Quiet and powerful...

[Mr. Smith]

Seasonic M12 - 700w.

I read this review and it seems quite good...

I want my pc to be virtually silent, yet it is going to be powerful too, g80/r600 gfx, c2d at the mo, with a move to quad in the future. I'm adding a pelt to my w/c loop and going for the pa120.3 with 3 quiet fans, plus one intake and exhaust fan, all should be ~14db.

I realised that my current psu, Hiper type-r 580w, makes a real racket so there is no point me buying quiet fans etc if it's all the noise comes from my psu.

I know there are some completely passive psu's but I doubt they have the wattage I need.

Are there any other powerful quiet psu's out there?

Thanks

 

[JN]

I'd take the Corsair HX620 over the Seasonic. Essentially they are the same PSU, but Corsair have done away with the 60mm fan making it a little bit quieter. It also looks a bit nicer if that counts for anything

You mentioned the pelt...You're not planning on running any mid/high wattage pelt off your main PSU?

 

[markkleb]

I also like the Corsair, the LianLi 500 that I had was silent. (they make a 600watt version too)

If you are going with just 1 GPU than 500-600watt range should suit you fine.

 

[Mullet]

The M12 700W isd far from quiet bud.

MUCH louder than the S12 600 i owned before the M12....

 

[Mr. Smith]

I'd take the Corsair HX620 over the Seasonic. Essentially they are the same PSU, but Corsair have done away with the 60mm fan making it a little bit quieter. It also looks a bit nicer if that counts for anything

You mentioned the pelt...You're not planning on running any mid/high wattage pelt off your main PSU?

Nah, not sure why I mentioned the pelt to be honest, I'll be getting that 300w Booster PSU you have...

I also like the Corsair, the LianLi 500 that I had was silent. (they make a 600watt version too)

If you are going with just 1 GPU than 500-600watt range should suit you fine.

Really? 5-600w will be cool for my rig but with a g80/r600. I do fancy the option of sli/cf down the line...

The M12 700W isd far from quiet bud.

MUCH louder than the S12 600 i owned before the M12....

Really... The review says otherwise??? I'll take your word for it.

Corsair is looking good to me a the mo as I don't think the lili 500 will cut it?

 

[markkleb]

Those were the 2 that I narrowed my PS choice to. The Lian Li(600) and the Corsair.

the Lian Li has the benefit of being LianLi, Im sure they would NOT put their name on a inferior product. Another + is ALL the wiring is modular (even the 24pin) another cool thing is they come with the golf fans (really quiet)

Im sure the 600 watt would EASILY run 2 8800GTS cards but not sure on the GTXs.

The Corsair just seemed to me as a Excellent PS.

Funny because when I was trying to deside on which to buy I found a PC Power & Cooling 510 for $80.(hope it works)

 

[Mullet]

Nah, not sure why I mentioned the pelt to be honest, I'll be getting that 300w Booster PSU you have...

Really? 5-600w will be cool for my rig but with a g80/r600. I do fancy the option of sli/cf down the line...

Really... The review says otherwise??? I'll take your word for it.

Corsair is looking good to me a the mo as I don't think the lili 500 will cut it?

Yup when the small fan kicks in the noise goes up big time. After owning the S12 600W seasonic the 700W M12 was a mohor dissappointment.....I ended up RMAing mine.

 

[JN]

Nah, not sure why I mentioned the pelt to be honest, I'll be getting that 300w Booster PSU you have...

I tell ya now mate - that Booster PSU will be the downfall in your quiet system.

It'll run quiet for short periods of time when powering that pelt, but it can get very loud when it starts getting hot. 2x 40mm fan = argh my ears.

Edit: As for M12 vs HX620, listen to this:

HX620 @ Load

M12 @ Load

It's the difference in pitch thats easy to tell. You can hear that 60mm fan on the M12 buzzing on top of the 120mm.

 

[Mr. Smith]

I tell ya now mate - that Booster PSU will be the downfall in your quiet system.

It'll run quiet for short periods of time when powering that pelt, but it can get very loud when it starts getting hot. 2x 40mm fan = argh my ears.

Edit: As for M12 vs HX620, listen to this:

HX620 @ Load

M12 @ Load

It's the difference in pitch thats easy to tell. You can hear that 60mm fan on the M12 buzzing on top of the 120mm.

Jim you're a legend! Nice one for that. As for the booster, any way to change those 2 40's for one 80mm fan? Maybe mod the casing and stick a 120 in on top? Wishful thinking? My pc is on over 12hrs a day, everyday - f@h etc while I'm away and gaming etc when I get back, so the psu will be getting hot!

I'll have to get a googling to see if there are any other pelt psu's... I know meanwell do one but it is probable the same deal...

@Mark & Mullet big thank you for your input too

 

[JN]

Jim you're a legend! Nice one for that. As for the booster, any way to change those 2 40's for one 80mm fan? Maybe mod the casing and stick a 120 in on top? Wishful thinking? My pc is on over 12hrs a day, everyday - f@h etc while I'm away and gaming etc when I get back, so the psu will be getting hot!

