Quiet PSU doesn't need to be powerfull & electricity bill question!

questforquiet

questforquiet

questforquiet

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Joined
10 Nov 2007
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211
Hi,
I recently bought a ANTEC 380 smartpower
However i find it too noisey.I only have a basic core duo setup,cheap £30 graphics card,1 hardrive,2 dvd etc.So i really only need a 350-400 watt psu.
My case fan and cpu fan only spin at 700rpm

But on reading the forums most people recommend the corsair 520 watt in terms of quietness.To me this would be overkill,but if it was the best psu in terms of sound.I would buy it tomorrow

My only concern in buying the psu and this will probably be a dumb question!
If i buy a 520watt psu would my electricity bill be a lot higher than if i had a 380watt psu?
Or would it be the same because my pc doesn't use that much watt anyway.As i say it's probably a stupid question

The other psu i was looking at are

Enermax Noisetaker 370W

Seasonic S12 II 380W or 330W

Would these be as good as the corsair

TIA!
 
Welcome to the forums, PSUs will generally only use the power they require so if you have a system that uses 300w then that is approximately what will be drawn from the wall regardless of whether it is a 400w PSU or a 1kw PSU. Ok there are certain factors such as efficiency bands but really quite a minor consideration all things being equal, not least because a PSU with additional capacity isn't likely to run as hot because it won't need to work as hard.

I'm not sure which of the other two would be best for silence, it isn't one of the primary factors I normally consider for PSUs but Seasonic (who are or were the OEM for Corsair) have a good reputation for quietness. :)
 
Right thanks so this one has excactly the same noise levels as the 520?.It's just i have read a few posts were people have said i went for the 520watt to make sure it was quiet
Kinda implying the cheaper corsair can be hit or miss in terms of sound?
 
High and welcome to the forums, the PSU will only pull the load it requires ie 520w will not drow 520w all the time only when needed (thats if the system is matched).

Im running the Corsair on my spare machine and it is pretty much silent, im running the Enermax 620w which again is silent, going for a higher wattage will allow future upgrades without worrying about re-purchasing another PSU.

Rob
 
semi-pro waster said:
Welcome to the forums, PSUs will generally only use the power they require so if you have a system that uses 300w then that is approximately what will be drawn from the wall regardless of whether it is a 400w PSU or a 1kw PSU. Ok there are certain factors such as efficiency bands but really quite a minor consideration all things being equal, not least because a PSU with additional capacity isn't likely to run as hot because it won't need to work as hard.

Thanks good to know about the bill side.So a higher watt psu like the consair 520.The fan would stay as a lower speed for longer than a lower watt i guess?
Anyone know at what speed they spin?

Thanks for the welcome i feel out out place on forum called overclockers:)
Click to expand...
 
As long as you look for a big fan in one it's pretty much going to be quiet. I have a Thermal Take and with a 140mm fan that's temperature controlled its silent.
 
Thanks for the replies
I have been reading some reviews and seems the best are
Consair 520 hx
Consair 450
Seasonic S12 11 380

I also read some psu suffer from a low humming noise,this must be the noise i hear from my antec smartpower...


Now it seems the seasonic has a 21db rating up to 200wattage,then the fan speeds up a lot

The consair 450 stays at 21db till 200w,but only jumps to 22db at 250w

While the 520hx stayed at 22db thru 300w

The first two are slightly quieter than the 520hx
but the 520hx is better for higher wattage

Also the seasonic is best in terms of energy efficient

So my question is with my pc being a basic core duo setup with a plain 7300 graphics card
Would my watts always stay below 200watt?
And thus the seasonic would be the best psu for me? Or is the 520hx the one to get
 
questforquiet said:
semi-pro waster said:
Thanks good to know about the bill side.So a higher watt psu like the consair 520.The fan would stay as a lower speed for longer than a lower watt i guess?
Anyone know at what speed they spin?

Thanks for the welcome i feel out out place on forum called overclockers:)
Click to expand...

In a way yes. It will have better heat sinks so the cooling doesn't have to be as quick.

In the antec range there is some quiet PSU. The earthwatts and NeoHE- you seem to have picked the loudest! Maybe you can return yours for one? If not the corsair 450watt would be a good buy.
Click to expand...
 
questforquiet said:
Sorry!! my mistake in my original post.I have
a 380 earthwatts.This is what gives of the humming noise
Click to expand...

Ah ok, your very picky about noise, just like me! Yes the earthwatts so seem to have a very small noise, something the Antec NeoHE doesn't have- probably why it cost a bit more.
 
Ah ok, your very picky about noise, just like me! Yes the earthwatts so seem to have a very small noise, something the Antec NeoHE doesn't have- probably why it cost a bit more.

Yes i am obbesed.I checked out the NeoHE seems great up to 150w but then goes noisey.Plus only has a 80cm fan.
 
I recommend the Enermax Noisetaker, it's 100% silent, unless you put your ear right next to it and even then it's tough to hear. 5 stars from me
 
Another vote for the Enermax range here.

I measured the power drawn from the following system:

HP XW6200 workstation, dual Xeon 3.2GHZ CPU's (skt 601), 2GByte ram, 3 SCSI hard drives and an Adaptec 29160 PCI SCSI card. Gfx card in an nVidia Quadro, very basic but dual output.

With BOTH cpu's fully loaded the power draw never exceeded 220 watts. The system has a 500 watt PSU. I was using a plug in power meter bought from that High Street electronics store that sounds like the staff should wear yellow coats!
 
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