Antec Solo II + GTX 980Ti: any way to optimize thermalnoise?

[SebRad]

Hi, definitely try the PSU with the fan facing up as I believe the Solo II has a grill there for this purpose. This way the PSU won't be getting hot air off the CPU/GPU which could help it a lot.
I can't off hand find any reviews that mention noise levels, it seems to be a Seasonic S12II 620 rebadged, although it could have different fan and fan controller.

I've just fan swapped an old Seasonic S12-380 that had a noisy / grumbling fan. The new Arctic Cooling F12 fan is much quieter, idle ~620rpm but then PSU isn't high power nor going to work hard as occasional use testing platform.
For you driving a GTX 980Ti I'm not sure how much a fan swap can help you, although the PSU was noted somewhere as delivering full power in hot conditions, it probably requires the high speed fan to do it. With a fan swap and cool air intake from top grill of the case you might get some benefit. A 120mm fan won't cost a lot and I guess you PSU is (nearly) out of warranty as it's older model.
If you did pursue a fan swap I would suggest one with 3 wires and split the rpm (usually yellow) wire out of the PSU and plug in to a motherboard header so you can monitor the fan's rpm, if it gets to the max of the fan you know the PSU is trying to get as much cooling as it can, you may then get overheating which should lead to shutdown before damage, hopefully.

For the PSU having more intake fans and running positive case pressure can only help. I know in the past with my PC I've seen behavior of the PSU fan speeding up in response to increased exhaust fan speed. My conclusion then was the PSU fan having to work harder to get air flow against the negative case pressure, not that I think I should have had that much due to free intakes but the effect was definitely there.

Regards,
Seb

[vishcompany]

Hi Xyvotha, ex-fellow-Solo2-user speaking here.

My setup was a bit different (less powerful: FX-8120 & GTX760 with aftermarket cooler), but so was my objective. I wanted silence, also when gaming. I dont wear headphones and turn the sound very low or even off.

I ran into very similar obstacles: The PSU struggling to stay cool in its top position, the 120mm rear exhaust fan struggling to get rid of all the heat.

I got the best results with this setup:
1. PSU with a swapped fan (reporting RPMs to the mobo, just as was written above) - the fan turned UP, breathing fresh air from outside the case. Turning the PSU facing down (and inside) resulted in better system temps, but made the PSU fan work really hard, the system being louder overall.
2. The ASUS DirectCU cooler was plain horrible to my ears. Like screaming jet engines (This was befor the STRIX line was introduced). I replaced it with an MK-26. Best decision ever. Even though I have to control the fans (2x120) through the mobo using speedfan, it is absolutely worth it. (To me with my objective).
3. I built a little cardboard duct (basically a kind of shield) between the GPU and CPU cooler (NH-U14 here), to prevent hot air from the GPU get in front of the CPU. All hot air from the GPU got routed BEHIND the CPU cooler. This helped temps by some degrees resulting in a slower and less audible CPU fan.

I experimented with many different case fans in all kinds of setups and positions. The results being negligible. (Using a second intake fan (top position) resulted in a meagre improvement of 1°, when turned up to 100%). I ended up using an NF-S12A as exhaust fan and a second one as intake (bottom position), only used when gaming on hot days, otherwise switched off. The NF-S12A can become a bit louder than the silent wings, but it moves more air at lower RPM, resulting in better temps and acoustics in my scenario.

I really liked the Solo2. Great looks and perfect size. It just could not handle the heat in a satisfying way. Today I am running a Skylake setup inside an R5 case. The R5 is bigger, which I disliked in the beginning, but its cooling prowess is remarkable.
I kept the GPU with the MK-26 and the NH-U14 for the CPU. (I also made a new cardboard duct between GPU and CPU). Swapped the 400W PSU for a 500W bequiet Straight Power with a bigger fan.
Just finished a session of Assetto corsa in a quiet room, sound off (I was not alone in the room): I did not hear a thing of my PC while gaming.

Good luck with your tweaking!

[Xyvotha]

Hi guys, your feedback is priceless!

I couldn't accomplish much in the past couple nights (late hours at work). I hope to do some experimenting this weekend.
For now, the exhaust fan swapping made a great difference, overall noise level is a little less loud and the exhaust air temp is not as warm as before. That warm SSD is now at normal temps too. I gotta do much more than that of course but it seems I'm in the right direction, thanks to you people

About flipping the PSU: That will definitely tell me if it's spinning up because of air temp power load. The only I'm afraid about it is ambient dust, they're building three tall office buildings 2 blocks from my house and dust piles up very quick all over the place

So, the to do list looks like:
- Try inverting that PSU.
- Try switching different combinations of intake/exhaust fans.
- Keep refining MSI's fan control curve.
- Save some $$ for future components (gracias Abula por la info!).

I'll keep you updated on this, big thanks to quest_for_silence, Abula, frenchie, Fire-Flare, baii, SebRad and vishcompany (pardon me if i missed someone). You guys make this community great!

[xan_user]

what about sliding the psu forward towards middle of case, so it isnt also sucking up CPU heat? a duct/deflector plate above CPU (where bottom of PSU would normally go) would be needed.

if you got crazy inventive with ducting you might be able to use front 5.25 bays as a totally separate PSU intake.

[SebRad]

what about sliding the psu forward towards middle of case, so it isnt also sucking up CPU heat? a duct/deflector plate above CPU (where bottom of PSU would normally go) would be needed.

if you got crazy inventive with ducting you might be able to use front 5.25 bays as a totally separate PSU intake.

xan_user the Solo II has a PSU intake in the ceiling above the normal PSU position in the back, just needs turning upside down (fan up) to take advantage of it, and I think it has the screw holes in the back for this too, Solo (I) I worked on definitely does.
See 3rd image here

Regards, Seb

[xan_user]

yes i get that. poster was worried about dust getting in PSU from top intake, hence my suggestion.

[Xyvotha]

Quick update:

- Flipping the PSU hasn't really helped much with noise. This is simply too much load for a 620w PSU for it to stay cool.
- As a side effect, there's less exhaust flow in the case (PSU fan now is not touching any of the case air). So temps are worse than before.

It was worth trying anyway. Before flipping it back I'm going to do a poor man's noise measurement with a phone app, then compare it with the PSU in the old position.

Cheers and thanks all for the advise, will keep you guys updated!