Should i get the Enermax, in my system?

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

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DG
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Should i get the Enermax, in my system?

Post by DG » Fri Aug 27, 2004 2:22 pm

Ok, here is my pc:
Antec 3700AMB with very good airflow
Antec TP430 (very noisy and hot)
Barton 2500+ with Zalman 7000AlCu @ 5v-6v
Epox 8rda+ rev 1.1
Evercool 120mm @ 5v-6v
Radeon 9800Pro with Silencer
1x hdd samsung sp 80gb
1x dvd writer

If i buy an Enermax 425 AX, Noisetaker, what noise should i expect, compared to the Antec TP430w ? Same for the temperature.
I'm concearned that i'll get coil noise, after reading some posts here... :(

ps: Yes, i know Seasonics are a better choice, but i can't buy them, from where i'm living.

gksam
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Post by gksam » Fri Aug 27, 2004 3:22 pm

I have the enermax noisetaker 475 in one of my systems. I believe mine is the same model that MikeC reviewed (the PFC one).

I think its a great powersupply (nice and heavy). Its pretty quiet too -- much quieter than my Sonata Truepower 380. I would have loved to give the Seasonic Super Tornado Rev A3 a chance, but no vendor near me seems to have rev A3.

I'm running it on a P4 [email protected]. There are 6 hard drives in the system (all 7200 rpm, dual platter). Video card is a PCI ATI 2MB Mach64 though. :oops:

The air coming out of the powersuply is cooler than that which comes out of my Truepower 380S (modded with L1A @ 6.5V). (that computer is a P4 [email protected], with 1 7200rpm dual platter drive, and an ATI Rage128 video card).

Hope this is of help to you.

the_smell
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Post by the_smell » Fri Aug 27, 2004 3:41 pm

425W does seem like a bit of overkill for your present system, you could probably get away with a cheaper model, which could be a bit quieter!
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=3075

DG
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Post by DG » Sat Aug 28, 2004 12:42 am

gksam: It's nice to know that is quiter than the Antec 380S, wich is quieter than my TP 430..:)

the_smell: I have a VERY limited offer in my town, so i can choose only between this and the 475 version...

Anyone else: Do you think i will get coil noise in my system?

gksam
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Location: Vancouver, BC

Post by gksam » Sun Aug 29, 2004 4:20 am

FWIW, the Truepower gives coil whine with my p4p800 (only noticeable at 1 ft away).

The enermax doesn't have any whine with a p4p800-SE mobo (havn'et tried it with anything else).
DG wrote:gksam: It's nice to know that is quiter than the Antec 380S, wich is quieter than my TP 430..:)

the_smell: I have a VERY limited offer in my town, so i can choose only between this and the 475 version...

Anyone else: Do you think i will get coil noise in my system?

DG
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Post by DG » Mon Sep 06, 2004 2:10 pm

I've ordered an Enermax, it will arrive in one week or so...

My question is: Should i buy some Panaflo M1 fans for it or are the default psu fans ok?

DG
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Post by DG » Tue Sep 07, 2004 3:13 am

Has anyone swaped the Enermax fans with Panaflo Ms? Is it worth it?

peerke
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Post by peerke » Tue Sep 07, 2004 9:58 am

I would like to know this too. Or even better (=more quiet) L1a's or the nexus fans. It has to be equally quiet to my modded seasonic to make it worth considering.

shathal
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Post by shathal » Tue Sep 07, 2004 10:31 am

Concerning the fans, that's a matter of perception (or hearing, as it were).

Personally, I didn't need to mod my Enermax, but then I've not yet attached an X800XT to it, so there might be some more noise coming from it yet.

But it's a good little box and behaves plenty well and is VERY quiet :).

Dobby
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Post by Dobby » Tue Sep 07, 2004 10:44 am

According to MikeC's review, I'm not sure if panaflos will spin at 3 V minimum voltage enermax feeds. Though, it might work if you set fan controller knob higher and have more voltages also at low load.

DG
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Post by DG » Tue Sep 07, 2004 11:37 am

They will spin, because, when you first power up the PSU, for a couple of seconds, the fans will spin at full speed, just to help the fans spin up.

To get you an idea of how sensible my ears are, i didn't liked how the Antec TP 430 fans sounded at minimum rpm (when you power up the psu). The fans clatter at low speed..really bad, IMO. Is this the same with Enermax ?

acaurora
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Post by acaurora » Tue Sep 07, 2004 12:56 pm

Coil noise depends upon your components and their interaction between each other/the PSU, according to my knowledge. The NoiseTaker is a very nice PSU, quiet and cool. Just a word of caution though - the main ATX cable is pretty stiff... so better start pumping iron so you'll be able to bend it to how you want it :)

DG
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Post by DG » Tue Sep 07, 2004 1:21 pm

acaurora wrote:Just a word of caution though - the main ATX cable is pretty stiff... so better start pumping iron so you'll be able to bend it to how you want it :)
I've red that a hair dryer would help...:D

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