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PSU Fan Size vs. Noise

2489 Views 13 Replies 9 Participants Last post by lovemyram4x4, Aug 12, 2011

snakyjake

Discussion Starter · Aug 11, 2011

I'm comparing PSUs mentioned by Assassin . Something I noticed with Antec EA-380D is the 80mm fan size vs. 120mm on others. Also noticed the fan is outside at the rear. The 120mm fans appear to be internal facing the bottom.

The goal is quiet operation. Is the 120mm fan going to be noticeably more quiet?

I'm leaning towards Antec because of the 80 Plus Bronze rating. I'm guessing less power = less heat = less noise, but perhaps a 5% difference is nothing.

But if a 120mm fan is better at moving air and more silent, then I'll lean towards the 120mm fan.

Also, any advantage on the fan placement (rear vs. internal like Rosewill )

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H8nXTC

· #2 · Aug 11, 2011

Generally, the larger the fan the quieter it is because the fan can spin at a slower speed to move the same or more air so those with 135-140mm fans are even better depending on company.

If money is not a factor, my favorite power supply is the Kingwin Platinum 550W, that has a fan that only comes on under load, normally it's not spinning.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817121080

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lsilvest

· #3 · Aug 11, 2011

Theoretically the 120 will push more air with less RPM so it should be quieter. With case fans I have consistently found the 120s to be quieter. In reality, it can depend a lot on the manufacturers also. That said, I have had an Antec 380 PSU for 5 years and it's inaudible, stable and cool. In fact, every PSU I've bought in the last couple of years has been silent, but I buy decent quality units.

The placement is important depending on the location of the unit and if anything is around it. The bottom exhaust shouldn't be as efficient since it will actually heat up the bottom of the case, whereas the rear will expel hot air away from it. I'm no expert, but having a fan on the bottom doesn't really make sense.

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Andy_Steb

· #4 · Aug 11, 2011

I replaced my Antec EA-380D. It was too noisy. Where you place the HTPC really makes a difference. My HTPC sits on the top shelf of an open rack. The sound from the power supply bounces off the wall right back at me. My OCZ ModXStream Pro is extremely quiet.

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assassin

· #5 · Aug 11, 2011

I had a antec 380 in my antecc nsk2480 case for two years and never heard it. completely silent.

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Markolc81

· #6 · Aug 12, 2011

I had the Antec 380D in my Silverstone case. My Silverstone case is inside a cabinet that is enclosed on all sides and is open only at the front. Anyways, I could always hear when the HTPC was on from my regular sitting position (sitting 12' away). At first I thought it was the 3 case fans in the Silverstone, so I spun them down to about 450 RPM and I could still hear the case. Then I thought it was possibly my CPU fan, but quickly ruled that out when I spun that up to full speed and it made no additional noise over spinning at half the RPM. Then I focused my attention to the Power supply. That was the source of the loud fan noise! (As a side note. I could only hear the power supply fan noise when it's in my AV cabinet. When the HTPC was out on my bench, I could not discern that it was any louder than my other fans in the case). Well, I tried another power supply I had lying around from another build that had a 120mm fan, and I was still audible when in my AV cabinet. So then I took to the internet and found my solution! Seasonic sells this fanless model. It's a bit pricey but was completely worth it in my case! It runs my HTPC with no sweat and I also have an AMD 6850 for when I wanna do some serious gaming and not one problem with power delivery.

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lovemyram4x4

· #7 · Aug 12, 2011

Same CFM 120mm normally quieter than 80mm.

Same RPM 80mm normally quieter than 120mm.

Fan mounted on intake normally quieter than mounted on exhaust on the PSU if case doesn't mount intake toward intake vents on case.

A PSU that thermally controls fan RPM normally quieter

A PSU mount toward intake vents on case w/ a thermally controlled fan will run should run at much lower RPMs.

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snakyjake

Discussion Starter · #8 · Aug 12, 2011

Great info!

But not sure I understand:

Quote:
... if case doesn't mount intake toward intake vents on case.

I'm looking at the Silverstone GD04, which has a vent grill on the bottom of the case. The PSU's fan is mounted toward intake vents on case. Does that mean it is normally more quiet?

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assassin

· #9 · Aug 12, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by snakyjake /forum/post/20811680

Great info!

But not sure I understand:

I'm looking at the Silverstone GD04, which has a vent grill on the bottom of the case. The PSU's fan is mounted toward intake vents on case. Does that mean it is normally more quiet?

Don't overthink this. There are even some people that think the completely fanless (passive) Seasonic PSU have an annoying hum and won't use them.

Pick a PSU that you like and look for some feedback here and a few solid reviews elsewhere. The PSUs that I have in my guide are all solid at different price points. Of all of them I like the Seasonic the best.

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MrBobb

· #10 · Aug 12, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin /forum/post/20811729

There are even some people that think the completely fanless (passive) Seasonic PSU have an annoying hum and won't use them.

So what they use? Solar Panels?

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lovemyram4x4

· #11 · Aug 12, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by snakyjake /forum/post/20811680

Great info!

But not sure I understand:

I'm looking at the Silverstone GD04, which has a vent grill on the bottom of the case. The PSU's fan is mounted toward intake vents on case. Does that mean it is normally more quiet?

It can be if the fan is thermally controlled since it's pulling cooler ambient air thru the PSU instead of hotter air from inside the case so the fan should be running slower, if the fan always runs at the same speed this type of setup could be slightly louder. This type of set up is generally better for the PSU so it will potentially last longer and use less power.

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lovemyram4x4

· #12 · Aug 12, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by MrBobb /forum/post/20812091

So what they use? Solar Panels?

For these people the reflection of the sun on the panels protective glass makes a sound most humans can[t hear but they can at times that the audio is silent during a movie.

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Zon2020

· #13 · Aug 12, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by lovemyram4x4 /forum/post/20813584

It can be if the fan is thermally controlled since it's pulling cooler ambient air thru the PSU instead of hotter air from inside the case so the fan should be running slower, if the fan always runs at the same speed this type of setup could be slightly louder. This type of set up is generally better for the PSU so it will potentially last longer and use less power.

I use a FSP Aurum Gold 400 in a GD04, and I have never heard the fan.

I've become a fan of having the PSU draw cool outside air and keeping itself cool, and let me worry about cooling the rest of the system with other fans over which I have more control, rather than the old (ATX Spec) approach of using the PSU as part of the case cooling system and exhausting warm system air.

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lovemyram4x4

· #14 · Aug 12, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zon2020 /forum/post/20813610

I use a FSP Aurum Gold 400 in a GD04, and I have never heard the fan.

I've become a fan of having the PSU draw cool outside air and keeping itself cool, and let me worry about cooling the rest of the system with other fans over which I have more control, rather than the old (ATX Spec) approach of using the PSU as part of the case cooling system and exhausting warm system air.

Yeah that's how I'm set up w/ my Zalman HD160, my PSU fan is probably the most audible w/ my case's current location but can only be heard if you put your head right near the case other wise ambient noise is louder, I even have 5 fans in the case plus a CPU and GPU(normally offline as I'm running hybrid SLI) fan, everything is thermally controlled so it nice quiet for normal HTPC use but I have enough added cool capacity for the times I use it for gaming.

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