Can the Sonata TP380S be made silent? (I've searched)

trpltongue · Post by **trpltongue** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 12:10 pm

Hello all,

Well, my PSU is now the loudest component of my Sonata based system (see sig for details).

I've searched and read dozens of fan swap and psu ducting threads, but they all say "seems quieter" or "definitely an improvement". What I'm wondering is if the Antec TP380S can be made inaudible from 3' or less. 20db is what the Zalman 7000A-cu runs at with 5V and I can't hear it from 3ft away so that is what I'm shooting for with the PSU.

I don't want to spend time and money on Fans and ducting if I'm not going to get silence. I'd rather spend the money on a fanless PSU or at least a Nexus 3000.

However, if I can do a fan swap and duct the PSU (only have 1 5.25" bay available) and the sound level will drop to inaudible from 3 feet, then that's what I'd like to do.

Any opinions on this?

Thanks guys and gals,

Russell

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 12:56 pm

My answer is an unqualified "perhaps".

A 5V 80mm M1A is pretty darn quiet, maybe even inaudible at 1 meter, but I'm not sure if that will move enough air to keep the rather warm running Antec PSU cool. If others have successfully used the M1A in their SL380S'es then I say "go for it homes".

trpltongue · Post by **trpltongue** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 3:37 pm

Ha! That's good Ralf!

Others have mentioned the use of the M1A but of course no one has really taken any measurements or even stated that it is no longer the loudest component after the swap. I just hate to spend $20 on a fan that I can not use anywhere else in the system if it won't be inaudible from 1m.

Say, what do you think about mounting a 120mm Evercool to the P/S on the inside of the case where the intake is and removing the stock fan? That would help baffle the noise, but would it be able to push enough air through the P/S? At least that way I can use the fan elswhere in the case if it doesn't work on the P/S.

Thanks,

Russell

bomba · Post by **bomba** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 4:28 pm

I've done it (TP380S M1BX mod, wired to stock PSU fan controller) and it's not inaudible @ 1m; if fan is spinning 1200RPM or more. No cold air duct on my setup, tho. Perhaps the combination of a lower powered system, cool air duct and M1A or M1BX will get you there. Others have swapped in L1A's, but I'd be concerned that the airflow would be insufficient for the hot running Antec PSU.

I suggest that you buy one of the 300 or 400w RevA3 Seasonic Super Silencers and be done with it. You may want to check out one of my posts on the subject of silencing the TP380S here.

BTW, even my current L1A modded Fortron is not inaudible @ 1m in a very quiet ambient, but it is a notch quieter @ idle and unlike the TP380S, the fan does not ramp under load.

trpltongue · Post by **trpltongue** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 6:54 pm

Bomba,

Thanks for the advice and candor. I'm going to try to duct the PSU to see if I can get the temp down nice and low so that the PSU fan doesn't ramp up. Right now it spins at about 1700 rpm all the time. I don't know what the minimum is but I've read about people getting theirs down to 1000-1200. Hopefully with a fresh air duct I can get the temps down enough to slow the fan.

Time to start reading up on quiet power supplies, perhaps even fanless ones.

Thanks again guys,

Russell

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 8:03 pm

My Sonata's PSU isn't even ducted, it has to deal with some of the heat from three 60GB Diamond Max Plus 9 drives, one 18GB Cheetah 15K3, a P4 2.6C o/c'd to 3.0 and a mere Matrox passive graphics adapter; I have modded it with an AcoustiFan AF80CT, which is slower than 80mm M1x, and I have it folding with dual instances 24/7; much of its time spent in a hot bedroom without any A/C. No failure yet.

-Ed

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 9:03 pm

Same here, with an Acoustifan swap.

The PSU is pretty much inaudiable unless you put your ear right up to the PSU. The temp sensor is wound around one of the heatsinks inside and I've yet to see the acousti spin fast enough for its top speed (20 dbA). The fan on the CNPS7000A @ 5V is MUCH louder than the PSU. In fact it's the loudest component in the system

trpltongue · Post by **trpltongue** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 5:30 am

burcakb and Ed,

Did you happen to take any exhaust temp measurments before and after the swap? Do you guys feel comfortable with the temperature of the exhaust? Are you using the in-line resistor?

