Looking for a power supply recommendation

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gilgamesh
  • Start date Start date
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Gilgamesh

I will be building a new PC in the new year and I'm looking for
recommendations for the PSU. As this is something many people overlook and I
think it is the most critical component as far as budget goes for this
component - price is no object

My new system will have the fastest 45nm Intel penryn quad core processor I
can buy in February. I will be looking at the new nVidia 780i chipset so I
can run 2 x nvidia 8800GT graphics cards in SLI. (Intels x38 chipset only
supports ATI Crossfire )
I will be having 5 x 1Tb SATA hard disks, DVD, Floppy, an array of cold
cathode lighting, and using low noise fans for air cooling (the Scythe slip
streams look good though in the future I may move to water cooling)

My PSU requirements are:
Quiet
Clean power to all devices
Spare capacity in case I add extra drives or PCI cards
Quiet
Modular would be nice but I'm not worried if the unit isn't
Oh - did I mention quiet

Please note that by quiet I do not mean silent. I don't think silient units
are any good.

I used to have two power supplies in my current PC (total of 850W) but I put
a PC Power & Cooling 1Kw PSU unit in to replace them there was a significant
increase in the noise coming from it which is why I'm now looking for a
quiet (low noise) one.

I plan to be putting in noise reduction measures for the other components as
well.

Someone has suggested I use the PC Power & Cooling 750Watt quiet model but
when I checked the specs it the DBa it produces is the same as my current
noisy 1KW PSU.

Thanks
 
Gilgamesh said:
I will be building a new PC in the new year and I'm looking for
recommendations for the PSU. As this is something many people overlook and I
think it is the most critical component as far as budget goes for this
component - price is no object

My new system will have the fastest 45nm Intel penryn quad core processor I
can buy in February. I will be looking at the new nVidia 780i chipset so I
can run 2 x nvidia 8800GT graphics cards in SLI. (Intels x38 chipset only
supports ATI Crossfire )
I will be having 5 x 1Tb SATA hard disks, DVD, Floppy, an array of cold
cathode lighting, and using low noise fans for air cooling (the Scythe slip
streams look good though in the future I may move to water cooling)

My PSU requirements are:
Quiet
Clean power to all devices
Spare capacity in case I add extra drives or PCI cards
Quiet
Modular would be nice but I'm not worried if the unit isn't
Oh - did I mention quiet

Please note that by quiet I do not mean silent. I don't think silient units
are any good.

I used to have two power supplies in my current PC (total of 850W) but I put
a PC Power & Cooling 1Kw PSU unit in to replace them there was a significant
increase in the noise coming from it which is why I'm now looking for a
quiet (low noise) one.

I plan to be putting in noise reduction measures for the other components as
well.

Someone has suggested I use the PC Power & Cooling 750Watt quiet model but
when I checked the specs it the DBa it produces is the same as my current
noisy 1KW PSU.
Click to expand...

For power supply reviews, try:

www.jonnyguru.com

www.silentpcreview.com (also information about making computes quiet)

www.hardocp.com

www.xbitlabs.com

www.extremeoverclocking.com

Modular? Really? PCP&C doesn't like modular because the extra
connectors drop a teeny bit more voltage.
 
I will be building a new PC in the new year and I'm looking for
recommendations for the PSU. As this is something many people overlook and I
think it is the most critical component as far as budget goes for this
component - price is no object

My new system will have the fastest 45nm Intel penryn quad core processor I
can buy in February. I will be looking at the new nVidia 780i chipset so I
can run 2 x nvidia 8800GT graphics cards in SLI. (Intels x38 chipset only
supports ATI Crossfire )
I will be having 5 x 1Tb SATA hard disks, DVD, Floppy, an array of cold
cathode lighting, and using low noise fans for air cooling (the Scythe slip
streams look good though in the future I may move to water cooling)

My PSU requirements are:
Quiet
Clean power to all devices
Spare capacity in case I add extra drives or PCI cards
Quiet
Modular would be nice but I'm not worried if the unit isn't
Oh - did I mention quiet

Please note that by quiet I do not mean silent. I don't think silient units
are any good.

I used to have two power supplies in my current PC (total of 850W) but I put
a PC Power & Cooling 1Kw PSU unit in to replace them there was a significant
increase in the noise coming from it which is why I'm now looking for a
quiet (low noise) one.

I plan to be putting in noise reduction measures for the other components as
well.

Someone has suggested I use the PC Power & Cooling 750Watt quiet model but
when I checked the specs it the DBa it produces is the same as my current
noisy 1KW PSU.

Thanks
Click to expand...

You are designing a system that uses several hundred watts
of power. The PSU will not be quiet if it is properly
designed because it still has to be rid of it's own
generated heat plus a significant portion of the cased parts
heat due to using low flow, quiet case fans.

The quietest option would be to again use two PSU, as it
will nearly halve the thermal density in each PSU, while
providing twice the exhaust area and two fans so each can
run significantly slower and quieter.
 
kony said:
You are designing a system that uses several hundred watts
of power. The PSU will not be quiet if it is properly
designed because it still has to be rid of it's own
generated heat plus a significant portion of the cased parts
heat due to using low flow, quiet case fans.
Click to expand...

If you look at the specs for the Scythe Slip Stream range of fans you will
see they have quite a good air flow while keeping noise down. :-)
 
If you look at the specs for the Scythe Slip Stream range of fans you will
see they have quite a good air flow while keeping noise down. :-)
Click to expand...

