Multiple fanless power supplies?

[RIchardF]

If you haven't already, you should thoroughly read our Quiet ATX Gaming build guide articles. It may help you think/plan your system better.

I probably have, but I'll check them out to be sure.

None of the fans start ramping up at all until the GPU hits >60, which doesn't happen except when gaming.

The "except when gaming" is the part that concerns me. My goal is to not have that caveat as much as possible. I'll check out the article for the specifics, though.

18 fans.... they could be very quiet, it depends on many factors, but generously let's say they're... say 8 dBA each: 2 of them = 11 dBA; 4=14 dBA; 8=17 dBA; 16 = 20 dBA. 2 more fans would hardly make any difference. This is assuming none of the fans tick or make any of the odd sounds fans sometimes make when run super slow. A couple of them making slight super quiet ticking at slow speed is no big deal; 18 of them... that could be another story.

I was wondering about that, since articles you've written have mentioned the ticking issue. What about using 4x 180mm fans instead? Two of the radiators would mean a total of 8 of them. One radiator would mean 4. My impression is that Air Penetrator fans aren't especially quiet but that there are other 180mm fans available that may (or may not be) be quieter. The reason I was considering the Silverstone build, despite the 180mm fan noise, is the total decibel level due to the airflow in the case. My main concern was the GPU noise.

Then you have the pump -- which is never just broadband, in our experience, there's always a tonal element. They have a much more audible sound quality, and that would add to the fans.

But you did suggest an AIO which has a pump, right?

The fellow you cite may be honest & accurate when he says it's super quiet... but no one w/ accurate low noise audio test gear (and the understanding to use it well) or whose auditory opinion I respect has done anything like this, so to me, his path hardly a safe one to follow.

I wish I would have the funds to send you the equipment.

We're going to be posting a dual-970/SLI system guide in the next 2-3 weeks; you might want to wait for that... tho it will be with an 1150 CPU.

I'm looking forward to it, especially if the "except when gaming" caveat is minimized greatly.

We build for today; there's no advantage to the 2011-v3 platform for current gaming. (Though this doesn't rule out us trying to do a silent gaming build on that platform some time in the future... just not today.)

But, what about workloads that benefit from having 6 cores?

[RIchardF]

Decibels don't just disappear because some other component produces more of them.

Actually... they kind of do.

Let's say your PSU w/ a single fan measures 12 dBA@1m. And your 18 fans -- -- measure 20 dBA@1m. The total SPL from the setup (assuming it's all more or less in one area/case) will be perhaps 20.2 dBA. In reality, with the fans on, you will not be able to hear whether the PSU is on or off (without sticking your ear right up to it). In fact, this is true until there's less than ~6 dBA difference between the two noise makers.

Of course, if one of those noise sources is broadband (smooth woosh) and the other is tonal (eeeeeee or ooooooo or bzzzzzzzzz), the tonal noise will certainly be additive.

btw, since it sounds like you're going to go down the path less traveled, I suggest you don't encase any noise makers -- like 18 fans. Leave them as unenclosed as possible to avoid the air resonance effects you'll get when you enclose (or even partially enclose) any noise maker.

I was more strongly considering using 180mm fans, to avoid the ticking issue you mentioned in particular. Also, what PSU produces such a low decibel noise level when loaded to 60-80%? I am not set on any particular build. I am just looking to get the quietest possible system at a reasonable price. I can't really afford, for instance, that old Zalman passive case. Since I am not concerned about portability or aesthetics I wanted to see if an external setup could reduce the "except when gaming" caveat to the point where it barely, if at all, exists.

[RIchardF]

I suggest you don't encase any noise makers -- like 18 fans. Leave them as unenclosed as possible to avoid the air resonance effects you'll get when you enclose (or even partially enclose) any noise maker.

This is interesting. It sounds like having equipment outside of a case is better than having it inside. So, is the only reason (aside from dust, portability, and safety from pets/kids) to keep components inside a case is to prevent EMI?

[MikeC]

I suggest you don't encase any noise makers -- like 18 fans. Leave them as unenclosed as possible to avoid the air resonance effects you'll get when you enclose (or even partially enclose) any noise maker.

This is interesting. It sounds like having equipment outside of a case is better than having it inside. So, is the only reason (aside from dust, portability, and safety from pets/kids) to keep components inside a case is to prevent EMI?

