.
Total of 65W extra max. So my machine might not take more Watts than 362W + 65W = 440W.
If that would be the case, then the Seasonic Fanless 520W would be enough.
So what do you think ?
1) Should I keep using the Seasonic X-1050, or get my Zalman ZM-1000W back ?
2) Are there any 500-600W PSUs with watercooling ?
3) Would 520W be enough for my system ?
I'm sorry I couldn't be more brief. I think all info given is relevant.
Thanks in advance.
1) Should I keep using the Seasonic X-1050, or get my Zalman ZM-1000W back ?
2) Are there any 500-600W PSUs with watercooling ?
3) Would 520W be enough for my system ?
--
Recently I started the quest again for a silent gaming PC.
5-6 Years ago I ran a watercooled E8500 and 8800gtx.
I even had a watercooled PSU. No fans in the system at all.
Unfortunately the loop got clogged, and at some point my 8800gtx died.
Now I am trying again.
I have a i5-3570K and a gtx680.
During the last 5 years, I used a Zalman 1000W.
Two months ago, I needed a PSU for a second machine. I couldn't hold back, and bought a Seasonic X-1050. The X1050 is quiet during idle and desktop work. But when I start gaming, the fan spins up, and it does make a noticable amount of noise. I was a little disappointed.
My PC is not totally silent yet. But I am slowly getting there.
Two problems remain: the pump (Laing DDC-1T) and the PSU.
During idle and desktop, the only noise I hear is the Laing DDC-1T. I have undervolted it from 3900 rpm to 2700 rpm. (My estimate is that that's around 8V). The pump always seems to spin up fine). The undervolting did not change the volume of the pump much. Just the frequency. It is now my plan to put the pump outside my case, in an unused cupboard of my desk, and isolate it with loads of foam. (Temperature isn't an issue. My pump is wrapped in foam now too, and does not get hot at all).
When my pump is silent, the only remaining problem is the PSU when I play games.
So back to the PSU.
I will swap the Seasonic X-1050 with my old Zalman ZM-1000, just to test and compare them. But after reading the reviews on this website again, I don't think the ZM-1000W will be much more quiet. Maybe a bit at load. But I assume it will make slightly more noise when idle. So still not perfect. Has anyone even compared these two PSUs directly ? Any recommendation ?
Another option would be to go fanless. In my loop 5 years ago, I used to have a watercooled PSU. I loved that thing. Unfortunately it is only 360W or so. And old. So not good enough anymore. Are there still watercooled PSUs on the market ? Maybe this would be my favorite, if I could find a 600W watercooled PSU.
The last option would be the Seasonic Fanless 520W. I'm not very enthousiastic about it. Because of my slight disappointment with the X-1050. However, the review here is pretty good. But one problem is: is 520W enough for my machine ?
Current components: i5-3570K @ 4.2GHz, gtx-680, 1x SSD, 2x 5400 rpm HDD, ASRock Z77 Extreme4.
Fractal Design Arc Midi, with 3x 140mm fans (case) and 2x 120mm fans (radiatior). All undervolted to the minimum (~4V).
Waterblocks on CPU and GPU. 240mm radiator. Laing DDC-1T pump. Zalman Resorator1 reservoir.
Now when I use this tool to determine my PSU requirement, it suggests me to get a 600W PSU.
http://support.asus.com/powersupply.asp ... uage=en-en
When I look at Anandtech's review of the gtx680, they needed 362W at most.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5699/nvid ... -review/19
This was with a gtx680 and a i7-3960X @ 4.3GHz. The i7-3960X should be using more than my 3570k.
So what does my case have extra, compared to the Anandtech case ?
My waterpump ? 10W.
Five case-fans. 5x ~5W.
Two HDDs (only 5400rpm). 2x 15W.
Total of 65W extra max. So my machine might not take more Watts than 362W + 65W = 440W.
If that would be the case, then the Seasonic Fanless 520W would be enough.
So what do you think ?
1) Should I keep using the Seasonic X-1050, or get my Zalman ZM-1000W back ?
2) Are there any 500-600W PSUs with watercooling ?
3) Would 520W be enough for my system ?
I'm sorry I couldn't be more brief. I think all info given is relevant.
Thanks in advance.