PSU Fan Connectors?

Hi All,

I recently built myself a new rig and put a Corsair HX620 in which has been a good PSU for the money. However it doesn't have a connector that plugs straight into the motherboard to control the fan in the PSU and I was wondering how much of a difference they make?

Whilst the fan isn't noisy, it's certainly the most audible part of my machine, and if I leave it on overnight I would prefer something a little quieter. I'm going to be building a NAS box over the next month and had planned to just buy the HX520, but I could move my current PSU to the new machine and just get another quieter one for my main machine. I'm happy to spend up to £100 on something as long as it's quieter than the Corsair.

Anyone got any ideas whether this is worth it? :)

Usually the cable isn't there to actually control the PSU's fan but merely report it's rpm.
I'm surprised that you find the HX620 fan noisy though unless you are really pushing the PSU all the time - sure that it isn't your 8800GTS fan that's noisier?

I thiink the speed of the Corsair fan is controlled internally by the PSU itself - as it gets warmer, the fan speed increases. As the previous post said, those PSUs with an output that plugs into the mobo are merely reporting the fan speed, not controlling it.

The fan on my HX520 exhausts air, so check that you aren't pulling in warm air from somewhere, as that will tend to push the fan speed up.

Thanks for the replies :)

It's not particularly noisy, just not as quiet as I'd like (suppose that's always the way) ;) Defintely not the 8800GTS as I keep that fan dialled down unless I'm playing games so that's very quiet.

I'm probably going to put the NAS machine in another room completely, that way it can stay on all night if necessary and not disturb anyone.

What's your cpu cooler? as they tend to be a big culprate sound wise.

I seem to remember there are some PSU's that use a 140mm fan which should in theory be quieter

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Originally Posted by wombar

Thanks for the replies :)

It's not particularly noisy, just not as quiet as I'd like (suppose that's always the way) ;)

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I have the same problem - stock fans in PSU are a bit noisy for my liking.

As your PSU is new and in warranty, I wouldn't do a fan swap - but that's what I've done to PSUs I've used in the past. Currently using a Seasonic Tornado 400W with a Sharkoon Silent Eagle with Zalman Fan Mate, fan limited to around 7v. I broke the internal fan connector when doing the fan swap so can't connect it internally.

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Originally Posted by Pob255

I seem to remember there are some PSU's that use a 140mm fan which should in theory be quieter

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NorthQ is one of the manufacturers that sell PSUs with 140mm, I think they use a M Yate Loon sleeve bearing fan. I think someone on SPCR posted a fan swap thread for one of them.

I've got a big old Scythe heatsink (it's the Andy Samuria - Scythe Andy Samurai Master CPU heatsink/fan | silentpcreview.com) that definitely isn't the culprit. I've got 4 x 120mm fans in the case (3xcase fans and CPU fan), but I've unplugged these, and the prominent noise was still there.

Don't get me wrong, the machine isn't noisy, in fact during the day you have to make an effort to hear it. It's just that it would be nice if it was quieter.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wombar

Don't get me wrong, the machine isn't noisy, in fact during the day you have to make an effort to hear it. It's just that it would be nice if it was quieter.

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I was aiming for silence or something I couldn't hear at night but settled for a bit less. You can hear the machine (at night) because I sit right next to it but it's not noisy at all (thank God).