silencing seasonic s12-330

[boscomonkey]

I'm trying to silence my 4 year old Pentium III 800 Mhz for use as an always-on file & web server. It's been just a workstation up to now. It was pretty obvious that the nosiest part was the PSU, so I bought a Seasonic S12-330 (as per the recommended list) from case-mod.com and installed it.

Yes, the Seasonic is quieter, but not that much quieter. It has a pretty obnoxious high pitch whirling sound. When I first turned it on, I was so surprised by the sound that I unplugged the CPU fan thinking that was the culprit. Though the CPU fan contributed to the overall noice, it was lower pitched. What I was hearing was definitely from the fan in the Seasonic.

Another piece of data: I sit about 4 ft from the back of the case, which is on the floor around the corner of my desk facing away from me. I consider that distance (with all the bends & indirections) pretty far away and that added to my consternation.

My questions are:
* Is this normal for a Seasonic?
* Shall I return it for a replacement?
* Or, shall I try to replace the PSU fan with something like a Nexus?

-- Bosco

[Devonavar]

My questions are:
1. Is this normal for a Seasonic?
2. Shall I return it for a replacement?
3. Or, shall I try to replace the PSU fan with something like a Nexus?

-- Bosco

1. No.
2. No, try actually stopping the PSU fan first to confirm that it is the source of the noise. Use a plastic zap strap to jam the fan temporarily. If it is the PSU fan, you may want to try changing the airflow in your case, especially if you're relying solely on the PSU to exhaust the heat from your system. Your description of the noise sounds like the noise you'd hear from a hard drive (or several), especially if they're older drives. Double check that your drives aren't the culprits.
3. No, the PSU fan may already be a "Nexus", depending on the revision you have (actually a Yate Loon, the OEM for Nexus).

Oh ... and Welcome to SPCR!!!!!!!!!!

[frostedflakes]

You're certain the noise is not from the hard drive? The 6.4GB drive in an old P2 I picked up whined like crazy.

My S12-330 is quiet as a mouse.

[Vulcan]

I'm trying to silence my 4 year old Pentium III 800 Mhz for use as an always-on file & web server. It's been just a workstation up to now. It was pretty obvious that the nosiest part was the PSU, so I bought a Seasonic S12-330 (as per the recommended list) from case-mod.com and installed it.

Yes, the Seasonic is quieter, but not that much quieter. It has a pretty obnoxious high pitch whirling sound. When I first turned it on, I was so surprised by the sound that I unplugged the CPU fan thinking that was the culprit. Though the CPU fan contributed to the overall noice, it was lower pitched. What I was hearing was definitely from the fan in the Seasonic.

Another piece of data: I sit about 4 ft from the back of the case, which is on the floor around the corner of my desk facing away from me. I consider that distance (with all the bends & indirections) pretty far away and that added to my consternation.

My questions are:
* Is this normal for a Seasonic?
* Shall I return it for a replacement?
* Or, shall I try to replace the PSU fan with something like a Nexus?

-- Bosco

I had a very anoying high pitched whine problem. I tried unplugging all my fans, still had the prblem. I figured that it must be the PSU. I decided to try one last thing, unplgging the optical drives. It turns out Ihad an optical drive that was somehow whining withut anything being in it. Go figure. Its worth a try. I would unplug things one at a time to see if it goes away.

[perplex]

i want to get a s12 330 IF i can actually find one in UK otherwise 430, but 430 would be a waste because my system would only need ~half

[Tibors]

What is wrong with the SS-351HT? It sits right between the S12-330 and the S12-430 and is availlable in the UK. See here for a more complete description. (And ask questions there, as this is going off topic.)

[boscomonkey]

Thanks everyone. The noise culprit was the 7-year old IBM IDE disk (should have thought of it - dooh). I unplugged the disk, unplugged the CPU fan, rebooted, and the machine was dead silent - kinda eery.

Now all I gotta do is to find a CPU fan that doesn't cost more than the whole system is worth.

-- Bosco