QUIET PSU and CASE recomendations required

[julian.day17]

Hi I’ve been shopping at scan for over 8 years now and am very happy with the service,


I am about to build 4 pcs to replace 4 old Pentium 3 machines and it is hard to find out what is good or not in the PSU and case arena.

All 4 will have core 2 duo CPU’s, but NOT use any dual graphic cards i.e. ati crossfire.
All 4 systems will need to connect to Intel 965 or 975x chipset motherboards like latest gigabyte or asus so will need the correct psu motherboard connector.

As noise reduction is the main factor.
Does anyone know which is the quietest PSU around 480W to use?
I have seen fanless ones but I am not sure if these are good as it would mean fan would switch on and off intermittently, and maybe it would be best to get one that has fan running constantly at low rpm and quiet?

I would also like to know recommended midi tower cases (last system used scan Clio) to use which has very quiet cooling fan(s) installed or quietest replacement ones which can be purchased separately.


Thanks in advance

jools

[dave87]

Seasonic S12-500w is usually a good buy

[Supermagicmatt]

Yeah the seasonic is a good PSU, quiet and reliable. I wouldnt suggest a fanless PSU, in my experience they're not that reliable (i had one fail on me).
As far as cases are concerned i would either go for one with a fan controller or buy a fan controller to fit into the case, this is the easiest way to controll the noise.

[Mathonar]

I've got an Antec P180 with a Neo550 and it's much quieter than my previous PC, the DVD drive is the noisiest part of it. I've got my old PC a the other end of the room atm and i can't hear my new one over it despite being 1ft away from 1 vs 15ft to the other.

[amjedm]

Another vote for Seasonic.

Do you have a budget for the case? The Akasa Zen looks nice but I've just missed out on getting hold of one.

[julian.day17]

Ater much extensive reasharch Was looking at the Arkasa Eclipse case, the Gigabyte Alu case and the Antec P180. I think i read somewhere that the Arkasa Zen does not have a reset button on the front?