nexus real silent fan in seasonic s12 430

[charonme]

I just replaced the clattering adda fan in my seasonic s12 430 with a nexus "real silent fan" (1000rpm max is written on the box). I expected it to not start initially because of the low psu-regulated voltage (btw less than 200W is drawn from it, so the adda never went faster than 800rpm), but it started!

I stopped the fan manually and there was still some small noise coming out of the psu. However after that the fan didn't start by itself, I had to give it a very slight nudge.

[derekchinese]

so how is the nosie now? is the noise from the psu a buzzing noise?

I have a fortron PSU and the fan spins up quite abit so I am thinking about undervolting it.

[Steve_Y]

I used a 1200RPM Scythe S-Flex myself. Mainly because of concerns about the life span of sleeve bearing fans when used horizontally in a fairly hot environment.

I connected it to an external fan controller rather than using the PSU's fan header. Running at 800RPM it's definitely quieter than the stock Adda fan at the same speed. I've turned it down to around 650RPM, making it totally inaudible to me, and the air coming from the PSU is still cool.

It's a shame that a noise conscious company like Seasonic don't make a PSU that's so quiet out of the box. It might have to be less powerful, but I'd have thought something like the S-Flex, running at the full 1200RPM, would be able to cool an efficient 350W PSU at full load. With the same kind of aggressive fan controller as in the current Seasonics, more than halving the fan speed at low power consumption, that would easily be quieter than any current fanned PSU.

[Varun]

I wouldn't recommend the Nexus for that application, especially if it won't start by itself if it ever does stop.

If your PSU is making noise though, can you RMA it? Usually they are virtually silent.

[NeilBlanchard]

Hello,

I would try a GlobalWin NCB -- the ceramic bearings are supposed to work well in warmer situations, and this fan is very quiet.

[charonme]

I wanted to use the 1200rpm sflex too, but I was worried it has even higher starting voltage than the nexus. Doesn't it? If there will be some problems concerning the bearing, I will replace it, but currently the psu is being used in a vertical orientation. I don't worry about it not starting because I assume it will eventually start when the temperature gets sufficiently high and (as I already said) I don't draw more than 200Watts from it. There are no globalwins in my area The buzzing/ticking noise from inside the psu is audible only from few inches in a completely quiet room. Even the pwm, coils and other circuitry on my MB is louder. I asked my reseller about rma because of the noisy adda, but they said seasonic doesn't consider it such a serious flaw and won't replace it. I regret buying it, I could as well buy some cheap psu and replace its fan.

[Das_Saunamies]

If the Adda was clearly fault, I bet Seasonic would've happily replaced your unit if it still had warranty on it. Mine didn't even have a clearly faulty sound to the fan, and they offered me an RMA regardless.

Ask the manufacturer, not the merchant.

[Tamas]

I would try this Noctua NF-S12-1200 fan in Seasonic S12, but I've just bought this PSU a month ago, don't want to lose warranty and my ADDA fan is very quiet.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article69 ... tml#noctua
Anybody tried this combination?

This fan has self-stabilising oil-pressure bearing:
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=sso_bearing&lng=en
high angle blades for better airflow with low RPM: http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=stra ... &setlng=en

This PSU gives around 4,5V for the fan in an average under DC 200W silent pc. So it's important to use a fan which surely starts and rotates at this voltage. This Noctua starts at 2,9V, it pushes 25CFM at 4,3V while a Nexus Real Silent fan starts at 5,5V and pushes 25CFM only at 6,3V (very few airflow at 4,5V). http://www.silentpcreview.com/article69 ... html#nexus

[jaganath]

I would not use Noctua in horizontal orientation, reviewers have found increased noise because of rotor rubbing against axle:

http://www.cooling-masters.com/articles-39-8.html

Par contre, il faut impérativement éviter la position horizontale avec la tête en bas, le bruit du guidage augmente. On entend clairement que la rondelle arrière frotte sur l'extrémité du palier vu qu'il n'y a que ça qui empêche l'axe de tomber. Le niveau de vibration augmente également très sensiblement !

one can use Babelfish to translate.

This Noctua starts at 2,9V, it pushes 25CFM at 4,3V

Those measurements were incorrect:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article734-page7.html

The new measurement method only gives 15CFM at 5V. This is exactly the same as the Nexus at 5V.

[Tamas]

I would not use Noctua in horizontal orientation, reviewers have found increased noise because of rotor rubbing against axle:

http://www.cooling-masters.com/articles-39-8.html

Par contre, il faut impérativement éviter la position horizontale avec la tête en bas, le bruit du guidage augmente. On entend clairement que la rondelle arrière frotte sur l'extrémité du palier vu qu'il n'y a que ça qui empêche l'axe de tomber. Le niveau de vibration augmente également très sensiblement !

one can use Babelfish to translate.

This Noctua starts at 2,9V, it pushes 25CFM at 4,3V

Those measurements were incorrect:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article734-page7.html

The new measurement method only gives 15CFM at 5V. This is exactly the same as the Nexus at 5V.

Interesting, so the first test method was not adequate for this fan.
Horizontal orientation: I'am using an 8cm Noctua fan at this position for hdd cooling, but haven't noticed additional noise against a japanese Panaflo.

[Das_Saunamies]

Also note that if the PSU is cramped, the fan will need to work harder and may fail to generate as much pressure as a bigger-bladed fan. The flow rating is partly due to their unique blade design, but so are the troubles with pressure.

[Steve_Y]

I wanted to use the 1200rpm sflex too, but I was worried it has even higher starting voltage than the nexus. Doesn't it?

My S-Flex sample starts at 5v without any problems, while my 120mm Nexus doesn't start reliably at that voltage.

[kater]

I've fanswapped my S12 with Fander - works great. Initially I also wanted to use S-Flex 1200. Note that the original fan can go up to 1800. Now I know none of us will ever push the PSU so far as to have to run the fan at full blast, but having a 1k fan (like Nexus or Noiseblocker XL1) inside is IMO a little on the slow side. I used Fander 1400 RPM and control it manually with Akasa Junior 3,5" panel. I also wouldn't use Noctua fans with PSU's - they can't cope with backpressure as good as 'standard' fans.

[PZ]

I also swapped the Adda fan of my S12 430 with a Nexus and it has worked for 10 months without any problem, so I can recommend it.

PZ