What Size Seasonic S12 should I get?

[Sabrewulf165]

I've decided to nab an S12 for my system based on the many positive recommendations on this site, but I can't decide what size I should go for. I strongly suspect that even the 330W model would be enough to power my system, BUT I don't want to risk raising the noise level by making a lesser PSU work too hard. still, the difference in price between the 330, 380, and 430 models is not insignificant, and I'd like to save as much money as possible. Here is what is or will be in my setup:

Antec SLK-3000B
AMD Athlon 64 3400+ Newcastle 2.4 ghz
MSI K8MM-V mATX motherboard (Via K8M800-CE chipset)
2x512MB Corsair Value PC3200
WD Caviar SE 300 GB UATA
BBA Radeon 9700 Pro (w/ VGA silencer rev 3 if I can find one)
Hitachi CD-RW, Pioneer DVD-ROM
PCI soundcard (probably Chaintech AV-710)
PCI TV Tuner (ATI Theater 550 Pro)
120mm fan(s)

Input appreciated

[m0002a]

I would get the 380.

[Tamas]

380W is the best choice.

//I would like to buy a tunercard. Do you satisfied with your Ati Theater 550?//

[NeilBlanchard]

Hello:

I can't see how a S12 330watt would have any problems with this system! Your system is probably less than 200watts flat out...

[perplex]

but what the 330 be quieter than 430?

[m0002a]

but what the 330 be quieter than 430?

The 330/380/430 should have the same noise most of the time. In the some circumstances (heavy load that generates a lot of heat), the 430 "could be" quieter than the 330.

[perplex]

ok, thought so :]

Thanks.

[NeilBlanchard]

Hello:

I'm not sure that I follow that logic: if your system peaks at 150-180watts, then when are you going to have a "heavy load"?

If they all have the same fan, same fan control circuit, and they are roughly the same efficiency -- and so about the same amout of heat, how is any one model going to be quieter?

[Sabrewulf165]

thanks everyone for all your input I decided to go with the 380 to strike a balance between cost and potential noise.

Neil I think what they are saying is that if all 3 units have the same setup, then at maximum power draw, the 330w unit will be at greater % of it's maximum load than the 380 or 430, therefore it might need to spin the fan faster to keep cool, thus making more noise.

To the person who asked, I like my theater 550 very much, the quality with s-video in is amazing! The quality from a regular cable feed is great, too, but it's hard to tell because the quality of my cable feed is the limit (stupid Adelphia!) The hardware encoding engine is very nice, too. I can record programs in the background with zero CPU usage

[perplex]

but what neil is saying is that even the 380 model wont ever be under load if the max power required by the system is 200W max.

but the points are still valid

[m0002a]

I'm not sure that I follow that logic: if your system peaks at 150-180watts, then when are you going to have a "heavy load"?

If they all have the same fan, same fan control circuit, and they are roughly the same efficiency -- and so about the same amout of heat, how is any one model going to be quieter? :?

My statement about the PSU's having the same noise, unless they were under heavy load was a purely theoretical statement, not taking into account whether the specific PC components in question would ever place any of the three S12 PSU's under heavy load. If a S12 330/380/430 PSU would never be under heavy load, then their fans would operate at slow speed and all of the three S12 models in question would make the same level of noise.

I don’t know if there is a difference in cooling ability (heatsinks, etc) of the three models, and that could affect when the fan speeds up. Not too many people have reporting on actual use of the 330 that I have seen. I am very happy with my 380.