If the acoustifan can keep the PSU cooled enough and really is that quiet I might have to give it a try. Though I have been eyeing the Seasonics demo units for sale by Mike.....

Russell

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 5:34 am

The exhaust temps from all Antecs I've worked with is quite warm to begin with; after the mod, it didn't feel significantly warmer than before, but no, I did not do any precise measurements. The decrease in noise and lack of decrease in stability and reliability were fine enough for me at the new temperatures, since Antecs never run cool, anyway.

-Ed

EDIT: formatting typo

trpltongue · Post by **trpltongue** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 5:38 am

Very true!

The PSU exhaust is very warm to begin with (guess they're not very efficient eh?).

If you've got it folding 24/7 without fail though, that seems to indicate it's doing its job.

Are you using the inline resistor Ed? I would imagine not, but thought I'd ask.

Thanks again for the info.

Russell

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 5:42 am

I did exactly what I did with my two Fortrons that are modded using thermal fans (one an AF120CT, one a Globe 120); the thermistor is tied to the largest heatsink in the power supply by its own wire. Even run thusly, it is far quieter than stock. Seems burcakb did the same as well.

-Ed

EDIT: Typos.

MonsterMac · Post by **MonsterMac** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 7:04 am

I've modded my Antec TP380 with a japanaflo L1A and also have given it a cool air duct from my top 5.25 bay. See in the gallery my post called, Silent Gaming System, or something like that, there are alot of pics of my duct.

In relation to temps, the psu literally feels cool most of the time when the ambient temp is around 74F. When it rises above that it begins to feel warm, but never hot. I'm very comfortable that my PSU is running cooler than before, even though I have an L1A in it, the cool air duct does ALOT, besides keeping the fan from revving up, it will in theory make your PSU last longer from running cooler.

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 7:42 am

Well one thing's certain and that is that the operating efficiency can go up if its temperature can be kept lower, which is a good idea in general. If ducting is an option, by all means, go for it.

-Ed

EDIT: Grammatical typo error.

trpltongue · Post by **trpltongue** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 7:52 am

Ed and MonsterMac,

Thank you both for your replies.

I am going to try ducting the PSU this evening. If that doesn't work, I'm going to try stoping the stock 80mm PSU fan with a zip tie, and mounting my Antec 120mm fan to the front of the PSU inside the duct.

My rationale being that I would be moving the noise maker further inside the case and hopefully reducing exterior noise, while increasing airflow. If that works, I'll pick up another silent 120mm fan (Acoustifan perhaps?) to replace the move Antec fan.

I'll post my results hopefully tonight.

Russell

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 8:09 am

If a silent 120mm fan is on your list of future purchases, buy the 120mm Globe from MNPCTech.com. Feel free to let him know I sent you over.

Globe manufactures the AcoustiFans; my research has shown the AF120CT and Globe 120 to be precisely identical except for price, color and length of thermistor wire. The Globe 120s are also more consistently manufactured; there have been batches of AF120CTs that ticked (not an issue with the AF80CT or AF92CT!); if I can find a place to buy Globe thermal 80/92mm fans, I'd not hesitate for an instant to get some samples and compare them to the AF80/92CT; they're just not all that affordable, unfortunately.

-Ed

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 8:59 am

No I didn't use the inline resistor. The acousti 80mm is already VERY quiet to begin with, no need to put the resistor.

The exhaust air is slightly warmer but as has been pointed out it's warm to begin with anyway. I'm not concerned, at least not yet. Maybe a year down the road, I might check the innards for heat damage though I don't expect to see any. Voltages are rock stable.

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 9:08 am

I totally didn't realize you meant the resistor, not the thermistor!

On my two Fortrons with the 120mm Globe/AcoustiFans, I used the inline resistor. For the AF80CT in my Antec, I did not. The 120mm models move quite a bit of air at full power, so using the resistor doesn't hurt, while the AF80CT is already plenty quiet, and the resistor really is quite a last resort.

-Ed