[Solved] What are you paying for in a fanless PSU?

Is the added cost of a fanless PSU primarily in its ability to work properly while hot?
Fanless PSUs typically run quite hot so it makes sense that they need better high temp components.

Im trying to figure out what the difference is between a [fanless psu + some airflow from my case somewhere] and a fanned PSU.

What are the people paying for a fanless PSU?.. They pay for it being a fanless. Ahe! joke!

Well, most obvious reason why some peeps choose to buy fanless ultra quiet PSU
rather than those with with 140mm fans installed, for the reason that, it helps
them work better and concentrate more on what they are doing while using their
computer or gaming rig. In addition, there are some people who lives in a very very
quiet place where the sound of the psu's whirling fan running can easily disturb
them, no matter how quiet the fan of the psu is.

Second, fanless PSU consumes less power as compared to other PSU with cooling
fans in it, though some would argue, the fan only consumes very very low
power that it wont even affect your electric bill. True, but for the point of consuming
more power compared to a fanless PSU with the same wattage. still, fanless PSU
consumes less power.

Third, some and including those high end fanless PSUs doesnt last long specially if
its installed in a high end gaming rig. Due to the tremendous power consumption
that the PSU must deliver all at the same time to all the components installed in a
gaming rig while playing a game for example, the capacitors of the PSU and other
internal components will generate more heat than normal usage thus, the more
heat it generates the faster the aging of its capacitors will result and this lessens
the power output of the PSU in the longrun and soon will lead to malfunctions.

If you would say, im not a gamer and i just want a quiet PSU that i can use for a
long time with no fans. No Problem!.. You can buy a fanless psu but just dont
expect it to last as long as those branded ones with fans in it specially those
designed for high end gaming.

Some high end gaming psu specially the popular ones with fans in it can last up to
7+ years of very heavy use. Honestly i've never seen a fanless psu last that long.
Expect a fanless psu to last 3 to 4 years depending on your usage.


Hope this helps :-)

High end gaming is not a suitable application for a fanless power supply, simply because the noise of the CPU, GPU, and case fans will mask the sound of the PSU fan anyway.

The only real application of a fanless PSU is in an HTPC or perhaps an audio workstation where silence is critical.

Why would i spend 1.4x the price where i can get the same performance at a lower cost. As jsc mentioned, the heatsink fans, GPU fans are the one's the create the main racket, not the PSU.

Which brand of PSU you have and the rating?

Thanks for the vote!