Quietest PSU

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Silence

Silence

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24 Jun 2013
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Hi guys

I had posed a question on here before, but I don't think I had explained myself properly, so I didn't get the answer that I'm seeking... so here goes again.

I'm looking at possibly purchasing a new PSU with a view to overclocking my system. My only concern at the moment is keeping it all quiet.

There's a SuperFlower Leadex Platinum 1000w and a SuperFlower Leadex Platinum 1200w. Either of them will be more than sufficient for what I'm looking to do.

I'm aware that both of them keep the fan off when the system isn't under much load. From what I'm able to ascertain it starts to fire up at about 40% load or something similar. So, the question is, does the 1000w bring the fan on sooner than the 1200w one given the same load, or have I completely misread something?

I know that it doesn't work like this on the Corsair ones the 40% figure given was for just one model of PSU, but I'm completely in the dark with SuperFlower's offerings!

Thanks in advance.
 
NO your system load will bring on the fan, when the PSU get hot the fan starts.

What is your system spec?, are you just aiming for a large PSU thinking your small system will not make it hot or do you need a large psu to power your system?
 
My system spec is entirely within the boundaries, last time I gave my system specs and had a load of people telling me that it was overkill, and all of that. I know 1000w is overkill. I'm not asking if it'll power my system. I have no doubt that it will. Sufficiency of power availability is not at question.

The information that I'm seeking pertains to which PSU will remain quieter for longer, if either. If it's the case that they all start the fan spinning at a relatively similar wattage, then the obvious option would be to buy the one that matches my system's power requirements plus a margin to cover upgrades, etc.

If it turns out to be that the 1200w one keeps my system quiet up to say 400w, while the 1000w only does it to say 300w, then the 1200w one meets my needs better than the 1000w, regardless of how much of the available power that I'm not using.
 
That's what I'm using now! It does the job for my build (just about), but I couldn't push it any more than that. I'm hoping that by going for a huge PSU, there'll be more headroom before the fan kicks in... but that may not be the case.
 
He has the 520w Seasonic already and has problems although they may or may not be related to the psu due to it also happening at night with no load. He has a thread in the general hardware section about it. That thread is here and his spec is:-

Intel i7-4770k (standard - not overclocked, undervolted, anything like that)
16GB RAM (Crucial ULP, I think)
Asus Z87-PRO
2x MSI GeForce GTX970
Asus AC-68 WiFi card
Seasonic 520w fanless PSU
About 5 various SSDs, an 840 EVO, Crucial MX100, Crucial M500, OCZ Agility 3 and a Sandisk Extreme.

While the 516w on his psu's 12v rail should be enough for that I would personally want at least a 650w for that spec. It also only has 2x pci-e power plugs so clearly isn't designed to run dual cards so I think a more powerful psu is a good idea anyway.

I believe he wants the pc to be as quiet as possible which is why he is overspeccing the psu so that the unit runs cool and doesn't ramp the fan up.
 
Kitguru have a few reviews of various 1000W-1200W units where you can compare noise levels. There doesn't seem to be a huge difference although the Seasonic 1000W Platinum is slightly quieter at full load.


Seasonic 1050W Snow Silent - http://www.kitguru.net/components/power-supplies/zardon/seasonic-snow-silent-1050w-psu-review-xp3/6/

Seasonic 1000W Platinum - http://www.kitguru.net/components/p...platinum-1000w-modular-power-supply-review/6/

EVGA 1200W P2 - http://www.kitguru.net/components/power-supplies/zardon/evga-supernova-p2-1200-psu-review/6/

SuperFlower 1000W Platinum - http://www.kitguru.net/components/p...er-flower-leadex-platinum-1000w-psu-review/6/
 
Thanks for the multitude of recommendations! I don't really mind if it makes a bit of noise once the fan does ramp up (at that point I will have my headphones in and game noises blaring... along with case fans, CPU fans and those two 970s whirring away)... it's just when nothing else is making any noise, I want my PSU to be making no noise either, so it's the actual threshold I'm worried about more than the noise it makes when it does fire up.

But those reviews do seem to be useful. I'll take a look at them when I get home.

Thanks again. :)
 
You don't want an RM PSU tbh, the internals aren't great at all compared to competitors like the linked Seasonic and SuperFlower OEM PSUs
 
I use the superflower 1000w platinum with the spec in sig. Been very impressed with how quiet it runs even at load. I cant hear the psu at all at idle when i diall my case fans down.
 
On the OPs original question: It's not really about '40% load', it's about temperatures as already indicated by others.
Regardless of the max wattage a PSU can supply it's temperature is dictated by how much heat the current load is causing (which is determined by the efficiency of the PSU at that load level) minus whatever cooling there is.

The cooling with the fan off will be the same for both of the SF Leadex Plats I'd imagine as they'll be the same design and of course in the same case etc. I have no ideea how they'll perform compared to toher models before the fan kicks in (or after tbh, but focusing on before is easier :p) They are both platinum rated so pretty similar in efficiency, the only question is at the load we're expecting (no idea what that may be) which is better. If the load is below 500W then it'll probably be the 1000W unit that does better but without reviews etc to prove it I'd say the difference is too small to worry about.

TLDR: They'll both be the same.
 
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That's basically what I was looking to know. I found a review that showed the 1000w turning the fan on at a lower load than the 1200w, but then when I looked, the ambient temperature for one was 35c, and the other was 47c! That makes comparing them really easy!

Looks like the 1000w it is.

Thanks for the help, guys. :)
 
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