Nexus vs Seasonic

[soberspine]

I want to buy a new PSU. Which of these is most silent? The nexus rx has a bigger fan.
Seasonic S12II-520 Bronze/Seasonic M12II 520W Bronze VS Nexus NX-5000 R3/Nexus RX-5300

[quest_for_silence]

I want to buy a new PSU. Which of these is most silent? The nexus rx has a bigger fan.
Seasonic S12II-520 Bronze/Seasonic M12II 520W Bronze VS Nexus NX-5000 R3/Nexus RX-5300

There's all written in the relevant SPCR tests: the NX5000 is FAR QUIETER than the S12-II/M12-II.
I don't know the RX-series.

[soberspine]

Can you give me the link for Seasonic S12II 520 test? I can't find it. thank you
the 380W and 520W version don't have the same fan model from what I see from pictures.

[quest_for_silence]

the 380W and 520W version don't have the same fan model from what I see from pictures.

AFAIK SPCR tested the 380 and 430: at anyway the fans are identical for all models, there's no difference between A70GL and A71GL version of the ADDA AD1212MB.

[soberspine]

I see. So nexus is the way to go. Now I have to decide between rx and nx.

The fan in the NX looks like the Nexus case fan real silent 120mm, but after I looked after the manufacturer I see that the case fan is made by yate loon according to SPCR and the PSU fan is made by Muhua Industrial.
I bought two real silent fans some years apart and they felt different, is it possible that they changed the manufacturer and the newer case fans be made by Muhua Industrial?

[quest_for_silence]

I bought two real silent fans some years apart and they felt different, is it possible that they changed the manufacturer and the newer case fans be made by Muhua Industrial?

I can't help, but at first sight it wouldn't seem so, to me.

Muhua seems to not have currently a website: http://whois.domaintools.com/smhic.com , I just can guess that maybe it's the chinese OEM which supply Nexus for PSUs - and Rosewill too, now: as someone also already noted here on SPCR, some cheap Rosewill new PSU are very similar to the Nexus Value - to have direct relationships with that Muhua Industrial Co. Ltd. firm.

[soberspine]

Is Corsair TX650 v2 worth taking into consideration? is same price but has more power and 5yrs warranty. Does anyone know what fan is inside?

[quest_for_silence]

AFAIK is noticeably noisier than the Nexus, while it should be comparable with the Seasonic S12 (OTOH it's the same manufacturer).

[soberspine]

so nexus is still the best option. Is there any other PSU quieter than Nexus at the same price? Seasonic X series is much more expensive.

[quest_for_silence]

so nexus is still the best option. Is there any other PSU quieter than Nexus at the same price? Seasonic X series is much more expensive.

The answer depends of your actual current power usage level.

[soberspine]

I am making a new system: 2500K, Asus P67 MB, 2x2GB RAM (maybe later 4x2GB), 2xHDD 7200RPM, 1xHDD 5400 rpm, 5x120/140mm FAN, Sapphire 6850 video card (I will upgrade sometime). A 500W PSU is enough for the system but a more powerful PSU will run cooler and maybe a better investment. Is Corsair Builder CX600 any good when it comes to quietness? it is a lot cheaper than nexus.

[quest_for_silence]

I am making a new system: 2500K, Asus P67 MB, 2x2GB RAM (maybe later 4x2GB), 2xHDD 7200RPM, 1xHDD 5400 rpm, 5x120/140mm FAN, Sapphire 6850 video card (I will upgrade sometime). A 500W PSU is enough for the system but a more powerful PSU will run cooler and maybe a better investment.

Your proposed system should draw no more than about 280W DC: you have to choose the best performer under this value.
These are the SPCR findings in last 36 months (or so about) up to 300W DC:

Code: Select all

PSU's acoustic performance tested by SPCR in the hotbox in the last months
                 WATTS/DB           2011
MODEL       90 150 200 250 300   NEWEGG PRICE
AX-850     <10 <10  12  15  18      180$
GX-700      15  15  18  20  25      180$
TP-750      12  12  14  14  18      100$
X-400FL    <10 <10 <10 <10 <10      130$
MODU87+     11  11  11  11  14     >130$
NX5000      11  11  12  14  22      ---$
CX-400      19  26  32  35  35       50$
ECO80+     <11  12  16  19  26      >70$
X-650      <10  11  12  14  16      135$
CP-850      12  12  12  14  14      120$
RX-8500     14  14  18  23  28      ---$
M700W       14  14  18  25  27      110$
VALUE430    11  12  16  18  18       75$
TX-650      21  21  21  21  23       90$
PRO82+      13  13  14  15  16      110$
MODU82+     13  13  14  15  16      145$
 
PSU's acoustic performance tested by SPCR out of the hotbox in the last months
                 WATTS/DB           2011
MODEL       90 150 200 250 300   NEWEGG PRICE
AX-850     <10 <10 <10 11~13 12     180$
GX-700      15  15  15  17  21      180$
TP-750      12  12  12  14  15      100$
X-400FL    <10 <10 <10 <10 <10      129$
MODU87+     11  11  11  11  11      130$
NX5000      11  11  12 12.5 14      ---$
ECO80+     <11 <11  12  16  20      >70$
X-650      <10 <10 <10 <10 <10      135$
CP-850      12  12  12  12  12      120$

If you have a top mounted PSU, then you have to look more to the hotbox scenario; otherwise, if you have a bottom mounted PSU, then you have to pay more attention to the open-air scenario. Please take note that some of these PSU are no more available, or they have been modified by their respective manufacturers (so those findings may be no more valid/applicable to the current production units).

