Hi Breakbeat,
There are several things you can do to reduce the noise level of existing fans and powersupplies...
Perhaps the easiest is to fix a carboard deflector over the fan outlet on the back of your computer to re-direct the airflow around a 90degree corner, downward. Basically it looks like a small cube shaped cardboard box with the back and bottom cut out, taped over the fan opening. This can really quiet things down a lot.
A second trick is to put a 10ohm/2watt resistor in series with the power lead of the fan. This will only take a few hundred rpm off the fan's speed, but it really quiets things down a lot. My 3700 rpm PSU fan came down to 3100 and makes almost no sound at all, cooling seems unaffected. The same trick on my CPU cooler brought the rpm down from 4300 to about 3850, it's very quiet, with only a 2 degree penalty in cooling.
You may not need to spend a lot of money on a new power supply, etc. Try some simple tricks first.
I have this Enlight power supply that pisses me off. I use it to test systems, but can't hear it start. So half the time I can't tell if I've powered up.
<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>
I think you will like the ProSilence 350W... it has absolute no fans.
Here is a review: <A HREF="http://www.warp2search.net/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=35" target="_new">http://www.warp2search.net/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=35</A>
My dual-PSU PC is so powerfull that the neighbourhood dimms when I turn it on
Thank you everyone. These are all very helpful suggestions. The fanless power supply looks cool, but it is huge and expensive. I am also looking into the other power supplies you all suggested.
I'm an enthusiast of the Seasonic and Nexus power supplies. Nexus uses a good fan made by Protechnic Electric and implements Passive PFC in their power supplies. Seasonic has a superior fan control method for low noise and sufficient cooling. Seasonic has the best price for Active PFC models. These power supplies are virtually silent!
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Hebrews126 on 02/24/03 01:02 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
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