Sonata Designer 500 & Earthwatts quiet enough?

speedkar9 · Post by **speedkar9** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 2:16 pm

I'm specing out a bedroom PC for around $400:

AMD X2 5200 65W
2 GB Crucial 667
Asus M3A78-EM
780G video for now
WD 250G SATA suspended
Pioneer 216D
AC Freezer 64

With regards to the case & PSU , I'd like it to be really quiet, as this pc will be housed 2 meters from my bed. I was considering the Antec Sonata Designer 500 (basically a SOLO with an EA-500) on sale for $105, or a Sonata III w/ EA-500 PSU for $100. I'd like to know given my specifications, will this PSU remain quiet (according to SPCR standards)? What if I ad a video card? I will be using an AC PWM fan @ 900RPM for exhaust, and will consider a 92mm intake @ 5v.

The reason I ask (here especially) is because of my bad experience with an Earthwatts 380 PSU. I'm powering an AMD 5600+ 90W CPU, Asus 8600GT silent, 780G mobo, 1 Seagate HD, 1 burner, etc, and the PSU ramps up so hard- the whooshing noise is evident overtop the stock AMD fan and already loud, suspended Seagate HD. Antec's email reply was that my system was drawing too much power and that I'd need a new PSU- however I stuck it in a passively cooled Pentium 3 box, and its still quite loud. The fan ramps up further under load, yet the exhaust air isn't warmer than the air outside the case. All this is running in my rather "porous" Antec 300.

So is the EA-500 a quiet choice for my bedroom PC? I don't trust customer reviews because the word "quiet" is very subjective. I'm really tight on the budget here, so the Sonata series looks like the best bang for the buck.

Thanks in advance.

mkk · Post by **mkk** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:43 pm

I'd look for some other case together with a Corsair 450VX or similarly safe choice for such a sound sensitive setup. Those 80mm fans in the Earthwatts series need only start spinning a little more than default to become hearable, even if the system you're putting together certainly won't draw much power either. The Sonata 3 is a nice deal but not quite a contender for really quiet computing.

In the end however, putting some material between the case and the direction of the head side of the bed could also make a big difference.

speedkar9 · Post by **speedkar9** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:46 pm

mkk wrote:I'd look for some other case together with a Corsair 450VX or similarly safe choice for such a sound sensitive setup.

As much as I'd like to have a 120mm fan on the PSU, I don't think it can fit my budget. However in the $75 range there is:

-Corsair vx450
-PC Power & Cooling (S47X) Silencer 470W (80mm fan on it)
-Earthwatts 650 (120mm "low noise" fan)
-Seasonic S12II 430W (120mm fan)

Another choice is to get the Seasonic S12II 380W, which is the 120mm version of my EA-380 for $56, but I wonder if it would be enough to power my system (especially if I ad a midrange video card later on).

Also how much can Thermaltake and OCZ be trusted when it comes to their "quiet" or "low noise" PSU solutions? They seem to be a bit cheaper than the Antec's.

I'm really stuck here as to what to do: is there any way to mod my Antec 300 to have a front air intake, without a direct noise path? Or is it just worth the extra $25 and get the Sonata?

Thanks

nyu3 · Post by **nyu3** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 10:03 pm

Antec EarthWatts is a very nice candidate for fan replacement. I have a 380w and a 500w version. The 380w uses a Nexus fan (1500 rpm max) while the 500w version uses a Scythe fan (2000 rpm max), both are controlled by their respective power supplies.

The 380w is in a low power system : e2160 + G33 board with integrated video. I can't measure the actual RPM of the Nexus fan, but it is practically silent, even under load. I have two other fans in the system:
- a Scythe S-Flex 120mm 800rpm exhaust
- a Scythe Kama PWM 92mm 400rpm-600rpm CPU fan (controlled by mobo, never exceeds 600rpm)

speedkar9 · Post by **speedkar9** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 7:03 am

nyu3 wrote:Antec EarthWatts is a very nice candidate for fan replacement.

