Can a PSU be nearly silenced?

Bertman · Jun 23, 2022

Hey everyone. I have a geothermal loop on my PC and I took out almost all the fans (8 in total) from my PC. It is nearly silent. I have one 240mm on low blowing across my 4 8tb HDDS. My power supply is the main noise left. It is a Corsair AX1200. I replaced the fan in it with a Noctua NF-P14s and it's better but still there. My PC draws 600+/- watts under full load. I cut out the mesh at the bottom of my case but that made no difference. Does anyone have a suggestion or 2 for me to try? Thanks

SpittinFax · Jun 23, 2022

I have a P14S Redux and it is definitely on the louder side. Try a Be Quiet Silent Wings 3 140mm PWM fan, even at full speed of 1000rpm they're very quiet. I'm sure someone will say "but they're not as good for pressure situations", well unfortunately you can't win all the time (and it'll be plenty for a PSU anyway).

Mussels · Jun 23, 2022

SpittinFax said:
I have a P14S Redux and it is definitely on the louder side. Try a Be Quiet Silent Wings 3 140mm PWM fan, even at full speed of 1000rpm they're very quiet. I'm sure someone will say "but they're not as good for pressure situations", well unfortunately you can't win all the time (and it'll be plenty for a PSU anyway).

^ This.

Noctuas are fantastic for performance (especially pressure), but there are definitely quieter fans out there - and a PSU doesn't need pressure.

Bertman · Jun 23, 2022

Thanks guys. I didn't realize there were quieter fans. I've always thought Noctua was the gold standard

SpittinFax · Jun 23, 2022

Bertman said:
Thanks guys. I didn't realize there were quieter fans. I've always thought Noctua was the gold standard

I have had good experiences with Noctua, but mainly in the smaller (92mm and down) sizes. Can't comment on the NF-A12x25's because I haven't tried them. Especially in the 140mm size I have found Noctua fans to be not be all that good.

Frick · Jun 23, 2022

Bertman said:
Thanks guys. I didn't realize there were quieter fans. I've always thought Noctua was the gold standard

Not for noise.

AusWolf · Jun 23, 2022

Bertman said:
Thanks guys. I didn't realize there were quieter fans. I've always thought Noctua was the gold standard

My gold standard is Be Quiet.

ExcuseMeWtf · Jun 23, 2022

Yep. For low noise Silent Wings are fantastic option. One of the few fans with bearings quiet enough that I can't hear them at low rpms
Other ones I can vouch for would be Enermax TB Silence.

qubit · Jun 23, 2022

Doesn't that AX1200 have a fan off mode? I know that the more advanced AX1200i does.

AlwaysHope · Jun 23, 2022

qubit said:
Doesn't that AX1200 have a fan off mode? I know that the more advanced AX1200i does.

Good point, my new RM1000x has zero fan mode until a certain wattage starts being consumed. But with the top of the range AX models, it most certainly should have that feature!

nguyen · Jun 23, 2022

Corsair RM line usually have fan off mode that turn off the fan at <50% load, Idk about AX line

Bertman · Jun 24, 2022

No fan off mode that I know of. So what if I hook the fan to the motherboard and set it to be controlled by VRM temp maybe? Can't use CPU cause it never breaks 67 and my GPU never exceeds 45c. I am probably not thinking on it right but maybe finding a way to use the MOBO for speed might be effective

GerKNG · Jun 24, 2022

i can not remember hearing my PSU once. (BeQuiet Straight Power 11 Platinum and Dark Power Pro 12) even with having only Noctua NF-A12x25 at low RPM that they are below the noise floor and inaudible.
are noise PSUs really a thing? i had one Corsair RM750x in a cheaper build that had massive coil whine but that's it.

Bertman · Jun 24, 2022

I'm being a bit silly about it I guess. It's just that its the only audible part of my system. I went from a near roar to a light whush when I took out all my case fans, radiator fans and VGA cooler. I just kinda figured I would make it as silent as it could be.

The red spirit · Jun 24, 2022

Controversial opinion, but you should have bought Silverstone Nightjar or some other passive PSU. They are 0dB.

Shrek · Jun 24, 2022

I would be very cautious about replacing a power supply fan with something different as the cooling may be adversely affected; I believe this was discussed on the now defunct Jonney Guru site

A small presence remains on facebook
JonnyGURU.com | Facebook

Braegnok · Jun 24, 2022

If your PC only draws 600 +/- Watts,.. eliminates the fan noise completely with Seasonic TX 700W PSU. https://www.quietpc.com/ssr-prime-fanless-tx-700

Shrek · Jun 24, 2022

I like fan-less power supplies; but in reality, they depend on the case flow.

micropage7 · Jun 24, 2022

What about moving the fan to the next room and channel the air to your pc through pipes

AusWolf · Jun 24, 2022

The red spirit said:
Controversial opinion, but you should have bought Silverstone Nightjar or some other passive PSU. They are 0dB.

