Garethman!!`

I know my Zalman fans are rather..... noisy. I was very disappointed when it came to noise levels.

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CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 / AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-53 1.70GHz
RAM : 8GB DDR2 PC6400 / 2GB DDR2 PC5300
HDD : 750GB SATA Seagate Barracuda/ Hitachi 120GB 5400RPM
GPU : Radeon HD2900XT 512MB / Radeon Xpress 1150 128MB
OS : Windows Vista Ultimate x64 / Windows Vista Basic
PSU : Hiper 730W ATX / 80W Dell Laptop Power Brick

fortyways

Yes. Are you suggesting that we should listen to their marketing to determine if their products are quiet?

Seriously, all their heatsinks and fans are marketed as "CNPS" (Computer Noise Prevention System), and yet they all sound like RC cars at 12V and are no quieter than the stock Intel fan at 5V.

Zalman is an overpriced, lying company that sells garbage.

Garethman!!`

I would not say garbage and overpriced, the noise makes up for the cooling. The case fans are EXCELLENT!

__________________
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 / AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-53 1.70GHz
RAM : 8GB DDR2 PC6400 / 2GB DDR2 PC5300
HDD : 750GB SATA Seagate Barracuda/ Hitachi 120GB 5400RPM
GPU : Radeon HD2900XT 512MB / Radeon Xpress 1150 128MB
OS : Windows Vista Ultimate x64 / Windows Vista Basic
PSU : Hiper 730W ATX / 80W Dell Laptop Power Brick

fortyways

So are the case fans that come with any case if you don't care about noise.

ceewi1

In general, 120mm fans are going to be quieter than 80mm fans cooling PSUs. It's difficult to make such comparisons based solely on the brand, but as a few people have mentioned Seasonic have a reputation for making quiet PSUs, which also extends to PSUs made by them for other companies (e.g. Some Antec, Corsair units).

It helps to look for a high efficiency unit and to get a PSU that offers more power than you need (any PSU is going to be loud at 100% load).

Not in general. The units being referred to are the FSP Zen series, which are truly fanless but extremely expensive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104035. A few other companies make similar products, e.g. Silverstone Nightjar, but none are cheap. FSP are one of those companies that use older models as their lowend range, and are therefore likely to be comparatively loud.

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Cheap PSUs - 2% of system costs, responsible for 28% of system deaths

douche

Well, luckily i've NEVER bought anything by Zalman, but if they are as bad as you say wouldn't they be out of business?

So, the consensus is, Thermaltake & FSP are louder than Antec et al, then? If i were to list PSU brands in order from least to most noisest, it would be:

1. Seasonic
2. Antec
3. Pc Power and Cooling (expensive)
4 Enermax
5 Ultra? (NO one brought this one up, is it noisy??)
6 FSP

I just salvaged an HP Vectra VL420 PC, and it came with a VERY quiet PSU, although it's BIG (it must have 120mm fans, though, that would explain why they emit less noise than 80mm) it's made by Lite-On. I've heard they also make PSUs for Dell and other PC companies. Does anyone know where to buy a modern PSU from Lite-On?