About Power Supplies (EVGA x Corsair x Seasonic)

luizfysouza

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Hey guys, i'm from Brazil and we just have 3 options of 80plus gold power supplies right now (i'm, we have others, but Corsair and EVGA are the only brands we have, Seasonic; XFX and others brands are very rare and expensive to buy here. We have another models of Corsair and EVGA power supplies, obviously). So, my computer is:
.GTX 1070
.4 Fans
.WC CM Masterliquid 240mm
.I7 7700K
.HD 1TB + SSD 240GB
I think this consumes about 375w, isn't it?
I'm in doubt about 3 models, they are: EVGA G3 Supernova 550W, Corsair RM 550X and Seasonic G Series 550w
These are the best power supplies i can buy now, and i want one that doesn't make so much noise, have good ripple and voltage control. Basically, i want a power supply that doesn't disturb me with the noise and last some years.
In the reviews i saw, the RM550X was the quietest, and it seems to be really good, but i think EVGA G3 is very good too and i don't know wich one to buy...
What do you think? Wich is the best power supply? They are all the same price here
Sorry if i did something wrong, i'm new here, and i hope you can understand my very poor english
Thanks!
 
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No there is nothing in the G3 that'll make it better than the RMx in a relevant away. Electrical performance is so good with both that even if the G3 is a tiny bit better it really doesn't matter in the real world, the difference is irrelevant.

Yes a 550W is fine, or you can go higher if you want. Some people like to just because they do, if it was me I'd be buying the 550W, but I'm not you so I don't really care whatever you get.

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Zerk2012

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I've never heard my Seasonic G series fan running although I'm sure it does His liquid cooler will be much louder than any power supply.
 

luizfysouza

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But the review we have here says that it is very audible... (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/evga-supernova-850-g3-psu,4930-5.html).
While the RM 550X (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-rm550x-power-supply,4484-5.html) seems to be very silent.
What do you think?

 

mbilal2

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But the review we have here says that it is very audible... (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/evga-supernova-850-g3-psu,4930-5.html).
While the RM 550X (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-rm550x-power-supply,4484-5.html) seems to be very silent.
What do you think?

Based on the information from EVGA site,
Such an aggressive fan curve is only made on 1000W and 850W units of the G3 series
550W, 650W and 750W - have a much smoother relaxed curve

This was a comment by a user not an official one by EVGA. I cannot confirm the above mentioned comment.

That being said, there is an ECO mode button behind it. The fans go in silent mode if you turn it on. EVGA's website says:

EVGA ECO mode means the power supply is completely silent during low to medium loads. This is one quiet power supply!

The test was probably done with the ECO mode off to keep consistency in the result. Simply turn it on to get the silent mode.

Info taken from HERE and HERE.

I keep eco-mode turned off since performance is everything to me. But in your case, you can turn it on to get quieter experience.
 
Going by the Tomshardware review they did have eco mode on. As the author stated, passive mode did not last long at all, the fan kicked in really early and shot to really high RPMs measuring 36dB at low loads.

At the end of the day, the Tomshardware review pretty much can't be argued against.
 

luizfysouza

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Actually, they did use the ECO mode...
G2 Series seem to be more quiet: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/evga-supernova-550-g2-power-supply,4244-5.html
I can buy the G2 too, but i think Corsair RM550x is still better, once his fans are turned off until i reach 275W (according to the Tom's review, http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-rm550x-power-supply,4484-5.html). And, even after reach 275W, the RX550M stay in 600 rpm/ 20dba. Considering i will use 375w in the "worst" case, the power supply will stay in 600rpm/20 dba, which i think is a very good noise level...
So i think i'm going to pick RM550X, what do you guys think?
Thanks again
 

luizfysouza

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Well, my XFX 750W XXX Edition 80plus Bronze do a lot of noise when i'm playing because of the fan RPM.
I saw this review https://www.pcper.com/reviews/Cases-and-Cooling/EVGA-SuperNOVA-550W-G3-Power-Supply-Review/Efficiency-Differential-Tempera
Different of the 850w review, this one indicate very good noise levels (still pretty worst than RM550X).
But Supernova G3 seems to be more recent and updated model.
I'm really confused now...
 

mbilal2

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850W gives off 43.5 dB and 550W gives 25dB. That's a big gap. It reinforces the statement that

Such an aggressive fan curve is only made on 1000W and 850W units of the G3 series
550W, 650W and 750W - have a much smoother relaxed curve (meaning less noise).