I have two other fans in the system:
- a Scythe S-Flex 120mm 800rpm exhaust
- a Scythe Kama PWM 92mm 400rpm-600rpm CPU fan (controlled by mobo, never exceeds 600rpm)

What case are you using this in? Any modifications to the case? Once again, the definition of quiet or silent is quite subjective- can you hear it from 2 m away in a very quiet room?

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:39 am

Is the PC going to be on suspend mode while you are sleeping?

Why aren't you considering the 4850e processor? It is very easy to cool with an ultra-slow speed fan or maybe even passively if your case fan is close by.

I would shop around and see if you can find a Corsair vx450 on sale or with MIR (if not you just missed a sale/MIR program on these). You can sell the PSU on eBay that comes with the Antec Sonata Designer 500. I recently purchased a Antec Solo for $40 after MIR, so shop around for these too.

I would also look at getting a WD Green Power 500 GB. It will be virtually silent mounted on the Antec silicone tray mounts. Frys seem to have frequent sales on these for $79.99.

nyu3 · Post by **nyu3** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 10:15 am

speedkar9 wrote: What case are you using this in? Any modifications to the case? Once again, the definition of quiet or silent is quite subjective- can you hear it from 2 m away in a very quiet room?

Sorry, forgot to say I'm using these in a NSK4480. Only mod is that I lined up the panels with foam. Hard drive is in a Scythe QuietDrive, which sits on foam at bottom of case.

My computer sits about 1m away from where I sit. I can tell when it is on or off - if I listen for it, but the sound it makes is low and smooth enough so that it quickly blends into the background.

To put it in perspective, this entire setup is significantly quieter than the WD Scorpio drive in my Thinkpad, used at their normal distances (ears ~1m from case in desktop setup compared to ~0.3m from the Scorpio drive in the Thinkpad).

speedkar9 · Post by **speedkar9** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 1:33 pm

m0002a wrote:Is the PC going to be on suspend mode while you are sleeping?

Why aren't you considering the 4850e processor? It is very easy to cool with an ultra-slow speed fan or maybe even passively if your case fan is close by.

I would shop around and see if you can find a Corsair vx450 on sale or with MIR (if not you just missed a sale/MIR program on these). You can sell the PSU on eBay that comes with the Antec Sonata Designer 500. I recently purchased a Antec Solo for $40 after MIR, so shop around for these too.

I would also look at getting a WD Green Power 500 GB. It will be virtually silent mounted on the Antec silicone tray mounts. Frys seem to have frequent sales on these for $79.99.

I didn't mean I'd necessarily be sleeping while its on, I'd just like my PC to be quiet while I'm computing in my bedroom. Right now I'm running on the 780G graphics and the PSU fan has ramped up so hard I can hear its whoosh from under my desk.

All of your suggestions are quite "expensive" for a $400 pc.

I realize the 45W 4850e CPU is around the same price as a 65W 5200, however I'd like something similar in performance to my current 5600+ (I wish I had enough funds to at least get the 2x1MB cache on the 5400+). However right now I'm focusing on silencing my current PC (first upgrade would be the stock AMD cooler to at least a Freezer 64 PWM). The motherboard currently spins the stock 3-pin fan at a minimum of 1800RPM, even with C&Q enabled. Overall, CPU cooling isn't much of a problem.

The Corsair VX450 is ~$55 after MIR- remember I live in Canada. (still awaiting newegg

).
As for the case- I wouldn't mind getting a SOLO ($59 on sale around here), however the Sonata Designer 500 with the EA-500 is so attractive at its $105 sale price.

As for the HD's- I don't need as much storage, nor do I have the budget to get a green power. a $55 suspended 250GB WD I think would suffice. My current (suspended) Seagate 320GB 7200.10 seek & idle noise can be heard very easily over the PSU fan whoosh, so I'm never going back to Seagate again.

