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Low Power PSU
With more PCs (and similar devices) in the house, I'm thinking of changing my backupNAS over to a storage machine.
The current backupNAS is running NAS4Free (FreeNAS 7.x replacement) using old hardware (Athlon X2 3600+). I only turn it when I want to backup (which is achieved via rsync).
I'm planning on replacing this hardware with a low power solution (which will be left on through the day, and probably some nights as I'd move torrents to this box). Basically I'm looking at the MSI E350DM-E33 which looks excellent for use as a storage NAS.
The only other concern I have is regarding power supply. My current backupNAS has an old Trust power supply in it (which although not terrible, is far from ideal for continuous use). The machine would have the board and integrated CPU, along with 4 hard drives (relatively modern (1.5TB) up to very modern (3TB)).
Does anyone have any recommendations for a good, efficient power supply for use with this type of hardware?
Thanks for any recommendations.
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Re: Low Power PSU
Normally I'd recommend a PicoPSU for very low power systems, but it'll probably struggle with lots of 3.5" drives, tbh. If you're willing to do some case modding FSP do a range of 1u (aka Flex ATX) PSUs with low power rating (< 300W) and 80+ certification, although they're not always easy to get hold of (linitx.com generally have a couple of models) and they're not cheap.
If you're stuck with ATX PSUs, then basically find one with as low a rating as possible and an 80+ certification. There aren't many of them - this Huntkey Jumper is the most common, but I've heard some reports that it can be quite noisy... It's also worth considering that an E350 + 4 hard drives is unlikely to use much more than 10% of the load of a 300W PSU, so it'll be running in its least efficient range.
If you could find a way to power the hard drives separately then a Pico PSU probably would be OK, actually - but I don't know of any sata-only power supplies...
EDIT: I stand corrected: you could use a PicoPSU to power the motherboard, and one of these plus some molex splitters and molex-sata adapters to power the hard drives. It'd be a little bit more outlay initially, but should be quiet, highly efficient, and flexible...
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Re: Low Power PSU
huntkey jumper is not a noisy psu, it's just not a silent psu
I think we're just so used to psu's being near silent.
The jumper is a great psu for the price, it used to be a bit cheaper, but still £40 for a 300w 80+ gold rated psu is good value and is not some lump of crud ether it's a good psu