[Casper42]

So I did some reading and based on a few different Power Supply threads I came up with a list of 5 Power Supplies to choose from.

Antec Neo HE 550
Antec Phantom 500
SeaSonic S12 500
SeaSonic S12EP-550
Thermaltake ToughPower 600


The Phantom seems kind of cool since it says under low heat conditions the fan is completely off, and the ToughPower series now comes with a slow speed 140mm fan.

Past that you can click the newegg links to get more details on each model if your uninformed.


So for the quick n dirty - vote in the poll and tell me which you would buy.


Feel free to post any advice for or against any of the contenders.


The Phantom is the only one that stretches my budget a little, but if its really "that good" then I will go for it anyway.



For those who may be wondering, this will go into a Silverstone LC16M with a GigaByte DQ6 Mobo, C2D 6600 CPU and 2x1GB Corsair XMS2. Plextor SATA Burner, 2 or 3 SATA HDDs to start, maybe more later. Along with the Hauppague 500MCE and MSI 7600GT Diamond Plus. Will add an HD Tuner later on, but could very well go external based on some of the newer devices out and more coming with the official Vista launch.


Thanks,

Casper42

 

[jhhoffma]

While all of these are excellent PSUs, the Antec and SeaSonic S12 will be the quietest. I prefer the SeaSonic because there were some incompatibilities with the NeoHEs and some mobos (I think this may have been worked out with newer revisions). However, the Seasonic has a 120mm fan and the Antec uses 80mm. Smaller fans = higher rpm/cfm = more noise/cfm.

 

[Yeorwned]

Put a 350W Seasonic in my most recent build. Absolutely wonderful power supply. Take note that Seasonic typically deliver their full potential in power so a 500W power supply is overkill unless you run a power hungry processor, 4+ hard drives, 2 video cards, etc...

 

[stanger89]

A Phantom 350 should be plenty for that I'd think.

 

[Fatawan]

check reviews at www.jonnyguru.com


I'd add the Corsair 520W PSU to your list

 

[jhhoffma]

Just took a look at your list of components. You could easily get by with a Seasonic S12-380 (maybe a 330W). You'll never use that much juice with those components, even if you were overclocking...but it'd be silly to do too much OCing in an HTPC case.


Check out SPCR (Silent PC Review) for a more "realistic" look at power supply needs. Some people there are running systems like yours with a 250W PSU with no problems.


Don't spend the money if you don't have too, save it for a faster CPU, Vidcard, or bigger HDDs, you'll need them eventually.

 

[Tinker]

I would go with the Seasonic PSU or like somebody else mentioned the Corsair (OEM by Seasonic). Corsair is nice since its a modular PSU. I have the Corsair 620w PSU on order. Going to see if I can replace the Enermax Liberty 620w modular PSU's I have been using. The Liberty's have been very good so far. The only reason for a possible switch is that the Corsair is a few dollars cheaper for me. The Seasonics here sells for a premium vs the the Enermax but the Corsair is cheaper.

 

[umdivx]

Also just remember that the PSU generally isn't the loudest component in a system, Don't forget about Case fans, chipset fans, video card fans, hard drive noise, dvd rom drive noise, it all adds up.


I wouldn't go spending a bunch of money on a quiet PSU when you might want to look at all the other aspects of the system as a whole.


Also remember the best noise solution for a HTPC is a closet or another room

- Josh