Silent/80 Plus power supply?

[morikaweb]

Can anyone recommend a good power supply in the 600-800 Watt range? I need it to be as quiet as possible and be 80 Plus Rated. I had my eye on the "Be quiet! - Dark power PRO P7 650W" but I cant find it available in Canada so something similar to that is what I am looking for.

[stanger89]

1) Why do you need so much power?
2) Why does it need to be "80 Plus Rated" (I assume you mean 0.8 Power Factor, or 80% efficient)? - edit, nevermind, I'm combining power factor and efficiency for some odd reason

Here's a good list:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article699-page1.html

[95TBird]

Only one way to go.. PC Power & Cooling...

Since I started using their Power Supplys years ago I have never had a problem & they are very quiet...

http://www.pcpower.com/power-supply/...uad-black.html

- Bruce

[morikaweb]

RE: stanger89

1. I don’t "need" that much power but finding a decent 500 watt power supply can be hard so I am willing to get a bigger one if it meets my requirements.

2. I want it 80Plus rated because that should help insure it is at least theoretically efficient, thus drawing less power and producing less heat.


RE: 95TBird

I have looked at PC Power and Cooling (they are built by Seasonic I believe) but was worried the 80mm fan might be loud. I'll take another look based on your recommendation though.

[blade]

Originally Posted by morikaweb

RE: stanger89

1. I don’t "need" that much power but finding a decent 500 watt power supply can be hard so I am willing to get a bigger one if it meets my requirements.

2. I want it 80Plus rated because that should help insure it is at least theoretically efficient, thus drawing less power and producing less heat.

It has been awhile since I read the article, but I believe there was one on the site stanger linked to that discusses how a power supply that's significantly too small or too large will greatly reduce efficiency. So if that is import to you it might be worth looking for the article.

[morikaweb]

Originally Posted by blade

It has been awhile since I read the article, but I believe there was one on the site stanger linked to that discusses how a power supply that's significantly too small or too large will greatly reduce efficiency. So if that is import to you it might be worth looking for the article.

I already have, and I have calculated my optimum psu size is between 500-600 watts. That should with a good power supply, keep me within 70-80% efficiency during normal use.

Also in order to be 80Plus certified a PSU has to be efficient at the low and high end of usage, not just efficient in the middle range of usage which used to be common.

[95TBird]

Morikaweb:

They are built by PC Power & Cooling
(They have been building their own Power Supplys since 1986)

http://www.pcpower.com/about/

Thats one of the things I like about them, they aren't just re-branding sombody elses product.

-Bruce

[stanger89]

Yeah, unfortunately the Silencer 400 I had wasn't really anything near silent. When I got it, I thought it was great, but that was just because it was replacing a tornato-in-a-box Sparkle. My Fortron Source PSUs with 120mm fans are far quieter than my Silencer ever was.

Also it might be worth going down the power requirements issue too. Even if you figure double your power requirements, I think 600-800W is way more than you need. I don't have a single PC that pulls over 200W, and that includes an Athlon XP server with about 12 drives, an Athlon 64 X2/6600GT desktop machine, and my Athlon 64/Geforce 6800 HTPC.

[dadavo]

How about Seasonic's S12 Energy+550 or +650. These are suppose to be 85% - 88% efficent and has received great reviews.

[B-Figgy]

Originally Posted by blade

It has been awhile since I read the article, but I believe there was one on the site stanger linked to that discusses how a power supply that's significantly too small or too large will greatly reduce efficiency. So if that is import to you it might be worth looking for the article.

In general that assessment is true. An 80+ certified PSU is required to run with 80% or greater efficiency at 20%, 50% and 100% of it's rated load. Ideally the PSU will retain that efficiency everywhere between those three points but typically below the 20% load mark it drops off significantly. If you get an 80+ certified 1000+ PSU (for example) that 20% level is 200 watts which means you'll only ever achieve maximum efficiency when your system is at maximum draw and will be inefficient at idle. The point being is that your system spends most of it's time at idle and that's where you want the most efficiency.

For efficient and silent power supplies I almost exclusively go with Seasonic these days. Their standard designs are very efficient and take advantage of 120mm fans for maximum cooling with a minimum of noise. I would easily recommend any of their S12 series or even their new M12II (not the original M12 series) modular versions. My gaming rig actually has the Energy+ 550 but keep in mind that those are a bit more expensive than a power supply of equivalent rating.

I'd also recommend heading on over to Silent PC Review if you're interested in learning more about the nuts and bolts of a good power supply.

edit: whoops. Stanger already linked to SPCR. My bad. So you see? That's two recommendations to visit. Now you have to go there

[blade]

Originally Posted by B-Figgy

In general that assessment is true. An 80+ certified PSU is required to run with 80% or greater efficiency at 20%, 50% and 100% of it's rated load.

Thanks, I haven't taken the time to read up on power supplies in quite awhile. Good to know there is more of a focus on efficiency since the last time I shopped for a power supply.

[Tej]

Newegg.com has a guided search feature that can help you narrow down your choices. For 80+ power supplies in your range, it list 20 choices, including most of those mentioned above. A few are on sale

Here and Here

I have been using a Corsair hx620w for almost a year now in my server. Nearly silent. Zero problems. Read the customer reviews on Newegg.

I was told recently that most top of the line power supplies are rebranded Seasonics. Out of curiosity, can anyone confirm or refute that?

[Oats]

Seasonic is good, but usually more expensive than rebranded Seasonics. I think the Antec earthwatts line are built by Seasonic, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

My vote is for Corsair though. They can be found at good prices if you don't mind rebates. The HX models are built by Seasonic, while the VX and TX are built by CWT(I think). All of them are very good.