Silent affordable PSU up to 500W

[Fikusas]

Looking for optimal silent, affordable and reliable (semi-)modular PSU for my new budget rig (R5 3600 + GT 1030). I have narrowed down to these models available in my region:

Corsair CX450M Bronze, 60 €
Enermax RevoBron 500W Bronze, 60 €
Be quiet! Pure Power 11 400W CM Gold, 64 €
Seasonic Focus 450W Gold, 74 €
BitFenix Whisper M 450W Gold, 78 €

Any thoughts on what to choose? I'm leaning towards Be quiet model.

 

[P4-630]

I own a Be Quiet Straight Power 10 500W CM, I never heard the fan making any noise, not sure about the noise of the Be Quiet Pure power but they usually make good products.

However my next PSU will be a Seasonic, just because of the 10+ years warranty.

 

[64K]

Of the choices I would take the Seasonic.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Not sure what you mean by "optimal" silent. If you mean totally silent, you must go with a passively cooled (no fan) PSU.

We did a recent HTPC (home theater PC) build for a client who demanded total silence. So we went with the Seasonic PRIME 600 Titanium Fanless. Note that HardOCP reported,

The Seasonic PRIME 600 Titanium Fanless is the best fanless power supply we have seen to date as well as the best 600W unit we have seen to date.

Yes, it is expensive but it is important to understand that heat in electronics is a function of efficiency. If 100% of the power consumed by a power supply went to powering the connected devices, the PSU would general no heat whatsoever! But Man has yet to create that sort of perfection, however 80 PLUS Titanium comes pretty close at 94% efficient with a 50% load. That's just 6W lost in the form of heat for every 100W pulled from the wall. That's little more than a night-light!

For fan type PSUs, look for one with an eco mode. EVGA calls their feature, "Ultra Quiet Fan with ECO Intelligent Thermal Control Fan". With this system, the fan stays off for total silence until the PSU temp reaches 45°C - which is pretty warm. With a good case, it likely will stay off most of the time. But even so, EVGA uses extremely quiet fans anyway, so should they spin up, you likely will not hear it over the ambient noise in the room.

 

[Fikusas]

I need to pick one of the mentioned variants above

 

[Chomiq]

Can't go wrong with Seasonic.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

If you can look up FSP Aurum models... They have a few affordable fanless sfx and ATX PSU's

If they aren't available for you..Seasonic

 

[John Naylor]

The Seasonic Focus Gold Plus is my "go to" PSU these days. If budget restrictions apply, the Seasonc S12 / M12 are still solid performers.

 

[denrick]

Seasonic Focus Gold gets my vote but I would get the 550W version.

 

[Fikusas]

There's Season Focus model, not Focus Plus. Even 450W for this rig is overkill, so anything more than that isn't worth it.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Even 450W for this rig is overkill, so anything more than that isn't worth it.

I guess that depends if you are looking short term or long. If I am buying a new, top quality PSU, I am going to look long term down the road and try to determine my power needs in 3 or 4 years. Will I be adding RAM, drives, upgrading the GPU or CPU? Or go through a complete upgrade?

450W may be more than enough today, but will it be in 3 or 4 years when there are still many good years of life in the PSU?

Spending an extra $20 (£ or €) today may save you $60+ (£ or €) on down the road.

Of course, if my future power needs don't increase, then I suppose that might be a waste. But if I spread that extra $20 (£ or €) expense over the next 4 years, that's less than 1.4¢ per day. It likely won't break the bank.

 

[John Naylor]

Spending an extra $20 (£ or €) today may save you $60+ (£ or €) on down the road.

Also... the more popular sizes tend to generate more specials and sales ......

I bought a Seasonic 1250 watter cause it was cheaper than the 1050 and the 850 was just cutting it to close... system draws 785 watts ... it's also more efficient, draws less heat and runs quieter at actual loads.

My son bought a 1000 watter EVGA G2 because it was cheaper than the 750 and 850 models wehn on sale w/ rebate... on the downside, it was very loud.... it died and was replaced under warranty and the 2nd one was loud too

The Seasonic S12 / M12 are often available for $35 with promos and rebates....

So timing also plays a role in slection