It's difficult to make blanket statements, but when there are that many identical noise sources, even at low RPM/SPL, the possibility of hitting air resonance points becomes higher. There are lots of instances where enclosure helps, and some where it hurts. Extreme PC silencing -- when you have some noise makers -- is always an iterative process.

Some high power PSUs stay quiet to at least 50% load -- the Kingston LZP1000, for example, is basically passive to ~500W load, then only ~20 dBA/1m to over 500W. http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1242-page4.html Keep maximum long term load to 500W & you can certainly stay with a single PSU & have very quiet performance.

The Corsair HX1000i might be even better, if we can take their graphs at face value: http://www.corsair.com/en-ca/hxi-series ... tified-psu This looks like <14 dBA@ even 700W or so. Hmmm.... maybe I need to get in a test sample.

[RIchardF]

The Corsair HX1000i might be even better, if we can take their graphs at face value: http://www.corsair.com/en-ca/hxi-series ... tified-psu This looks like <14 dBA@ even 700W or so. Hmmm.... maybe I need to get in a test sample.

I wonder how it is possible to accomplish this, given the limitations of the form factor. Given that fanless PSUs can reach 520 watts (or 600 according to one poster here), that larger PSUs can run fanless until around 500 watts doesn't seem particularly special. It's the ability to drive a system at around 750 watts that seems to be the next target. People who need the 6 core systems or three GPUs (or 4K gaming or GPU rendering) should be able to find some way of managing noise.

A PSU that quiet at 700 watts seems like it would be just what I am looking for.

We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635. Today to test the Power Supply we have taken it into our acoustics room environment and have set our SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa) one meter away from the unit. We have no other fans running so we can effectively measure just the noise from the unit itself.

100W - 400W, 28.0
600W, 31.7
800W, 32.1
1000W, 33.0

[xan_user]

did this build really turn into 18 fans, but with 2 fanless PSU's!!!??? (its hard to keep up with the OP on ignore, but this could be way better than the guy who wanted to make everyone install HDD's upside down, cause they run cooler!)

[RIchardF]

The sweet spot continues to be an i5 for gaming, mostly because few games make use of hyperthreading or more than 4 physical cores. An overclocked Devil's Canyon i5 should work well. Get an i7 or a Haswell E 6 core if you want to speed up your video editing/transcoding. Let's say you overvolt an 84W TDP CPU and drive it up to 125W.

Eurogamer cautions about the i5's near future (and present, if you're dealing with Crysis 3).

Crysis 3 may well be the exception rather than the rule, but it does illustrate rather well that the days of buying an i5 and essentially enjoying i7 performance (either at stock or via overclocking) could be drawing to a close. The combination of a clock-speed boost in addition to Hyper Threading technology pushes the i7 ahead and the cheaper chip sometimes struggles to match it.

The future is many-core and the increasing number of n-way threaded games is finally adding some value to the Core i7's Hyper Threading technology.

[neojack]

hello,

it seems that you have about the same goal / questions than i had about finding a near silent high end PSU :
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=68217

the best of all is the EVGA supernova 1600P2. fanless until 800Watts.
if you want lower price, well visit the link. I had very helpfull answer.

My build is not totally silent (3x AP181 @700 rpm is audible), but very good nonetheless.
The purolator guy just delivered the new snow silent PSU, will test it this week end

I wish you good luck for your 1080 rad build ! i like overkill !!

ah and for your question about the 180 fans :
I have a couple models, and i tested them outside of the case, my ear on them at different speeds
the phobya slim 180 are veryyyyyy quiet and make less noise at low RPM than the AP181.
The phobya fans can turn at lower speeds, even 5v. while the AP181 are minimum 500 or 700 RPM.

In the end i used the AP181, because at 700RPM, they make less noise than the phobya at full, while moving more air.
but if you want ultra silence with big exterior rads, 4-8 phobyas 180 @5v on minimum rpm are you best bet i think. (WAY cheaper than 20 noctuas too !)

if you go with 3 or 4 exterior 1080 rads, you may run them fanless post pics if you do !


ah and for the pumps, the quietest solution is the Swiftech MCP655 PWM Pump (power from the power supply + PWM control from the motherboard with a special Y cable) + COV-RP450 Top (this one has a metal case all around the pump to further dampen the sound)
you would run them at low speed like 1,2 or 3. buy 2 and install them in series to have the pressure needed for all those rads.
you would have to suspend them to your case with elastics ( I used zip ties, works too) for max silence.

of course, waterblocks everywhere since your air flow would be very low in your case.


This would cost a lot of money yes, Welcome to the club !