Need to get the PSU to STFU

TigerUK

TigerUK

TigerUK

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1 Sep 2008
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MY PSU is incredibly loud, it's starting to sound like a fan right now, and I think it is partly to blame for my tinnitus.

I am using an aging q-tec PSU that's over 3 years old.

I would like to buy a new PSu that's super quiet or even better completely silent!!

I would like to use as low wattage as possible which shouldnt be a problem as my system very powerful.

My specs

AMD 64 4000+ CPU
2 optical drives
1 floppy drive
1 sata hard drive
2 case fans
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GPU

What's the most adequate wattage for this system do you reckon, and what model PSU will suit me best?


Thanks

TigerUK
 
First of all, bin the qtec. These are some of the worst PSU's out there. You are lucky it never exploded and burnt down your house/street/town (Please note: dramatisation). Whats your budget? The antec earthwatts 380W would power that comfortably.
 
Sweet only 380w?

I've got this really horrible qtec 550w PSU, when 550 watts were meant to be *WOW*, now I see 1000W PSUs lol

I don't have a restrctive budget, but £50 should cover it ok??? right?

Basically Id pay any price (within reason), to get this thing to STFU, because like I said, it is wearing me down a bit, and I think I may have gotton tinnitus from this, cos of the constant humming sound. I use my computer for like 8 hours a day (work from home)
 
You can get 1600W PSU's, doesnt mean you need them . . . :p

Im not too sure about noise levels, I have one in my server, and it seems quiet enough, I would wait and see what other people say. The Corsair 520/630HX series are pretty much silent (I have the 620) but expensive (but good). I dont know about the VX series though.
 
TigerUK said:
I've got this really horrible qtec 550w PSU, when 550 watts were meant to be *WOW*, now I see 1000W PSUs lol
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500w is still 'wow' for a single GFX spec. 1000W ones are for extreme multi-GPU, watercooled, etc builds.

Do a quick search here/Google on Q-Tec & prepare to be shocked :eek:

But can't go wrong with Corsair or Enermax. Picked out those 2 because (apart from reputation) they do cheap 385~450W PSU which is enough for that spec :)
 
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Another +1 for the Corsair. I have them in both gaming and servers and have another on order, they really are almost totally silent... Plus as said, the house burning risk is greatly reduced over the qtec!! :)
 
Corsair get my vote, but I think it’s time they extended their modular range from the HX 620 to the HX 1000 PSU there is a big GAP between the two.
 
q-tec 550w probably equivalent output of about 300w from a reputable maker.

you could use a good 250w supply with that spec no problem,

value supplies from

antec, hiper, corsair as sold on ocuk are all fine

£25 to £35, not worth spending more unless you have a big upgrade in mind
 
errata said:
q-tec 550w probably equivalent output of about 300w from a reputable maker
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No chance! Countless reviews showed that how a Q-tec PSU drew power from the mains was really bad. Remember even, a certain website was surprised they'd managed to get certification.
 
Wow, thats for the feedback guys, it's a bit shocking but come to think of it, I used to leave my PC running whilst I went off to the shops once a while, and I'm thinking what could have happened if it blew up and caught fire or something.

Choice is between

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...23&subcat=1088&name=Antec EarthWatts 380W PSU

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...4&name=Corsair VX 450W ATX PSU (CMPSU-450VXUK)

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...max Pro 82+ 385W EPR385AWT ATXv2.3 Silent PSU

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-022-AK&tool=3

The 450watt corsair probably has a bit of expandability in it being 450w, but the most pricy one on here.
 
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Grimley said:
From what I read on here for the last 10 months or so this PSU seems to get included on a lot of 'spec me' threads.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-026-OC&tool=3
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I forgot that one, this looks like the best option here, low MHz, silent and reviews to back up the claims.

1 question,

Some people are suggesting that my system can run on a 250w system no problems, what I'd like to know is if I get a 500w PSU, will it drain out 500w or will it use only the amounts needed (say 250w)

Thanks

Tiger
 
Cosair or Hyper is the way to go.

I have the hyper 650 in my 182, because it was in my price range and fitted the case
 
I was thinking of getting the corsair, but they don't seem to do any PSUs on the low end entry level computers like mine... either that or overclockers just dont stock them.. :S

Antec EarthWatts 380W PSU

Corsair VX 450W ATX PSU

Akasa Ultra Quiet 400W Paxpower Active PFC ATX2.2 PSU (+cable tidy kit)

OCZ StealthXStream 500w Silent ATX2 Power Supply

OK these 4 I like, I ruled out 2 because of 0 reviews, these 4 I like a lot because they have reviews and on each review the person mentions the fact that these PSU are very quiet.

However I want to maximise as much airflow as possibly, so Ideally I want a PSU that is modular, and none of these here are modular (disconnectable cables).

Are there any models in the lower end of the scale that have modular cables at all??
 
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