Recommended Power Supply

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cldlr76

289 posts

Ultimate Geek

#44458 27-Oct-2009 19:55

Hi,

I need to replace the power supply in my HP media centre that sits in my lounge so I'd like it to be as quite and cool as possible.

Can anyone recommend a particular brand, or know of brands to stay well away from.

Thanks

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2981 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#267426 27-Oct-2009 20:03

silentpcreview.com

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

Buttonmash

361 posts

Ultimate Geek

#267500 27-Oct-2009 22:23

I just bought a CoolerMaster Silent Pro M500 Modular PSU. It's extremely quiet (head up to it when running to hear it), and the voltages appear very solid. Would recommend it.

browned

636 posts

Ultimate Geek

#267579 28-Oct-2009 09:15

Is it an HP product? I would firstly confirm that it does not require a proprietary power supply.

Waste of time and money getting something else for it if it doesn't fit.

Otherwise I would recoomend a Zalman silent unit for Media PC duties or Coolermaster Silent units as well.

cheers
db

Home Server: AMD Threadripper 1950X, 64GB, 56TB HDD, Define R6 Case, 10GbE, ESXi 6.7, UNRAID, NextPVR, Emby Server, Plex Server.
Lounge Media Center: NVIDIA Shield TV 16GB: Kodi18 with Titan MOD, Emby.
Kids Media Center: NVIDIA Shield TV 16GB: Kodi18 with Titan MOD, Emby.
Main PC: Ryzen 7 2700, 16GB RAM, RX 570, 2 x 24"

1gkar

722 posts

Ultimate Geek

#268278 29-Oct-2009 21:00

Maybe you go with the one reviewed in the latest edition of NZ PCWorld mag. An Acbel R88 1100w. It's only $455!!!!!!!

Don't know for an HTPC; could be a bit of an overkill. Hell, if they can recommend spending that on just a PSU, I want their job. Must pay in the 6-figure region

Silverstone LC14 HTPC Case/Intel E4600 CPU/GA-EP35-DS3 MOBO/Asus EN9500GT graphics/2GB RAM/total 2TB HDD space/HVR-2200 & 2X 150MCE tuner cards/LG GGC-H20L BD Drive/MCE2005/Mediaportal/TVServer 1.1.0Final/LG 55"3D LED-TV/Denon AVR-1803 receiver/X1 projector

argo

87 posts

Master Geek

#268422 30-Oct-2009 08:43

1gkar: Maybe you go with the one reviewed in the latest edition of NZ PCWorld mag. An Acbel R88 1100w. It's only $455!!!!!!!

Don't know for an HTPC; could be a bit of an overkill. Hell, if they can recommend spending that on just a PSU, I want their job. Must pay in the 6-figure region

Well they kinda redeemed themselves with their October How To: "Building an inexpensive high-performance PC for Windows 7". The recommendation was for a $230 Corsair TX750.

Having said that the "inexpensive PC" came out at >$2k - without a discrete GPU!!! I'd love to see an article from them for a "Performance PC"!! It might even get a Video Card. Anyone alse get the feeling that article and its title did'nt synch?

Sorry, little bit of thread diversion - back to the subject of PSUs....

Buttonmash

361 posts

Ultimate Geek

#268433 30-Oct-2009 09:02

When I was looking at a PSU for my media centre I was initially going to get a corsair.

But then I read the bearings in their fans make significantly more noise than the coolermaster, so changed my plans.

smac

333 posts

Ultimate Geek

#268444 30-Oct-2009 09:22

I went with one of the QT ones from quietpc. Good efficiency (therefore less heat), great that it has a variable speed 120mm that I have never heard speed up. However the stock fan was not the quietest (despite their claims). I replaced it with a quiet case fan and all is well. I'm kinda fussy though when it comes to noise so it may be comparitively quiet. Never heard a corsair to compare it to.

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1gkar

722 posts

Ultimate Geek

#268811 31-Oct-2009 15:22

I meant to qualify my earlier statement with one on a more serious note. I have a stock Enermax Noisetaker II 420w in my HTPC. It hasn't given any issues and it is relatively quiet. Will be able to be slightly more exact in a little while, as I'm in the process of fitting my Zalman CNPS7000 CPU cooler back into my HTPC after I was forced to upgrade some time back. Taken me this long to procure a special bracket for it.

vinnieg

2260 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#268820 31-Oct-2009 16:09

browned: Is it an HP product? I would firstly confirm that it does not require a proprietary power supply.

Waste of time and money getting something else for it if it doesn't fit.

Otherwise I would recoomend a Zalman silent unit for Media PC duties or Coolermaster Silent units as well.

cheers
db

I'd check this too, I know some of the smaller desktop and media units use SFX PSUs, which are almost like half height ATX PSUs. MOst of the standard HPs use standard ATX, so most would drop in.

If it's standard ATX, the quiest ones are of course the ones with no fans whatsoever....only problem is these are also the most expensive.

if you can find one of these get it:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article900-page6.html

Silverstone Nightjar ST45NF

It's a 450w fanless PSU, I really like Silverstone products. Nice build quality and most of the SIlverstone PSUs have really stable voltages.

Otherwise the Zalman units are good too :)

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

PANiCnz

990 posts

Ultimate Geek

#268832 31-Oct-2009 17:05

If you want the ultimate quiet PC you'll need to spend a bit more cash and get a passively cooled PSU.

Otherwise Enermex makes some very quite actively cooled PSU's, stay away from Corsair they are great value and perform well but the fans are noisy. I have an Enermex and Corsair, the Enermex is supperior.

smac

333 posts

Ultimate Geek

#268870 31-Oct-2009 20:05

I was all set to get the Silverstone fanless when I bought mine - trouble is there was not a single NZ supplier who actually had stock (as opposed to showing stock but then being unable to supply).

vinnieg

2260 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#268883 31-Oct-2009 21:15

smac: I was all set to get the Silverstone fanless when I bought mine - trouble is there was not a single NZ supplier who actually had stock (as opposed to showing stock but then being unable to supply).

Oh really? DAMN :(

Maybe the Corsair Fanless or Zalman would be the way to go
+ fanless northbridge cooler
+ fanless CPU cooler
+ SSD drive :) = no noise at all

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

kiwijunglist

2981 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#268930 1-Nov-2009 02:29

passive colled psu will not provide airflow out of the case therefore case may run hotter if it isn't adequately ventilated.

I would also consider psu with large 12-14cm slow moving fan, it's it large and slow it will be quiet and you will also need less case fans going.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

Nety

2584 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#268963 1-Nov-2009 10:13

Agree with Kiwi, it is not a good idea to remove ALL airflow from your case. There is still quite a bit of heat generated and even the best passive solutions need the ambient temp to be kept within reason. Better to go for a quiet power supply that has a slow moving fan to one that has no fan at all. The power supply I have is critical for making sure that the tuner cards and sound card (when I have one in) do not cook themselves.

When it comes down to it just how quiet does you MC need to be? If you cant hear it from more then a meter away then does it really matter?

Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

smac

333 posts

Ultimate Geek

#269000 1-Nov-2009 13:34

Using warm air to cool a PSU has always seemed counter-intuitive to me. I've made a few cases and have always had the PSU suck outside air, and expel it straight out as well. Separate slow case fan for the internals. My latest case was purchased for a change, and that has the same set-up (Antec HTPC case).

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