Recommended PSU for Antec NSK3480

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

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kaotikfunk
Posts: 63
Joined: Mon May 05, 2008 8:55 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Recommended PSU for Antec NSK3480

Post by kaotikfunk » Tue Jun 23, 2009 9:03 am

I bought an Antec NSK3480 and have been running it with the included earthwatts 380. Recently, I did some upgrade (E5200 -> Q8400, ATI HD3650 -> HD4670), and now there is pretty consistent coil whine. I introduced the CPU first, and GPU about a month later.

It seems to kick in as rapid chirping with some consistent noise as the load is fluctuating between 90-110w AC. By the time I get to full load (212w AC), the high frequency noise is there, but higher pitched and constant. With the higher draw, the power supply fan is also working pretty hard at full CPU&GPU load.

At this point, the coil whine is definitely from either the PSU, or possibly the motherboard since its the same with both GPU's. I'm willing to replace the PSU - even if it doesn't fix the issue. I could still use the EarthWatts 380 in a cheap case when I build a spare PC with my old E5200.

Here's the contenders - it's all of the 80+ straight-thru supplies I could find:
PC Power & Cooling PPCS420X, PPCS370X - both are $50 at Newegg.
Seasonic SS-400ES - also at Newegg, but $55

Is there any chance the 420 would run cooler or quieter vs the 370w or 400w?

mcoleg
Posts: 410
Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:55 pm

Post by mcoleg » Tue Jun 23, 2009 3:54 pm

you don't really need a straight-through psu. NSK3480 will work fine with any top-fan psu as well - there are plenty of openings on the top cover of the case for that.

kaotikfunk
Posts: 63
Joined: Mon May 05, 2008 8:55 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by kaotikfunk » Tue Jun 23, 2009 9:53 pm

Are there top-fan power supplies? I looked at the seasonic S12 and others, but they pull air in through the 120mm bottom fan. If I mounted it upside down in the nsk3480 it could pull air in from the top, but pulling cool air from the top seems like it would be backwards. Is that what you'd recommend?

baconandeggs
Posts: 71
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2009 1:15 pm
Location: New Zealand

Post by baconandeggs » Wed Jun 24, 2009 12:19 am

i think mcoleg means that top-fan as in, just flip the psu around.

and yes that would be what you'd wanna do.

swivelguy2
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Location: Illinois, USA

Post by swivelguy2 » Wed Jun 24, 2009 4:27 am

Throw a Nexus Value 430 in there upside-down and you're golden.

kaotikfunk
Posts: 63
Joined: Mon May 05, 2008 8:55 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by kaotikfunk » Wed Jun 24, 2009 8:09 am

I just took a closer look, and that looks like it could work. I'll try the Nexus 430 value, it looks like a good match with long cables and shallow depth.

edit - It's ordered via the sponsor link (endpcnoise.com) :)

kaotikfunk
Posts: 63
Joined: Mon May 05, 2008 8:55 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by kaotikfunk » Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:07 pm

I'm impressed, it seems to be working quite well. Nothing seems to be getting too hot.

Improvements over stock power supply (Antec Earthwatts 380)
- much longer cables = better routing and airflow
- noticably quieter at 150+ watts
- between 1-2 cm shorter than stock PS. This gives much needed help to the cramped cable routing in the top thermal zone

Downsides:
- More cables to bundle up and take space in top thermal zone. I'm only using 1x SATA, 1 molex, plus the motherboard connections. That leaves 3 or 4 SATA, the PCI-e, and more that need to be crammed into the bottom 5.25" slot. There's no chance I could put a hard drive up there now

I didn't realize how much noise was coming from the power supply vs my Scythe 120mm PWM rear fan. As load ramped up with my quad core and/or video card, the scythe does spin up, but it was only a fraction of the noise of the Antec power supply at 150w and up! With prime95 running, I can actually hear my WD green power drive spinning over the fan noise. With prime95 & furmark, there's very gentle fan noise.

It didn't fix my coil whine, so that will be a new thread :(

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