Whats the best FANLESS PSU?????

belkincp · Post by **belkincp** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 10:43 pm

whihc one is the best?

nici · Post by **nici** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 11:04 pm

I would say either the SilverStone ST30NF or the Fortron ZEN. The Silentmaxx 400w is a rebadged ZEN. Both the ZEN and the silverstone has been reviewed by SPCR.

I had a Phantom 350 but it died, and i have the Silverstone now and it is quieter since it does not whine like the Phantom did. There has been some reliability issues with the Phantoms, so im not the only one having problems with them.

burebista · Post by **burebista** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 11:19 pm

Another vote for Silverstone Nightjar. Etasis is Etasis.

nici · Post by **nici** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 11:30 pm

mCubed also sells the Etasis under their name.

iamweasel · Post by **iamweasel** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 12:12 am

I purchased a Phantom 500 a while back and it has no issues with buzzing. I do have the thing connected thru an UPS though... 230V @ 60Hz.

It's fan did, however ramp up WAY too soon when I first installed it, but when I took it apart (the front part of the PSU) it started working as expected. I then replaced the fan with a thicker and quieter one and didn't put the front cover back.

I have it installed in an Antec P180 where the lower compartment contains 2 sandwiched HDDs and a Scythe S-FLEX 120mm fan @ ~650 rpm. I have the rest of the system underclocked and the PSU fan won't start since the airflow from the Scythe fan is enough to cool the PSU at the load. Nice setup, though on the expensive side, I must admit.

Overall I'm very happy with the Phantom 500, but It's not "good enough" out-of-the box to warrant a vote since I've no experience with other fanless PSUs. Also I find the standard fan to be too noisy to be considered quiet.

Devonavar · Post by **Devonavar** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 12:22 am

Silverstone Nightjar ST30NF.

FSP Zen isn't bad either.

Just remember, any fanless PSU needs to get airflow from SOMEWHERE, unless you have an exceptionally low powered system.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 3:09 am

I researched this subject a while back.....it's the Fortron Zen for me, for several reasons.

High efficiency, one of the best. Makes it run cooler among other things...

Excellent venting. You can get airflow through it easily, much like a std PSU with a fan. This makes it easy to cool with minimum airflow. This PSU runs cool, unlike other fanless models.

It's quiet....just sits there and runs with no coil noise at all.

It's a Fortron......under-rated in output, made better than most PSUs, and carries an excellent reputation.

Cheap.....NewEgg had these for $89 a few weeks ago.

Short ATX cable.....made to be mounted on top with no annoying long cable to hide. The other cables are nicely covered.

Etc....

Cons.....like most/all high-efficiency PSUs, it needs a certain amount of load to start up. My last Zen requires at least one 3.5" HD attached to get to the BIOS. There are work-arounds for this, but most setups shouldn't have any problem.

nici · Post by **nici** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 3:32 am

89$

If that isn't a bargain i don't know what is... The SilentMaxx is about 140â‚¬ in Germany, and the Etasis models can be had for about 120â‚¬ if you are lucky.

scorp · Post by **scorp** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:56 am

I would also chose the SilverStone ST30NF (if not available the Fortron ZEN);

dukla2000 · Post by **dukla2000** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 7:41 am

Fairly meaningless question without the context of case type and airflow, system thermals and ambient temps (as suggested by Devonavar).

In my current config a fanless PSU is insanity as my psu fan provides the only case airflow I have.

In a previous life I used an el-cheapo psu (actually a Deer badge engineered) with the 8cm fan removed: as per my posts here at the time I had no problems and would recommend it for anyone in the same situation, but it wasn't an available option in your poll

fphredd · Post by **fphredd** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 4:28 pm

Well, started out deciding between the Fortron Zen and the Silverstone, and I am STILL thoroughly confused.

Does that mean I can't go wrong either way?

-New RS780 mb
-1 internal, 1 eSata HDD
-2 or 4 sticks RAM
-DVD burner (eventually sub a Blu-Ray)
-Additional Soundcard (Better DAC for music)
-Internal touch screen (Silverstone GD02-MT case)
-External USB wireless adapter

Only cooling 2 x 80mm case fans

Plenty of power with either one?

elpibe10 · Post by **elpibe10** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:13 pm

belkincp wrote:whihc one is the best?

None of the above.

I'd pick the FSP Zen 400 without any hesitation.

fphredd · Post by **fphredd** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:24 pm

Can someone somehow add the FSP Zen 400 and the Silverstone st30nf to the choices? Don't know if it's possible, would do it myself if I did as they seem to be the two front runners?

Mats · Post by **Mats** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:27 pm

Just make a new poll, the "others" already have all the Zen and ST30NF votes anyway. I wonder how the OP could missed then. These two and the Phantom are the three most famous if you're asking me.