Is Corsair Builder CX600 any good when it comes to quietness?

Absolutely no.

[soberspine]

thank you very much for helping me.

From what I see the PSUs with a SanAce fan are most quiet, but only top of the line psu have one and they are expensive. The best choice for me is a Nexus.

The only thing I have to do now is to decide between Nexus NX-5000 R3 and Nexus RX-5300 (modular), both are the same price here.
SPCR reviewed NX-5000 R3 and RX-8500, that has the same fan inside as RX-5300, is it wrong to assume in this case that RX-5300 and RX-8300 have the same noise levels?
NX-5000 SPL starts form 11db and for RX-8300 from 14db. In this case despite a smaller fan the NX-5000 could be quieter than RX-5300. On the other hand, I read on a review, where they directly compared RX-5300 and NX-5000, that they didn't hear any difference between them in their setup, but they didn't make any kind of noise measurements.

So my last question, which one between NX-5000 R3 and RX-5300?

[quest_for_silence]

So my last question, which one between NX-5000 R3 and RX-5300?

Sorry, I can't help. Personally, I would probably go for the NX, but just to be safe about the noise profile.

[soberspine]

Maybe this will help someone else.
Ive sent an email to nexus and they replied: "In noise the RX-6300 would be close to the NX-6000 and the RX-5300 would be more silent than the NX-5000 R3. But for both levels the difference is almost not noticeable."
So I will buy RX-5300 because it is modular and, I don't know why, it is cheaper than NX-5000 R3 here.

thanks for the help quest_for_silence.

[soberspine]

I bought RX-6300 and it has coil noise. it makes a buzzing noise even when my pc is off. the fan motor makes a clicking noise. i will return it.

[quest_for_silence]

It's sad to hear so: I hope it may be just a (unlucky) not-normal sample variance.

[soberspine]

here, on a retailer website are few feedbacks from other users that complain about coil noise in RX-6300.
the inside of the RX-6300 and NX-6000 R3 is exactly the same? because I don't see any complains of coil noise in NX-6300 R3.

[soberspine]

after the unpleasant experience with the nexus I decided to go with another brand because there are a lot of complains about coil noise with nexus. I am looking at Seasonic X-660 (the 560W is not available). Is this PSU the best quiet solution? I just want to be sure I make the right choice.

[nzdcoy]

I think my new seasonic x560 has a small amount of whine for the first ~10mins of the pc turned on. am yet to investigate what is making the noise. its audible at ~1m in a gd04

I can't actually be sure what the source is, but afaik if started happening after I installed the x560.

fwiw i think the fan is spinning for that first period.

[soberspine]

is there a better solution than seasonic x-660 ?

[ces]

is there a better solution than seasonic x-660 ?

There may be. But Seasonic x-660 and its siblings is such a safe choice, why choose anything else... unless you need something larger or smaller?

[soberspine]

After my bad experience with nexus I just want to be 100% sure.
Seasonic is 50% more expensive than nexus and nexus wasn't cheap.
The fan inside seasonic can run as high as 2200 RPM and that is a concern for me, that can't be silent

[figment]

In my opinion and experience, PSUs are not the place to try and save money. There's a point at which spending more money is useless, but every time I've picked a PSU because it seemed to be as good as that other one, but was $40 cheaper, I've ended up replacing it. And having worked with other computers that used "bargain" PSUs, I happily pay a little more to get some good quality.

That said, Seasonic PSUs are about as high as PSU quality goes, higher than the vast majority of us actually need. However, the extra price buys you a decent amount of confidence that it will just work. The Seasonic X Series (or the Corsair AX series which is based on it) are well respected and quiet PSUs. In the JonnyGuru review of the earlier and later revisions, the fan didn't start spinning until around 300W of load, so the upper limit for the fan doesn't even matter. Maybe if you're planning on loading it up past 500W, then it might ramp up to more annoying levels, but then I'd probably suggest the Enermax Modu87+ line or the upper-level Antec models. I'm not sure what's available locally for you. If you're looking to save a little money, you might be able to get some of the older M12-II or S12-II PSUs from Seasonic, those are also good.

[soberspine]

I totally agree but nexus was not cheap and is highly recommended, I wasn't cheap .

Most Enermax PSU models are available here but they are even more expensive than seasonic x-660.
The cheapest enermax with that gold look fan that is rated as being silent is Enermax PRO87+ 500W that costs as much as the x-660. The only cheaper enermax psu that are available are NAXN series, but they don't have that SpeedGuard so I don't know how quiet they are and I don't want to find out.

My system at full load will take 300W as quest_for_silence said so the psu probably will stay with the fan off or at very low speed because of the huge amount of power left.
hardocp.com Link review talks about an anomaly from the fan but I don't understand it .

Monday I will order Seasonic X_660 if I don't get a counterargument until then.