Which PSU brands are the quietest?

I know my Zalman fans are rather..... noisy. I was very disappointed when it came to noise levels.
 
douche said:
I hope your joking here. Isn't Zalman one of first PSU to even claim quietness?
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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.
 
I would not say garbage and overpriced, the noise makes up for the cooling. The case fans are EXCELLENT!
 
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).

FSP probably has the cheapest, quality PSUs newegg has a 300w at $25. Is FSP quieter than Antec, Seasonic, PC Power & Cooling or Enermax, though?
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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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104035. 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.
 
fortyways said:
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.
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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?
 
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