FSP Sparkle 350W 120mm

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

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tjoff
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FSP Sparkle 350W 120mm

Post by tjoff » Tue Sep 16, 2003 2:10 pm

Hello

I have a computer thats supposed to be some sort of server, the problem is that it needs to be really quiet.
I have taken care of everything exept for the PSU.

I have read tons of reviews and been on many forums and I still can't decide what I want. Or - what I can afford and find in a store near me in sweden (that should curtail the offerings :o).

Oh, and did I mention I'm on a rather tight budget?

What I have seen in a local store is the FSP Sparkle 350W with an 120 mm fan.
The ArtID(?) says: FSP350-60PN-PF

And when searching for that I end up with PSUs from many different brands such as Aopen and Fortron.

I've heard the fortron (same PSU maybe?) is good, but quiet?

Whats the difference?
There seems to be many (many) different versions of it even within single brands :? .

The big question is of course, is it quiet?
Since it's a 120mm fan my thoughts are that it is possible to get it quieter than other 80mm PSUs such as the NEXUS 3000 if you replaced the fan.
Or does the PSU get hotter than for instance the NEXUS so that you'd need a "powerful" fan?

The goal was an inaudible system but I because of the PSU I have my doubts :cry:

Though if it was possible to replace the Sparkle PSU fan with an Papst 26 dB @ 5v it could become quite close (the fan @ 5v is practically inaudible).

Do you know anything about the Sparkle PSU?
What would you recommend, a modded NEXUS or a modded Sparkle?

The price is almost the same though I have to order the NEXUS online and pay for freight.

Oh, I just found an Papst PSU 300w (2 fans). Heard it's quiet though "quiet" doesn't mean much. And I have gotten the impression that 2 fan PSUs aren't that quiet compared to single fan ones because of the sound made by the turbulence and such(?).
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Kawboy
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Post by Kawboy » Tue Sep 16, 2003 4:32 pm

I have the Sparkle FSP350-60PN without PF. Are you in the EU? I've read here in SPCR that the EU power-factor corrected version of this PSU isn't nearly as silent as my US/Canada version without PFC. If you can get your hands on my version, I'd recommend it. It runs my system just fine and is bloody quiet. My vidcard fan is currently the loudest component in my system, but I'm going to change that this fall with (probably) a passively cooled Radeon 9600 Pro.
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energy
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Re: FSP Sparkle 350W 120mm

Post by energy » Tue Sep 16, 2003 5:52 pm

The ArtID(?) says: FSP350-60PN-PF
Thats the FSP with PFC. Claimed to be louder than the non PFC version (unavailable in Europe) but I've tested one and it was really really quiet (and I'm quite strict in classing something as quiet) so I cannot imagine the non PFC version being significantly quieter. Then again I don't have a high powered system to test on.
And when searching for that I end up with PSUs from many different brands such as Aopen and Fortron
Fortron/FSP/Sparkle/SPI are the same company. AOpen also sells FSP PSUs under the AOpen name. Same product, different label.

I would go for the FSP over the Nexus, personally.
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