I've just sealed the front intake on my Antec 300 (in addition to the sealed top and VGA vents) and am running just the AC 12 fan at the back. The PSU whoosh is now more focused at the back, however overall noise has remained the same.

pony-tail · Post by **pony-tail** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:04 pm

I am using an earthwatts 500 in one of my old PCs .It is in an SLK2650-BQE the mobo is an Asus AN8-sli premium the CPU is a Athlon 4800 + The cooler is a TR XP90c with a Panaflo (old school) 92mm fan on a fanmate at the lowest setting it has two gigabyte 8800gs graphics cards (sli) with Zalman coolers at 5v and 2 x WD hard drives 1 x 500g and 1x 750 gig . the PSU in this system is quite audible when it spins up , which is rare but does occur, but otherwise decently quiet . The hard drives are by far the loudest component in the machine (in particular the 750 gig ) . I definately have no complaints about the Earth watts 500 at all . I have been meaning to fan swap it for two years but it never became loud enough to push me into doing it . The system is no longer in day to day use so I doubt it will ever happen .

eit412 · Post by **eit412** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 5:59 am

I have a NSK3480 with an Earthwats 380, and wanted to get the low noise of the better power supplys. Before I went out and bought an expensive PSU I decided I might as well try drastic measures to get my curent PSU quiet. Seeing as how I didn't care if the waranty was voided I opened up the PSU and cut a hole for a 120mm Slipstream where a 120mm fan would normally go on a SeaSonic S12. I was not thinking and i put the fan on the outside of the PSU case, so now I cannot get the top of my NSK3480 back on, but the Power supply is extreamly quiet and a slip stream fan is much cheaper than a whole new PSU.

speedkar9 · Post by **speedkar9** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:37 pm

Just a follow up:

I've decided to sell my Antec Three Hundred case and EA 380 PSU. I plan on either picking up a used P180 (and I don't know what PSU) (expensive), or buying the Antec Sonata Designer 500 (on sale).

I need a bit of clarification on the amperage of the power supplies:
Both the EA-380 and the EA-500 feature dual 12v rails at 17A's each. If the EA-380 proved to be insufficient for my Asus 8600GT silent card (which they say requires 22 A on 12v rail), (and also runs loud on a passively cooled p3 computer) then will the EA-500 fair any better? Will the fan still ramp high(er) at idle/load?

Do the amperage on the rails simply add up?

I notice there are many people who power much faster cards (4850, 8800gt) with the EA-500 included in the Sonata (which temptingly includes two PCIe plugs), and claim it quiet.

Thanks alot!

GreatScot · Post by **GreatScot** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 7:56 pm

FWIW:

I finally built my new system, powered by a SeaSonic S12II 380W power supply.

It's in a P182, and the PS is completely inaudible to me... I'll have to try running FarCry with the sound off to see if it ramps up... but where's the fun in that?

Essentially, with the box sitting on my desk beside the keyboard I can hear the ticking of the TriCool on low drawing air into the upper compartment better than I can hear the PS noise. I wasn't able to differentiate the noise of the rear-facing TriCool exit fan (on low) from the noise coming from the power supply... but I feel that most of it came from the TriCool. Certainly all I can hear of it when my ear is 8 inches away is a very subtle, smooth "whoosh".

It's powering 3 WD SATA HDD's, the same 8600GT silent you have, 2 LG DVD drives, an AMD X2 5400+ CPU on an ASUS M3A78-CM MB.

I chose the SS380W from the recommended list, and haven't had any reason to regret it yet.

Your mileage may vary...

-Scot

speedkar9 · Post by **speedkar9** » Sat Oct 18, 2008 12:07 pm

What do you think about a used P180 + Enermax ETK405ASTPSU (which has a 120mm fan, and claims it silent). This should land me in the same price range as the Sonata Designer 500.

http://www.enermaxusa.com/catalog/produ ... cts_id=167

Will it be just as quiet or quieter? Is the Enermax 405W PSU sufficient for my system?
BTW I will be suspending my Hard drive.