Either this, or a semi-passive one like @Braegnok mentioned. I think those are the best, as they don't depend on case airflow as much as fanless ones. They're passive when it matters (in idle), but they do a light fan spin when needed. I've had two Seasonic Prime units so far - both of them were inaudible even when the fan was spinning. I currently have a 750 W Gold unit that stays passive until 300 W is consumed. Paired with a 6500 XT, it stays passive nearly all the time.

qubit · Jun 24, 2022

Bertman said:
No fan off mode that I know of. So what if I hook the fan to the motherboard and set it to be controlled by VRM temp maybe? Can't use CPU cause it never breaks 67 and my GPU never exceeds 45c. I am probably not thinking on it right but maybe finding a way to use the MOBO for speed might be effective

I really wouldn't do that. The designers of that PSU took account of cooling at all power loads, so it's quite possible that some small, but vital component will overheat even at just a tiddly 200W load or something without some airflow. Only do this if you don't care about your PC and / or PSU as the PSU could take out the PC at the point of failure if modded from stock, even though it's a high quality model. Something tells me that you do care about them.

claes · Jun 24, 2022

P14S is probably the second loudest fan in Noctua’s lineup, behind the F12. I’d either go passive PSU or get a thermalright or bequiet 140mm

Shrek · Jun 24, 2022

Here are the Noctua noise ratings
Fans (noctua.at)

Mussels said:
Noctuas are fantastic for performance (especially pressure), but there are definitely quieter fans out there - and a PSU doesn't need pressure.

Except for the crazy baffles many power supplies have right up against the fan.

Fangio1951 · Jun 24, 2022

My EVGA Supernova P2 1200 was first purchased in Dec 2014.

It has a semi passive switch on the side of the case, which has been On since first installed.

I've NEVER heard or seen the fan operate in normal, benching or overclocking mode.

I even thought there was something wrong with the fan at one stage.

Best psu I've ever purchased !!!!

xtreemchaos · Jun 24, 2022

most seasonics have passive upto drawing 450ish watts and when the fan kicks in there quite.

System Name	Main Rig
Processor	5950x @ 4.65ghz all-core
Motherboard	Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Impact
Cooling	Geothermal loop
Memory	64 gig Crucial Ballistix 3200
Video Card(s)	MSI Gaming Z Trio
Storage	WD Black SN850 1tb NVME 4x8gb WD Red HDDS in 2 16gig raid 0 arrays
Display(s)	Samsung 32inch Curved Monitor
Case	Thermaltake Level 10 GT
Audio Device(s)	Soundbaster x4
Power Supply	Corsair AX1200
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Logitech G19
Benchmark Scores	Firestrike 19837 Cinebench R23 31124

Processor	Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard	Asus B550-F Gaming WiFi
Cooling	Be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4
Memory	64GB G.Skill Ripjaws V 3600 CL18
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte RX 6600 Eagle (de-shrouded)
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 1TB M.2
Display(s)	2 x Asus 1080p 60Hz IPS
Case	Antec P101 Silent
Audio Device(s)	Ifi Zen DAC V2
Power Supply	Be Quiet! Straight Power 11 650W Platinum
Mouse	JSCO JNL-101k
Keyboard	Akko 3108 V2 (Akko Pink linears)

System Name	Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor	Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard	Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling	Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory	2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage	2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s)	Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) \| Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) \| Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case	Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G560 \| Corsair Void pro RGB \|Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply	Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse	Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores	Nyooom.

System Name	Main Rig
Processor	5950x @ 4.65ghz all-core
Motherboard	Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Impact
Cooling	Geothermal loop
Memory	64 gig Crucial Ballistix 3200
Video Card(s)	MSI Gaming Z Trio
Storage	WD Black SN850 1tb NVME 4x8gb WD Red HDDS in 2 16gig raid 0 arrays
Display(s)	Samsung 32inch Curved Monitor
Case	Thermaltake Level 10 GT
Audio Device(s)	Soundbaster x4
Power Supply	Corsair AX1200
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Logitech G19
Benchmark Scores	Firestrike 19837 Cinebench R23 31124

Processor	Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard	Asus B550-F Gaming WiFi
Cooling	Be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4
Memory	64GB G.Skill Ripjaws V 3600 CL18
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte RX 6600 Eagle (de-shrouded)
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 1TB M.2
Display(s)	2 x Asus 1080p 60Hz IPS
Case	Antec P101 Silent
Audio Device(s)	Ifi Zen DAC V2
Power Supply	Be Quiet! Straight Power 11 650W Platinum
Mouse	JSCO JNL-101k
Keyboard	Akko 3108 V2 (Akko Pink linears)

Can a PSU be nearly silenced?

