Budget quiet PSU? ST-365 vs RS-430-PCAR?

Deanodriver · Post by **Deanodriver** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 9:34 am

Hi all,

I've been interested in making my PC quieter for a while, and I'm on the lookout for a new PSU (my old Antec TruePower 380W doesn't like my new setup, and the one that came with my case is very noisy), however being a student, my budget is pretty limited, about $50AUD.

Now, I'm running:

Athlon 64 X2 3600+ (with Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro HSF)
Asus M2NPV-VM
512MB DDR2 (until I can afford a nice 2GB 800MHz kit)
GeForce 6600 (passively cooled)
Seagate 80GB SATA HDD (my main HDDs are in my P3 server)
and a CoolerMaster Elite RC-331 case (with the stock PSU).

Of course, the next step to silencing this machine is to get a better PSU, but I'm unsure whether the CoolerMaster eXtreme Power 430W (RS-430-PCAR) or the Silverstone ST-365 is a better choice, or what else I can get on that money.

The mobo/PSU/RAM are recent purchases, but the Antec didn't like my old setup (A64 3500+/Foxconn NF4K8MC-RS/1GB DDR), and the active chipset fan on the Foxconn board drove me nuts, and since it was right in the way of the video card, couldn't replace it with a passive sink. I put the one that came with the case (350W thing, only a couple of weeks old), in with the new setup, but as I said, it's very noisy.

I'm a bit reluctant to get another Antec, having heard about their quality issues lately. The thing is, many PSUs aren't available in Australia, or are fairly expensive (I'd be happy with the Seasonic S12-430, but it's $120AUD).

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

-- Dean

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 10:01 am

For that money your best bet is probably to buy a quiet fan and fan mod your current PSU.

SD-Plissken · Post by **SD-Plissken** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 5:43 pm

What does your current Antec TruePower 380W have problems powering?

Personally I would trouble shoot that first before buying a new psu.

As for the silverstone ST-365 it's solid as well as quiet,and should have no issues powering the specs posted.

This is what i power off this psu viewtopic.php?t=39507

Deanodriver · Post by **Deanodriver** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 9:12 pm

jaganath wrote:For that money your best bet is probably to buy a quiet fan and fan mod your current PSU.

I would, but it's only a pissy 350W, with a 10A 12v rail. I'd rather just get a decent PSU.

SD-Plissken wrote:What does your current Antec TruePower 380W have problems powering?

Personally I would trouble shoot that first before buying a new psu.

As for the silverstone ST-365 it's solid as well as quiet,and should have no issues powering the specs posted.

This is what i power off this psu viewtopic.php?t=39507

I was having some serious stability issues with my previous setup (mouse would die from time to time, would shut down on warm boot, etc), and I'd asked a number of people, and they said the PSU could be the culprit. I'm still not a fan of running a 24pin board off a 20pin PSU anyway.

What is the CoolerMaster like? If it's trash, I'll grab the Silverstone

kaange · Post by **kaange** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 5:58 pm

The CM is nicely quiet at low power loading and the noise level of the ST365v3 is identical, IMO. I have not tested these PSUs with a heavy loading to see how they ramp up.

The CM will supply 4A more on the 12V rails (29 vs 25) so it would be better value on that score.

I've opened up a ST365v3 (see bottom of this thread) and it's very nicely made. I haven't been able to do this to a CM 430W PCAR but here is a review with some pics.

I can't think of any other PSUs in their price range that I'd recommend (given the limits of what is availble downunder, that is)

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 6:42 pm

Hello Dean,

I can't think that your system is using much more than 120-130watts peak? I don't know what's available where you are, but there is a recent thread with a very good, quiet Fortron Source "Green" 300watt PSU for under $40US shipped.

autoboy · Post by **autoboy** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 6:52 pm

I've seen some good deals on the 3X0W Antec earthwatts. They are made by seasonic.

kaange · Post by **kaange** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 9:03 pm

NeilBlanchard wrote:I don't know what's available where you are, but .

He is in Australia so he has the same limitations that I faced.

Deanodriver · Post by **Deanodriver** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 10:59 pm

NeilBlanchard wrote:Hello Dean,

I can't think that your system is using much more than 120-130watts peak? I don't know what's available where you are, but there is a recent thread with a very good, quiet Fortron Source "Green" 300watt PSU for under $40US shipped.

Thanks, but Fortron stuff's a bit hard to find here. Plus, I'd like a PSU with a decent amount of future proofing, in case I decide to upgrade

autoboy wrote:I've seen some good deals on the 3X0W Antec earthwatts. They are made by seasonic.

They are? Whilst I'm a bit reluctant to buy another Antec (having heard of quality issues), I'll have to keep it in mind, even though the 380W version is $80AUD.

kaange wrote:The CM is nicely quiet at low power loading and the noise level of the ST365v3 is identical, IMO. I have not tested these PSUs with a heavy loading to see how they ramp up.

The CM will supply 4A more on the 12V rails (29 vs 25) so it would be better value on that score.

I've opened up a ST365v3 (see bottom of this thread) and it's very nicely made. I haven't been able to do this to a CM 430W PCAR but here is a review with some pics.

I can't think of any other PSUs in their price range that I'd recommend (given the limits of what is availble downunder, that is)

I'm leaning towards the CoolerMaster anyway (I have a CoolerMaster case, and more availability, and a few dollars cheaper), but no reviews I've seen have noise levels tested in them.

Thanks a heap, once I get some money, I'll have to jump online and purchase a nice PSU

kaange · Post by **kaange** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 5:36 pm

With your system, it should be very quiet