Don't compare the 850W G3 with the 550W of the other ones. Compare them with the G3 550W (assuming the testing is accurate on pcper).

Honestly? I think pretty much any fan in the case will be louder than that one

My G3's fan is the louder than the CPU fan (running on a custom fan curve)... I stress tested my CPU for 15 minutes the noise from the PSU remained pretty much constant.. Though I have to mention the PSU's fan remained very very silent (I could not hear it) when I was stressing both my CPU and GPU with the PSU being in ECO mode..
 

Karadjgne

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All of that is absolutely pointless. By the time you have stressed a psu hard enough to get it hot enough to be pushing the fan fast enough to be audible, the gpu fans will be loud, the cpu fans will be loud, the case fans will be ramped up. It's virtually impossible to hear a psu fan if the psu is adequate for the load.

In simple terms, you will not be able to hear it specifically over the rest of the noise from the pc.

Evga G3 is tier 1. Corsair RMx is tier 1. Both are excellent psus, DC-DC (recommended for Haswell or newer Intel using c-states) the Seasonic G is older group regulated tier 2.(still a damned good psu though).

Prices being equitable (?) either the G3 or RMx would be the better option.
 

Sedivy

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My G3's fan is the louder than the CPU fan (running on a custom fan curve)... I stress tested my CPU for 15 minutes the noise from the PSU remained pretty much constant.. Though I have to mention the PSU's fan remained very very silent (I could not hear it) when I was stressing both my CPU and GPU with the PSU being in ECO mode..
I think this varies a lot in terms of their capacity vs load you're putting on them, as you mentioned. I know my psu is a bit of an overkill on my system, and I could have gone with lower, but I never hear it, it's only a fraction of noise I get from my case fans on load.
 

luizfysouza

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Yeah, but RM550X is fanstop until reach 275W. My pc uses 375W at maximum (i don't think it will rach such great potency, but ok). Anyway, with 375W, the fan noise is just 18 dba/ 580 rpm (according to this review http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-rm550x-power-supply,4484-5.html).
On the ohter hand, Supernova is fanstop just until 110W. 375W noise is about 20dba. I'm, i don't think 20dba is audible, is it? But, even so, RM is considerably more silent... By that aspect, i pick RM (they have the same price here) but Supernova is more recent, and i don't know if it's good enough to make me buy it. What do you guys think? In terms of better construction by being "younger", there's some difference between this power supplies? Something that make me pick Supernova instead of RM? Because, if Supernova has longer lifetime (i don't know, power supplies stop being usable as they launch new processors and graphic cards?) i will pick it, i think.
Another thing is the review of the 850W version, it is very noisy according to the Tom's review. Is it right? 550W version is so more quiet than 850W?
Thanks
 
You can definitely hear a PSU fan, it won't necessarily be drowned out if it's loud enough. Additionally, at low loads especially, looking at that fan curve of the G3, that fan will be louder than the case fans and GPU and CPU fans most likely. At like 150W load, in that vicinity.

Additionally, noise is additive. If you are in a football stadium and one single individual on the other side of the stadium is whispering, you won't hear them. If all of a sudden 20,000 people on that side of the stadium start whispering, you can actually hear their whispering across the stadium.

I used to know the actual mathematics when it came to adding a second souce of equal sound intensity, but I can't recall it exactly. But even if other fans are equally as loud as the G3 fan, the G3 makes the overall net decibels perceived by your ears louder.

Now some people do have overly loud case fans because they run them at full blast. That's their own problem, but in my case with Noctuas I would hear a PSU fan in an instant. It is unreasonable to think the noise of a PSU is an unimportant thing overshadowed by other hardware.

Also luiz the G3 was much more than 20dB, read it again. I would say once you get to 32dB it becomes audible but not annoying. Get to 40dB and okay it's getting annoying.
 

Karadjgne

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20db(A) is about the level of sound a smoker makes when blowing smoke out. In other words, almost dead silent. 30db(A) is a quiet whisper from 3 feet away.
The calculator was wrong, your system won't be @ 375w at max. Figure 200w for the 1070, 100w for pc, and anywhere upto 200w for cpu. Non OC you'd be looking at @ 375w gaming loads, OC is upto @500w. Max will be somewhat higher, @20%.