Bertman

SpittinFax

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

Bertman

SpittinFax

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

AusWolf

ExcuseMeWtf

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit

AlwaysHope

nguyen

Bertman

GerKNG

Bertman

The red spirit

Shrek

Braegnok

Shrek

micropage7

AusWolf

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit

claes

Shrek

Fangio1951

xtreemchaos

System Name	Black MC in Tokyo
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard	Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling	Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory	2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage	Kingston A400 240GB \| WD Black SN750 2TB \|WD Blue 1TB x 2 \| Toshiba P300 2TB \| Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s)	Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case	Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s)	Line6 UX1 + some headphones, Nektar SE61 keyboard
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown
VR HMD	Acer Mixed Reality Headset
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Rimworld 4K ready!

System Name	Nebulon-B Mk. 4
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	MSi PRO B650M-A WiFi
Cooling	be quiet! Dark Rock 4
Memory	2x 24 GB Corsair Vengeance EXPO DDR5-6000
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7800 XT
Storage	2 TB Corsair MP600 GS, 2 TB Corsair MP600 R2, 4 + 8 TB Seagate Barracuda 3.5"
Display(s)	Dell S3422DWG, 7" Waveshare touchscreen
Case	Kolink Citadel Mesh black
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime GX-750
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 2S
Keyboard	Logitech G413 SE
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Cinebench R23 single-core: 1,800, multi-core: 18,000. Superposition 1080p Extreme: 9,900.

System Name	Quantumville™
Processor	Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard	Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling	Noctua NH-D14
Memory	16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage	Samsung 850 Pro 256GB \| WD Black 4TB \| WD Blue 6TB
Display(s)	ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) \| Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case	Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s)	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply	Corsair AX1600i
Mouse	Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard	Yes
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

System Name	The de-ploughminator Mk-II
Processor	i7 13700KF
Motherboard	MSI Z790 Carbon
Cooling	ID-Cooling SE-226-XT + Phanteks T30
Memory	2x16GB G.Skill DDR5 7200Cas34
Video Card(s)	Asus RTX4090 TUF
Storage	Kingston KC3000 2TB NVME
Display(s)	LG OLED CX48"
Case	Corsair 5000D Air
Power Supply	Corsair HX850
Mouse	Razor Viper Ultimate
Keyboard	Corsair K75
Software	win11

System Name	Sunk Cost Fallacy
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASRock B650E Steel Legend Wifi
Cooling	Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 Rev. 7
Memory	2x16GB G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO 6000 CL30
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Nitro+ RX 7900 XTX Vapor-X
Storage	WD Black SN850X 1TB + 2x 2TB, 2x 4TB Crucial MX500, 4TB Samsung 870 Evo.
Display(s)	Alienware AW2723DF, LG 27GR93U, LG 27GN950-B
Case	Lian Li O11 Air Mini
Audio Device(s)	Bose Companion Series 2 III, Sennheiser GSP600 and HD599 SE - Creative Soundblaster X4
Power Supply	bequiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1500w Titanium
Mouse	Logitech GPRO X Superlight & G502 X
Keyboard	Corsair K65 RGB Mini, Razer Black Widow V3 TKL
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S

System Name	Shizuka
Processor	Intel Core i5 10400F
Motherboard	Gigabyte B460M Aorus Pro
Cooling	Scythe Choten
Memory	2x8GB G.Skill Aegis 2666 MHz
Video Card(s)	PowerColor Red Dragon V2 RX 580 8GB ~100 watts in Wattman
Storage	512GB WD Blue + 256GB WD Green + 4TH Toshiba X300
Display(s)	BenQ BL2420PT
Case	Cooler Master Silencio S400
Audio Device(s)	Topping D10 + AIWA NSX-V70
Power Supply	Chieftec A90 550W (GDP-550C)
Mouse	Steel Series Rival 100
Keyboard	Hama SL 570
Software	Windows 10 Enterprise

System Name	HP Compaq 8000 Elite CMT
Processor	Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550
Motherboard	Hewlett-Packard 3647h
Memory	16GB DDR3
Video Card(s)	Asus NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 2GB GDDR5 (fan-less)
Storage	2TB Micron SATA SSD; 2TB Seagate Firecuda 3.5" HDD
Display(s)	Dell P2416D (2560 x 1440)
Power Supply	12V HP proprietary
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

