PSU recommendation - fan or fanless?

filecore · Post by **filecore** » Thu May 10, 2007 11:04 pm

I was going to post a query but the system tells me that "You must have 1 posts before you can post URLs/links" - antispam measure I guess. So I'll post a quick hello here and then follow up with my actual post (which I now have to cut and paste).

EDIT: Incidentally, I should probably mention that I'm aware I don't need as powerful a PSU as these below, but the type of PSU I'd like doesn't seem to be available in anything less than ~500W. It's bizarre.

filecore · Post by **filecore** » Thu May 10, 2007 11:05 pm

Recommendation question, I've been looking at what's easily available here (I'm in Finland, so choice is more limited than for those in the USA) and reasonably affordable.

My system is currently a Gigabyte GA-IPE1000G, P4 2.8GHz with passive Scythe Ninja, nVidia GeForce 6600 128MB, 2GB PC2700 CL2, WD Raptor 74.3GB (top drive cage), 2x IDE (bottom drive cage), gigabit wired/wireless-G, various random peripherals, all in an Antec P180. Alongside passive CPU cooling, I have the top fan set to low, the top back fan disabled, and the bottom 38x120mm fan set to medium (iirc), and at the moment I get near-silence with low heat. I am planning to upgrade eventually, but probably not for a couple of years yet.

The only problem is that my Antec SmartPower 2.0 480W is by far the noisiest thing in my system, so I need to change it (my wife's machine needs a new PSU anyway, so good excuse!). Here is my query:

FANLESS
Silverstone ST30NF

Fanless sounds good because a) it's the quietest, and b) I don't have a "normal" ATX case, I have the P180, which means the PSU is at the bottom and in a sealed compartment of its own (which means no heat drifting up to it from other components) and it has a 38x120mm fan right in front of it, drawing air in past a pair of (200/300GB) IDE drives. I think it wouldn't be anything to worry about in this instance.

FANNED
Corsair HX520
Seasonic S12

Apparently these are both effectively the same PSU; Corsair seems to have licensed out OEM production of their PSUs to Seasonic. The up side is that they're both very good PSUs, by the reviews, but again even a slow-spinning 120mm fan is louder than a fanless PSU!

Anybody have any experience with these PSUs or fanless ones in general, to help me decide? I get the impression that if heat isn't going to be a problem (due to the P180 design), I should go for the silenced one?

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Fri May 11, 2007 12:43 am

Effectively you do already have a fan blowing over/through the PSU. That one fan should be plenty. I'd say the fanless Silverstone should work fine in any chamber with a fan blowing inward or outward. Many posters on SPCR do it this way. I guess it all depends on what is available for what person, with what budget.

filecore · Post by **filecore** » Sat May 12, 2007 1:21 am

Okay, I finally went with the fanless ST30NF - however, it only had a 24-pin connector and my motherboard has an old 20-pin connector. This didn't occur to me because my old PSU had a 20+4 connector and I just removed the 4, but this one is fixed, and the IDE port is right next to it on this board, so no slapping it in. Fortunately I had a 30cm ATX extender, which went into the motherboard, and the two halves cobbled together Frankenstein's Monster style. It works

Now my three low-speed 120mm fans sound too noisy - I guess you can't win 'em all. It's quiet enough

thanks for the advice!

dnoiz · Post by **dnoiz** » Sat May 12, 2007 2:59 am

I don't see any advantage anymore in fanless PSU's. I'm currently using a Corsair HX520 PSU and the thing is completely silent and no risk of overheating as the fan will rise its speed whenever required. Never happened until now.

R.

peteamer · Post by **peteamer** » Sat May 12, 2007 3:49 am

filecore wrote:Now my three low-speed 120mm fans sound too noisy -

Welcome to SPCR! ... and the start of your journey.....

Pete

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sat May 12, 2007 4:21 am

The advantages of a fanless PSU........simple. No fan[s]. So there is never any extra noise, short of an internal PSU coil whine, or something. These fanless PSUs are built with high quality components, designed to run fanless, with a minimum amount of airflow. If you have case airflow that can be directed at/through the PSU......that is sufficient. One less fan in your system means less noise. Simple as that.

If you're worried about PSU heat, mount the PSU externally. Set it somewhere with the vent holes facing up. A fanless Zen will easily run like this, cooled by convection airflow only. If I'm not mistaken, SPCR uses a fanless Zen to test other components.......why? Because it's silent.