One thing to remember is that any audio testing done on a psu is done in a quiet room where the psu is the only source of noise, it's on a test bench with a microphone aimed at the open fan. What it's not done is inside a pc case, upside down and buried, subjected to higher load situations where most likely the noise of a single encased 120/130/140mm fan will be buried under the noise of dual intake fans, dual exhaust fans and gpu/cpu fans operating at near (if not at) maximum speed and volumes. Pretty much, if under stress loads, the only way you'll ever actually distinguish the psu fan from any other noise is by putting your head on the desktop and shoving your nose to the case.

I own a 550w G2, gtx970 @124%OC, i7-3770K @4.6GHz in a fractal design R5 Window with an nzxt x61. No matter how hard I've ever punished the psu under load, I've never heard the psu fan. Ever. And that's in a case built for silence of any kind of cpu/gpu/case fans.

Stop obsessing. It's pointless. The only application where psu fan volume is of any consequence is in a silent system that's designed to be silent. In an everyday gaming machine, psu noise at levels below @30db(A) under duress is inconsequential.
 

unikinqay

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Fan noise is not an obsession. I just bought Be Quiet, Pure power PSU, which should be inaudible when PC is in idle and I can clearly hear it. It's very annoying when you work long hours in front of PC. Some of us just can't stand any noise coming out of our rigs.

That being said, I would advise you against EVGA G3. It has much too aggressive fan profile according to Tom's hardware review:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/evga-supernova-850-g3-psu,4930-5.html
 


That's not a valid comparison, because the 550 G2 should be quite quieter than a G3. The problem with the EVGA G3 is the fan seems to run fast even when the ambient temps are cooler. The EVGA G2 is much quieter with lower ambient temperatures, but the EVGA G3 seems to be noisy whether internal temps are high or low.

This is with a normal ambient temperature:

oYfJwoc.png


Way too loud for me at least. We're not even at 150W yet and it's in the 37-40dB area with low ambient temperatures. It gets quite higher than that later. Additionally, not all GPU fans are rockets. Most GPU fans remain below 40dB, and they can be configured to one's liking with a custom fan curve. Running games with Vsync usually won't even push GPUs to 100%, making their fans much quieter than this PSU.

I looked up the 850 G2 review and it is quieter than the 850 G3 https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/SuperNOVA_G2_850/7.html

The Corsair RMx uses much better technology for its fan curve. It uses a programmable IC to control the fan, something that costs more money to manufacture but in the end results in a much more ideal fan curve and quieter PSU.

It seems like these days all EVGA cares about on their "newer, better" PSUs is electrical performance. The G3s seem to be noisy, and the B3s have worse build quality than the B2s and explode.

The OP specifically said that he wanted a power supply with low noise. That is what OP wants.

Edit: Going by the pcper review of the 550 G3, it is indeed quieter than the 850 G3. Different platform of course, so that could be why. But RMx is still quieter.
 

luizfysouza

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So, the question is: do you think 550W is enough to my PC? I have an XFX 750W XXX Edition 80Plus Bronze, and it is very noisy when i'm using 100% of CPU. Do you indicate more potency or is it good? I'm, the fan probably won't be so noisy at 100%, will it?
These 2 power supplies are my best option here, so i think i'm going to stay with RM 550X. Unless you say it's not sufficient.
My main doubt is: there's something in G3 that makes it better than RM? I'm, somthing that will affect me in a relevant way (beyond the noise, of course, i'm talking about something related with the construction of the power supply: i don't know, riple, load regulation, efficiency, or something like this). Because if the difference between the 2 power supplies isn't relevant, nothing that makes me have a better experiencie with one of them, so i will pick RM, because of the better noise level...
They have the same price here.
 
No there is nothing in the G3 that'll make it better than the RMx in a relevant away. Electrical performance is so good with both that even if the G3 is a tiny bit better it really doesn't matter in the real world, the difference is irrelevant.

Yes a 550W is fine, or you can go higher if you want. Some people like to just because they do, if it was me I'd be buying the 550W, but I'm not you so I don't really care whatever you get.
 
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