Silent Power Supplys And Recommendation?

[Don W. McCollough]

Hi All,
Anybody have any Recommendations for silent or near silent power
supply?

I'm doing a little project box with older AOpen AX4B-533 TUBE
mainboard fitted with a nifty ATX case I found at a show that has a
jukebox array of lights on both sides of the front panel. I intend to
fit an FM transmitter PCI card into the box and make it an MP3 server
for my home. I'm also intend to use a Cooler Master Muskateer
Controller Panel with analog gauges to give it some old style
character.

Anyhow, I want it as silent as possible. The Muskateer will let me
control the fans, and the Hard Drive will be a Seagate Barracuda 60Gb,
but the power supply is still an issue. The Silenx 350w is looking to
be a good option, but my question is; can't I just buy a silent 80mm
fan and mod *any* power with good heatsinks on the power transistors
and save the money on buying a whole new supply?

Or can somebody recommend a different brand model supply thats less
expensive and and/or has thermal control ( which I would prefer ) ?

Thanks very much in advance.

Don

 

[Guest]

The Silenx 350w is looking to be a good option, but my question
is; can't I just buy a silent 80mm fan and mod *any* power with
good heatsinks on the power transistors and save the money on
buying a whole new supply?

Or can somebody recommend a different brand model supply thats less
expensive and and/or has thermal control ( which I would prefer ) ?

www.silentpcreview.com has reviews of power supplies (some of the few
good reviews of them anywhere) and information for reducing noise
levels.

Some fans are noticeably quieter than others and aren't too difficult
to install, but modifying the heatsinks requires much more work and is
far more likely to create high voltage hazards. In other words, don't
modify them unless your mechanical and soldering/desoldering skills
are good and you know how to check for mistakes in your work (both
visually and with a meter). Also I doubt that you'll improve a power
supply much if its heatsinks are decent in the first place, but if
they aren't, then the supply is probably junk that isn't worth
modifying anyway.

There are 2 large heatsinks in most power supplies, one with high
voltage transistors attached to it, another with low voltage diodes
and maybe transistors on it. The high voltage heatsink is almost
always right next to the 2 large cylindrical high voltage capacitors
(each rated for at least 200 volts, or 200VW -- VW means "volts,
working"). Supplies with automatic power factor correction (no
110V/220V voltage selection switch on back) instead use a single large
capacitor rated for at least 400VW. The low voltage heatsink should
be on the opposite side and closest to where all the low voltage power
wires are soldered to the circuit board. To remove a heatsink,
desolder all of the transistors and diodes attached to it (use copper
desoldering braid, not a manual solder sucker or plunger) and then
either unscrew or desolder the heatsink from the board. Cover the
entire mounting surfaces of the diodes and transistors with masking
tape to keep metal powder from getting on them and creating shorts.
Cover even the side opposite those parts since there may be plastic
electrical insulator washers there. Be sure that anything you add to
the heatsinks can't create shorts, and you want every part of the high
voltage heatsink, including the modifications, to clear the power
supply case by at least 1/4" on each side because some of these
heatsinks have 170VDC riding on them, but even if they don't you want
no case contact if the electrical insulation between the transistors
and heatsinks fails. Before and after you reinstall the heatsinks,
measure the resistance between each transistor and diode lead and the
heatsink for electrical leakage, and if you measure any conduction at
all, fix the problem before proceeding further. When it's time to
test the modified power supply, have its cover screwed in place, and
use only a grounded wall outlet (not all 3-prong outlets are actually
grounded, and this is a major hazard unless the outlet is protected by
a working ground fault circuit interrupter, or GFCI. Test the GFCI
just before use because some fail and won't protect. I hope that this
gives you an idea of the hazards that you have to look for, but keep
in mind that this is hardly a complete list.

 

[Biff]

I second the recommendation for you to visit www.silentpcreview.com

In addition to reviews, they also have a power supply forum there that
is full of the kind of infomation you are seeking.

 

[WooduCoodu]

yes, go to www.silentpcreview.com

i think the current favorites over there are still the seasonic super
silencer and super tornado.

the silenx and several other quiet brands are just modified fortrons (in
most cases just a different fan and maybe a different fan controller) but
the silenx uses such a weak fan you should only use it if the other fans in
your case will provide adequate cooling.

i put a panaflo M1A in a Fortron FSP400-60PFN and i'm very happy with it but
the seasonics weren't available at that time.

 

[jeffc]

yes, go to www.silentpcreview.com

i think the current favorites over there are still the seasonic super
silencer and super tornado.

I'd really like to know the difference between the Silencer and Tornado.
It's not very obvious why they need 2 different lines, especially since each
are available in several wattage models.

 

[WooduCoodu]

i think the only difference is the silencer use an 80mm fan and the tornado
a 120mm.

 

[jeffc]

i think the only difference is the silencer use an 80mm fan and the tornado
a 120mm.

Well, the grill and frame are designed differently too (the Silencer has a
traditional fan on the external side, while the Tornado has a fan on the
inside of the case, with just a big mesh panel on the outside), but it just
seems weird to me to go to the trouble of a whole new product line just for
that. I don't see why one would cost more to build, so why not just sell
the best one?

 

[Don W. McCollough]

I second the recommendation for you to visit www.silentpcreview.com

This site is fantastic. Definitely not for the performance PC
enthusiast who will endure any amount of noise to squeeze out all
manner of performance from thier boxes.

Thanks for the suggestions. My concern is not with absolute top notch
power bench performance but with noise and very good power peformance
in relation to cost. I don't want to spend $80 - $100 on a power
supply alone. After doing a little reading, Seasonic looks like its
the way to go in terms of performance.

Right now is a toss up between Ahanix Silenx 300W which I can get off
ebay for $42 or Fortron FSP350-60PN 350W
http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage...66-06.JPG/17-104-966-04.JPG/17-104-966-05.JPG

from newegg for $36 plus tax. The Fortron is nice because it has a
fan control pot right on the back of the unit.

Still doing research...

 

[Biff]

I bought a Fortron FSP300-60PN 300W about six months ago and I'm quite
pleased with it. It is very quiet, and as far as I can tell the fan has
never sped up beyond the lowest setting - despite a long hot summer.
Fortrons are probably the best bang for the buck, while Seasonic's are
top quality at a still reasonable price. I would recommend either of
those brands to anyone, even if they aren't concerned with noise.

 

[Harry]

I have a 300 W PSU from www.QuietPC.com and it is totally silent.

All the rails have steady voltages too.

 

[jeffc]

I have a 300 W PSU from www.QuietPC.com and it is totally silent.

It would be a bit more helpful if you said which PS that was (assuming this
is not stealth spam to begin with.)

 

[Harry]

They only sell one type of 300W PSU (assuming you live in the UK)

For those of you who don't live in the UK the PSU is a Q-Technology
Ultra-Quiet ATX PSU 300W

HTH

Harry

"Stealth Spam"? - How does that work then? )

 

[jeffc]

They only sell one type of 300W PSU (assuming you live in the UK)

For those of you who don't live in the UK the PSU is a Q-Technology
Ultra-Quiet ATX PSU 300W

Oh, I clicked on another country and saw more options.

"Stealth Spam"? - How does that work then? )

Where you pretend to be just a normal guy, but are in fact a pimp for your
company. "Hey guys, look at this neat product I just came across at this
neat web site I just found...." That sort of thing. So we don't know for
sure if you are just "Harry", or if you actually work for quietpc.com, or
Q-Technology.

 

[Harry]

I see....well I can assure you I'm not a spammer. They cause me enough
grief each morning with the number of emails I have to delete from
them.

cheers

Harry