I'll have to get a googling to see if there are any other pelt psu's... I know meanwell do one but it is probable the same deal...

@Mark & Mullet big thank you for your input too

No problems mate

You could mod a 120mm fan on to the top of the Booster X3 which would actually work really well. The only problem is that the unit would then take up 2x 5.25" bays. No problem if you have a big case tho

As for the Meanwell, I imagine it would be just as noisy. It also costs a fair bit more, and would need a relay in order to power on with your rig.

 

[Mullet]

Jim you're a legend! Nice one for that. As for the booster, any way to change those 2 40's for one 80mm fan? Maybe mod the casing and stick a 120 in on top? Wishful thinking? My pc is on over 12hrs a day, everyday - f@h etc while I'm away and gaming etc when I get back, so the psu will be getting hot!

I'll have to get a googling to see if there are any other pelt psu's... I know meanwell do one but it is probable the same deal...

@Mark & Mullet big thank you for your input too

No problem at all mate....maybe you should invest in a phat 1kw unit?

 

[Mr. Smith]

Why do you say that mate? Are you thinking he's looking at a 6/700w psu for £100 and a 320w booster psu for £50... Why not buy one beastly one?

Well, I'm not sure if that is what you are asking, or if what I am about to say is correct but I think a pelt has to have a seperate dedicated psu.

Although now you come to mention it, can I just get a big phat 1kw psu and power everything from that rather than having 2 psu's?

 

[JN]

Why do you say that mate? Are you thinking he's looking at a 6/700w psu for £100 and a 320w booster psu for £50... Why not buy one beastly one?

Well, I'm not sure if that is what you are asking, or if what I am about to say is correct but I think a pelt has to have a seperate dedicated psu.

Although now you come to mention it, can I just get a big phat 1kw psu and power everything from that rather than having 2 psu's?

Technically, if you bought something like the PCP&C 1kw single railed monster, then ye you could run a pelt from it. I certainly wouldn't try it on a multi-railed PSU unless you knew exactly what load your rig would be placing on each rail.

Personally I prefer the idea of two separate PSU's just in case things go wrong. I'd rather kill a £50 FSP and RMA it to the UK, than kill a £250 PCP&C and RMA it to the USA.

 

[Mr. Smith]

Just read the review of the Silverstone ST85F.

You know my requirements are quiet and powerful. Well this seems to fit the bill - 850w (plenty of headroom for CF in the future) and the 135mm fan is 22db at full wack, pretty good if you ask me. I played the sample of the corsair 620w and it seems so much louder!

Do you feel this is a quality psu as it scored less than the corsair but is more suited to my requirements?

I may stick with the hiper until I make the jump from one r600 to two...

Appreciate all the help received so far

 

[JN]

The original Strider units had their flaws but I think this one is a big improvement. The 135mm fan helps keep it quiet, and the rail stability is acceptable. It's a shame that they got rid of the pots as the voltage could have been bumped up a tad to bring it spot on 12.00v under load, but realistically it makes little difference.

You may want to hang fire for my next review. Its the new 710w Enermax unit which also has a 135mm fan (afaik) and is modular. I think it arrived today, so PM me later tonight if you like and i'll give you my first impressions if you cant wait for the whole review

Just read the review of the Silverstone ST85F.

You know my requirements are quiet and powerful. Well this seems to fit the bill - 850w (plenty of headroom for CF in the future) and the 135mm fan is 22db at full wack, pretty good if you ask me. I played the sample of the corsair 620w and it seems so much louder!

Do you feel this is a quality psu as it scored less than the corsair but is more suited to my requirements?

I may stick with the hiper until I make the jump from one r600 to two...

Appreciate all the help received so far

 

[Mr. Smith]

I'm awaiting the results of the 710w Enermax psu.

However, I was looking at the specs of my current psu over at ST and it states that the Hiper Type-R is:

"One of the most SILENT Air Cooled PSU you will ever own! HPU-4B580 580w Fully Modular PSU. It features: A single 120mm red LED fan and 80mm fan 14db."

14db! This surely refers to idle and not load - admittedly it is not that loud under load but I wanted as quiet and powerful as possible as if I leave my pc on overnight in my room f@h then both cores are at 100% - does that actually stress the psu and cause the fan to spin up or am I being hypersensitive to noise? I don't want to shell out for a new pc that is noiser than my current one!

I would measure the noise myself but don't have the necessary equipment!

Just got a call to say the DFi arrived this morning! Woootage.

 

[Ham]

Tbh most psus an't gonna keep you awake. My 480w type R was louder than llwyds 580w, and the Seasonic M12 i have now i can't here atall. Even with the 60mm fan.

Leaving a pc on folding isn't going to draw nearly as much load as the OC3D load tester.