Processor	Intel Core i9-14900KF
Motherboard	Asus Maximus Z790 Apex
Cooling	Full Custom Water
Memory	48GB DDR5
Video Card(s)	Nvidia RTX 3090 FE
Storage	Crucial T700 2TB Gen5 SSD
Display(s)	Asus PG27AQDM
Case	Primochill Praxis WetBench
Audio Device(s)	SteelSeries Arctis Pro
Power Supply	SeaSonic Prime TX-1600
Mouse	G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard	Ducky MIYA Pro
Software	Windows 11 Pro 23H2
Benchmark Scores	http://www.3dmark.com/spy/46650491 http://www.3dmark.com/fs/31566677

System Name	boomer--->zoomer not your typical millenial build
Processor	i5-760 @ 3.8ghz + turbo ~goes wayyyyyyyyy fast cuz turboooooz~
Motherboard	P55-GD80 ~best motherboard ever designed~
Cooling	NH-D15 ~double stack thot twerk all day~
Memory	16GB Crucial Ballistix LP ~memory gone AWOL~
Video Card(s)	MSI GTX 970 ~~GOLDEN EDITION~~ RAWRRRRRR
Storage	500GB Samsung 850 Evo (OS X, *nix), 128GB Samsung 840 Pro (W10 Pro), 1TB SpinPoint F3 ~best in class
Display(s)	ASUS VW246H ~best 24" you've seen FULL HD 1O80PP SLAPS~
Case	FT02-W ~the W stands for white but it's brushed aluminum except for the disgusting ODD bays; cries
Audio Device(s)	A LOT
Power Supply	850W EVGA SuperNova G2 ~hot fire like champagne~
Mouse	CM Spawn ~cmcz R c00l seth mcfarlane darawss~
Keyboard	CM QF Rapid - Browns ~fastrrr kees for fstr teens~
Software	integrated into the chassis
Benchmark Scores	9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

System Name	K9
Processor	i9 9900K @ 5.1Ghz and 32deg C - delid + Grizzly Conductonaught LM
Motherboard	Gigabyte Aorus Z390 Gaming X
Cooling	Custom water cooling loop - GPU + mobo (+VRM's) + CPU
Memory	G Skill - Trident Z RGB DDR4 - 3866Mhz x 32Gb @ 3800Mhz
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte Aorus 11Gb GTX 1080 Ti Waterforce Extreme @ 2250Mhz
Storage	Samsung 500Gb M2 970 EVO + Samsung 850 Pro SSD + ADATA 512Gb SSD + Samsung 1Tb & 3T + WD 1Tb + 3Tb
Display(s)	ASUS 27" ROG Swift 1440p @ 165Hz & BenQ 27" LED
Case	Thermaltake Core P7 - Open frame
Audio Device(s)	Logitech Z906 - 5.1ch
Power Supply	EVGA 1200W
Mouse	Roccat LeadR + Razer Nagar V2 Pro
Keyboard	Corsair K70 LUX with Cherry Red switches
Software	Win 10 Pro 64bit
Benchmark Scores	v/fast

System Name	1.FortySe7en VR rig 2. intel teliscope rig 3.MSI GP72MVR Leopard Pro .E-52699, Xeon play thing
Processor	1.3900x @stock 2. i7 7700k @5. 3. i7 7700hq
Motherboard	1.aorus x570 ultra 2. z270 Maximus IX Hero,4 MR9A PRO ATX X99
Cooling	1.Hard tube loop, cpu and gpu 2. Hard loop cpu and gpu 4 360 AIO
Memory	1.Gskill neo @3600 32gb 2.hyperxfury 32gb @3000 3. 16gb hyperx @2400 4 64GB 2133 in quad channel
Video Card(s)	1.GIGABYTE RTX 3080 WaterForce WB 2. Aorus RTX2080 3. 1060 3gb. 4 Arc 770LE 16 gb
Storage	1 M.2 500gb , 2 3tb HDs 2. 256gb ssd, 3tbHD 3. 256 m.2. 1tb ssd 4. 2gb ssd
Display(s)	1.LG 50" UHD , 2 MSI Optix MAG342C UWHD. 3.17" 120 hz display 4. Acer Preditor 144hz 32inch.z
Case	1. Thermaltake P5 2. Thermaltake P3 4. some cheapo case that should not be named.
Audio Device(s)	1 Onboard 2 Onboard 3 Onboard 4. onboard.
Power Supply	1.seasonic gx 850w 2. seasonic gx 750w. 4 RM850w
Mouse	1 ROG Gladius 2 Corsair m65 pro
Keyboard	1. ROG Strix Flare 2. Corsair F75 RBG 3. steelseries RBG
VR HMD	rift and rift S and Quest 2.
Software	1. win11 pro 2. win11 pro 3, win11 home 4 win11 pro
Benchmark Scores	1.7821 cb20 ,cb15 3442 1c 204 cpu-z 1c 539 12c 8847 2. 1106 cb 3.cb 970