Either they aren't using conservative ratings for their fans
like everybody else, or it is non-applicable to actual use.
There is no fan that has substantially lower noise:flow-rate
than other alternatives because the noise (in use) is
turbulence from nearby obstructions, turbulence unavoidable
as it's due to moving the air, any given flow rate.
 
kony said:
Either they aren't using conservative ratings for their fans
like everybody else, or it is non-applicable to actual use.
There is no fan that has substantially lower noise:flow-rate
than other alternatives because the noise (in use) is
turbulence from nearby obstructions, turbulence unavoidable
as it's due to moving the air, any given flow rate.
Click to expand...

Not true... Blade and housing design can affect the noise produced by a fan.

Two fans, moving the same amount of air, don't necessarily produce the same
amount of noise.
 
Not true... Blade and housing design can affect the noise produced by a fan.
Click to expand...

No, not much at all.

Major fan manufactuers have spent millons researching this,
some 3rd party generic is just using marketing tricks. The
blades are not so much different, nor is the housing. These
things were already refined years ago.
Two fans, moving the same amount of air, don't necessarily produce the same
amount of noise.
Click to expand...

True, but it has little to do with Scythe's potentially
fradulent advertising. Specs mean little compared to
actually hearing a fan in a system. In some cases these
crap fans are actually louder per CFM becaues their free-air
rating in suspension does not account for cheap
manufacturing blade or hub imbalances that result in
vibrations once mounted in a case.

Scythe is best avoided because of their dishonesty. Don't
reward a relabeler who only cites hypothetical best-case
scenario numbers instead of the more conservative numbers
any reputable real major fan manufacturer does. Major fan
manufacturers are the only ones spending millions on
research and development, instead of just slapping a label
on and marketing their wares.
 
kony said:
No, not much at all.

Major fan manufactuers have spent millons researching this,
some 3rd party generic is just using marketing tricks. The
blades are not so much different, nor is the housing. These
things were already refined years ago.

True, but it has little to do with Scythe's potentially
fradulent advertising. Specs mean little compared to
actually hearing a fan in a system. In some cases these
crap fans are actually louder per CFM becaues their free-air
rating in suspension does not account for cheap
manufacturing blade or hub imbalances that result in
vibrations once mounted in a case.

Scythe is best avoided because of their dishonesty. Don't
Click to expand...

If the only source of information used is company propaganda you deserve
what you get.
However there are good reviews of the fans out there
http://www.dragonsteel.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5255&Itemid=38

Why do you say they are dishonest? Simply because you don't believe their
claims or do you have other experiences to back this up. I'm not being
argumentative, I want to know about past bad practices before making
decisions.
 
Somewhere on teh interweb Gilgamesh typed:
If the only source of information used is company propaganda you
deserve what you get.
However there are good reviews of the fans out there
http://www.dragonsteel.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5255&Itemid=38

Why do you say they are dishonest? Simply because you don't believe
their claims or do you have other experiences to back this up. I'm
not being argumentative, I want to know about past bad practices
before making decisions.
Click to expand...

If you want to know bad practices look no further than the page you just
linked.

Specifically where it says:

"Sponsor: _Scythe_"

It's getting increasingly difficult to find unbiased reviews these days. Do
you think Dragon Steel Mods are going to give a bad review for an item when
the item supplier is paying them for to review it? That's why groups like
this are so important. You get to hear first-hand reports from people who
aren't in the pocket of the manufacturer.
 
Somewhere on teh interweb ~misfit~ typed:
Somewhere on teh interweb Gilgamesh typed:

If you want to know bad practices look no further than the page you
just linked.

Specifically where it says:

"Sponsor: _Scythe_"
Click to expand...

Sorry, I looked further after I hit send. From the last page of the
advertisment, uhhh, I mean review:

"I would like to thank Scythe for the chance to review the Slip Stream 120mm
Fans and for their CONTINUED SUPPORT of DSM." (My capitals)

Further evidence that the glowing report is just sales pitch framed
differently.
 
If the only source of information used is company propaganda you deserve
what you get.
However there are good reviews of the fans out there
http://www.dragonsteel.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5255&Itemid=38

Why do you say they are dishonest?
Click to expand...

Because there is nothing in particular which would give them
better noise:flow ratio than other options.

If they wantn to claim lower noise with a lower flow fan,
fine, but that much can be done with many fans.

Simply because you don't believe their
claims or do you have other experiences to back this up. I'm not being
argumentative, I want to know about past bad practices before making
decisions.
Click to expand...

As for experience I used to sell cases of fans to local
shops and have taken apart and fiddled with far too many to
count.

The fan linked above is very poor, usually a fan has at
least 50K or 100K rated lifespan, at a far higher RPM and
would last over 200K at such low RPM. To have 30K hours
lifespan is an admission their product is very poor, and
even that 30K would be an optimal rating in ideal conditions
like low ambient temp and vertical mounting. They seem to
be using a bearing "ideal" theoretical example of what a
perfect fan would produce using same bearing, but not
bothering to (if it were possible at all at a reasonable
budget) produce that perfect fan.

The noise difference with other fans at same flow rate is
negligable, but you can get far higher quality fans at the
same cost so their product doesn't have any purpose except
to use marketing tricks for excessive profit.

Do not trust 3rd part PC parts relabeler specs. Scythe does
not make fans, they just spin numbers to sell product.
Trust major fan manufacturers' specs, manufacturers who have
spend millions of dollars and many years of research to
arrive at honest, quality products.
 
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