Is 480W enough?

[EvanJackPenn]

I thing you are getting a tad worried over the PSU noise. IMHO - you need to look every part to reduce noise and that includes getting a decent case too.

The Be Quiet! PSUs have been known to use sleeve bearing fans and cheap capacitors which have put me off them ATM.

If you look at the E8 400W they use CapXon for the primary capacitor and a whole load of CapXon,OST and Teapo capacitors for the secondary. CapXon and OST don't have a good reputation especially if there is not enough cooling for the capacitors.

Gah. There's more to this than I thought. I'm looking at an Arc Mini case wise.

What would be your reccommendation then CAT?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Here are some internal pictures of the L8 430W:

http://hardwarepcblog.com/test-alime...power-l8-430w/

http://www.technic3d.com/review/netz...-im-test/3.htm

It seems to use an 85C rated Teapo although all the secondary capacitors look like they are made by OST.

Gah. There's more to this than I thought. I'm looking at an Arc Mini case wise.

What would be your reccommendation then CAT?

I would have a look at the Define Mini case,if noise is a concern though.

Here is a review:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/fractal-define-mini

I will have a look at what PSUs will be suitable.

[EvanJackPenn]

Noise isn't my #1 priority, performance is. But at the same time, I don't want a jet under my desk

[EvanJackPenn]

I'm tempted now by the PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 500W you mentioned now, as it is Seasonic, has great load regulation, and is white matching my case innards

Regarding noise:

The power supply becomes audible at around 400W load. Nothing overly intrusive, but noticeable. At 80% load the fan spins up considerably and at full load the noise emissions are around 38 dBa, clearly heard. It isn’t really practical to be running a 600W power supply at full load 24/7, so we recommended that if you need 500W or more on a regular basis, aim for a higher output model.

I won't be having a silent case anyways, so this'll be good. You say I'll most likely be sitting around 300W which will keep noise down.

Noise level isn't additive, correct? So say I have a 30dBA PSU and a 30dBA graphics card, it won't be 60dBA? Thanks

[Pob255]

Yes and No, it's not a direct additive but sounds can re-enforce and resonate with each other.
The other big issue is that sound is subjective to the human ear, eg higher pitched sound will often sound louder than lower pitched sounds and lower still can actually sound louder again.

In practise what this means is that sometimes multiple fans at the same pitch can sound louder than multiple fans at different pitches and sometimes the reverse is true.
At the same time one fan at a greatly different pitch form all the others can often be more noticeable.
You also get sympathetic vibrations, where the sound waves cause vibrations in case and or air that re-enforces and amplifies other sounds.
On top of all that the environment the case is in will also have an effect, simple way the experience this is that during the day when the background noise levels tend to be higher fans can be less noticeable but late at night when background noise is generally lower fans can be more noticeable.

The pursuit of silence will involve a lot of experimentation and trial and error.

[andy572]

You speak of 'silence' (which you won't get - you mean low noise) again and then say that it isn't so important. There is plainly a balance between how much you push your system and what cooling you need. Oh, and all cases are actually silent - until you put something in them!

If you get a good base (and I'd hope that case to be one), you'll have what it takes to build a quiet PC. As said above and mentioned by myself in a recent post, it'll depend on your surroundings too - along with what frequencies or types of sound you notice.

To further Pob's excellent description (and the first reason for me to refer to the case), vibration is a point for consideration. I have an Antec Mini P180 and the original Sonata here and the lack of resonance in the case is an enormous factor in making the Mini the quieter system. There are ways to eliminate vibration from the drives (suspending them) but with the comparable mountings that these set-ups have, it's the solidity of the Mini that creates a system that's a bit more comfortable to be around.

Especially if performance is important to you, I wouldn't get to deep into worrying about noise of the power supply. I'd be more concerned about its quality (ability to deliver clean, stable power) as with a fairly large and slow-turning fan and the likely headroom it will have (so it hopefully won't be pushed very hard and therefore won't get hot), it's the other components that will in all likelihood be the main sources of noise.

[yacoosheek]

No. Try to get be queit straight power e8-550

[TomWilson]

That would be enough providing you are not looking at using crossfire.

[stephen83]

definitely enough. i have the same gpu and my psu is 350w

[dream234]

I'd say it should be enough, but have a look at the Coolermaster 500 silent M series as well - they are modular, 80+ rated and have a bigger than usual 140mm fan so run quietly. They seem to be pretty well reviewed too.

[foxyboi]

http://www.enermax.outervision.com/
Gives you a good idea on what you need to get

[Agent]

At least we made it to 27 posts before it got linked this time.

Foxyboi: There are several threads on here which illustrate why that site doesn't produce accurate results and should be avoided.

http://forums.hexus.net/pc-hardware/...culator-9.html
http://forums.hexus.net/pc-hardware/...e-850-psu.html
http://forums.hexus.net/psus/212494-cit-m-500u.html

[shayr1992]

In my experience people tend to go way overboard with the amount of watts they need, even when they aren't overclocking or running the highest end GPU, they go with something way above 500W. I understand being safe but it is usually unnecessary