Please recommend a quiet PSU

[dswo]

For the last several months, my rig has had a delay of several seconds when I power up in the morning. (There's usually no delay if the computer has only been off for a few hours.) Yesterday, that delay was LONG; maybe a minute, maybe more. Same thing this morning. I got the case open and didn't see any lights inside, if that tells you anything. Then, suddenly, the lights go on, the fans start to whir, and everything boots up like normal.

I'm not going to panic; I have a good external backup, and I don't have sudden shut-downs (yet anyway). But things do seem to be getting worse, and I want to fix this situation before it gets ugly. Here is my current hardware, most of which I assembled in January 2007. (I upgraded the CPU, GPU, and hard drives later.)

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 rev. 2.0 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

EVGA 512-P3-N802-A1 GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4 GHz LGA 775 with G0 stepping

OCZ Platinum Revision 2 4GB (4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel

Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DVR-116DBK - OEM

Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Antec NeoPower NeoHE 550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply - Retail
Dual +12V: Yes, Efficiency: Up to 85% 115V - Full load 76%; Typical load 82%, Light load 77.9% 230V - Full load 80%; Typical load 85%, Light load 79.45%
Fans: 1, Hold-up Time: 20ms at full load, Main Connector: 20 + 4Pin
Over Voltage Protection: +5V trip point < +6.5V +3.3V trip point < +4.1V +12V trip point < +14.3V
PCI-E Connectors: 2 x 6Pin, PFC: Active, Power Good Signal: 100-500ms, SLI Support: NVIDIA SLI Certified

Two WD Black 650Gb hard drives

--The three main suspects here are:

1. Case
2. Motherboard
3. Power supply

PSU is the most obvious suspect, and also the easiest to replace.

A. Does that sound right? Are there some easy tests to eliminate the other two variables, case and mobo?

B. Assuming that I need a new PSU, what do you recommend? Three things are important to me:

a. Quiet: I know this doesn't matter to everyone, but I use this rig for work as well as gaming. Some people listen to music while they work, which drowns out any noise, but I can't do that; my mind ends up following the music instead of whatever I'm reading or writing. This was actually one of the reasons I built the PC myself, so that I could select the components myself, with quiet as a factor..

b. Reliability

c. Beefy enough to run a new video card, when I get one or just build a new system. (Currently I have Nvidia 8800GT, which is running fine with my 550W supply from Antec.)

Thanks for any advice -- and if that advice is, "It's not your PSU," of course I want to hear that as well.

[Aviator32]

Sounds like the PSU to me. I would recommend any modular Corsair unit. My HX1000 is silent and cool and reliable. My Coolermaster PSU blew up and I replaced it with this one and haven't looked back. Being modular I have so much more airflow inside my case - the Coolermaster was just a mass of cables.

Any of these would do -

http://www.corsair.com/en/power-supp...-series-1.html

[txnetcop]

The Enermax Revolution 85+ 1020W was the quietest of the high powered PSU coming in at 32dB at full power. Very powerful unit as well! This unit was tested against all of the latest and greatest in Novemeber 2010 at TechCorp.
Ted

[Akatsuki]

I'd go for a Corsair AX750, it's fanless when your system uses less than 450W and it can handle a Geforce GTX580 (which is THE energy eater graphics card of the moment) + a high end Core I7 + 2 Hard drives...

I wouldn't go for a +1000W as it's overkill unless you want to overclock and/or use 2 GFX cards.

[wombat666]

I can certainly recommend Corsair Pro Gold AX1200, and it might seem like an overkill, but if you plan an upgrade it's better to have plenty of power and not need it that to need it and not have it.
It deals with my i7-980OC powered system without breaking a sweat, including an SSD, a pair of WD 600G Raptor drives and twin Raedon 5870 cards.

In general I think the better quality Corsairs are among the quietest and most efficient around.
:ernae:

[txnetcop]

I'd go for a Corsair AX750, it's fanless when your system uses less than 450W and it can handle a Geforce GTX580 (which is THE energy eater graphics card of the moment) + a high end Core I7 + 2 Hard drives...

I wouldn't go for a +1000W as it's overkill unless you want to overclock and/or use 2 GFX cards.

It really isn't overkill because the PSU only uses what it needs. It also allows for big upgrades later

[dswo]

Thanks, all. This was very helpful. I ordered from NewEgg, which usually ships to my side of NC in two days.

Will also replace an Antec case fan, which is starting to make noise. This was the original case fan that came with my Sonata II case. Worked fine on the medium speed mode, so I figured: just get another one of the exact same model, TriCool 120, for $10. No, the replacement was a lot noisier. Not worth returning though. --> Do it right this time, get a Noctua (which came last week and I haven't gotten around to installing).

This has been an expensive month for very unglamorous computer repairs! I also had a mouse start to give me trouble. Not a cheap one either! Fortunately, it's still under warranty AND I have a pretty good spare.

[Aviator32]

I have several Noctua fans in my case and they are extremely quiet and super reliable. The loudest thing in my case is the Asus CPU cooler which I would love to replace but I spent so long clipping back all the cables with cable ties I don't think I could bare to undo them all again unless I really had to.

[stansdds]

It really isn't overkill because the PSU only uses what it needs. It also allows for big upgrades later

Yep.

[wombat666]

I have several Noctua fans in my case and they are extremely quiet and super reliable.

Love them!!

I replaced all my fans plus a couple of extras (the space was there!) and fitted their top of line CPU cooler.
Once you get the hang of those odd rubber 'fixings' they're very quiet.

[dswo]

This morning I installed a Noctua NF-P12-1300 120mm case fan and Seasonic X650 power supply. (I appreciate the recommendations for bigger PSUs, but I just couldn't justify the extra dollars. The Seasonic wasn't cheap, US$140 with shipping, but it is quiet and I believe it will stay that way, based on the comments at silentpcreview.com and newegg.com. The Noctua is quiet but not silent; the noise it makes is different from the one I'm used to, so my ear gropes to hear it. I'm trying not to think about it, and hoping I will get used to it.

Observations:

1. PSUs don't need to come in drawstring bags, and the modular connectors don't need to have their own very sturdy nylon bag. Maybe I'll find a use for these, but why pay for them in the first place?

2. If you are going to replace a PSU and a case fan, do the case fan first. It's much easier to pull through the silicone grommet in the upper-righthand corner if the top section of the case is empty.

3. Replacing a PSU took me about half as much time as building a new computer from scratch. A good chunk of that was getting the old PSU out, because my CPU cooler was in the way.

4. I now have another square sticker, "Powered by Seasonic" to put on my case. Does anyone ever use these? If you do, is your case starting to look like a stock car?

[Aviator32]

I quite enjoyed finding a little corner of the back of my case to apply the Powered by Corsair badge :redf: It's the only label I have apart from the Coolermaster case logo and you have to know where to look for it but I couldn't resist. And the high quality cable case which came with the unit has been very useful for storing my PC tools. I'm a sucker for free extras if the quality is that good



Great thumbscrews too!