What are your opinions on PSUs with zero-rpm fan features?

[Jokii]

When gaming it can go from 300W up to 500+W so then the heat from conversion is 30~50+W. The 40~50W cant be cooled passively without damaging the PCU components in the long run of years.

First of all, sustained loads over 400W are not very common, if you're looking at the entire population of PC users.
Second, just because the PSU itself is fanless, it doesn't mean that it's cooled with no airflow. The higher CPU/GPU loads typically result in higher case airflow, which cools the PSU as well, with proper installation.
Third, the fanless PSUs on the market are usually more efficient than 90% at high loads, at least on 230V. I don't see any current models lower than Platinum.

Finally, I'm not saying that fanless PSUs are suitable for every need or every budget, but I do think they're underrated and underused overall in the PC market.
I also believe they're ever so slightly better at passive cooling than fanned PSUs in zero-rpm mode, because they're designed like that from the ground up.
You pay a small price premium and you need some common sense to install one properly. But in turn you get almost certainly less noise and the peace of mind of not having to deal with another fan, which will have to be serviced sooner or later (and it's not as easy as swapping a case fan).

 

[Shrek]

There is even a sealed PC power supply where the hot components dump heat to the supply case that has fins.

Amazon.com: SilverStone Technology SST-NJ450-SXL Small Form Factor 100% Fanless Fully Modular SFX-L 450 W 80 Plus Platinum Power Supply : Electronics

Coil whine can be an even bigger issue than fan noise and this supply overcomes that also.

 

[Mussels]

PC operation today is very dynamic in terms of performance and power draw. You can easily go with a factor of 10 between idle and full workload power. But even the majority of PC are at about the x3~5.
So when a PC is idling or doing very light stuff will consume around 100W (±20%). So at around 100W with a gold (90~91% efficiency) PSU the heat from losses of conversion will be around 10W. Easy...
When gaming it can go from 300W up to 500+W so then the heat from conversion is 30~50+W. The 40~50W cant be cooled passively without damaging the PCU components in the long run of years.


Enter zero fan rpm function.

My PC is very far to the 'efficient' side of a modern PC with undervolted 5800x and 3090, my idle is around 60W and my load is 400W - undervolted. With everything blasting to the moon it can hit 600W

Just reinforcing what you're saying, that literally 10x difference from idle to load is entirely possible on stock systems these days, a 40 series GPU with 12/13 gen intel or AM5 can go from 50W to 800W easily

First of all, sustained loads over 400W are not very common, if you're looking at the entire population of PC users.

Anyone with an ampere system, a modern intel system, or both, is going to pass 400W.

 

[Jokii]

Anyone with an ampere system, a modern intel system, or both, is going to pass 400W.

With a high end CPU and GPU both loaded, sure. Otherwise it's less likely. CPU load alone won't get you to 400W even with a 11900K or a 12900K (unless overclocked). High end GPU load alone, maybe with some GPUs (didn't check).
I'm not disputing that it can happen, just that it's not a typical scenario for a PC. Your perception is probably skewed by focusing on high end gaming setups, but those are not representative of most PCs out there.

 

[Mussels]

With a high end CPU and GPU both loaded, sure. Otherwise it's less likely. CPU load alone won't get you to 400W even with a 11900K or a 12900K (unless overclocked). High end GPU load alone, maybe with some GPUs (didn't check).
I'm not disputing that it can happen, just that it's not a typical scenario for a PC. Your perception is probably skewed by focusing on high end gaming setups, but those are not representative of most PCs out there.

When the CPU alone can draw 250W at stock, yes an intel system can hit 400W.
You dont even need a GPU to make up 150W in a desktop PC, just slap in a bunch of hard drives

High wattage PSU's are for high wattage PC's - that's still a seperate topic to the fan off feature


Fan off options are for people who want a PC that's silent at idle, which is not exclusive to gaming PCs at all

 

[Jokii]

Sigh... Here's the latest Steam hardware survey: https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey
Most gamers have 6-core CPUs and xx60 series cards. They're not seeing sustained 400W loads.
99% of people who don't load their GPUs much (non-gamers) are not seeing sustained 400W loads.
Hard drives... come on, man.
Anyway, I thought I was pretty clear a few posts ago already, so I'll just stop here.

 

[Mussels]

And?
How is that relevant at all?


Those people already have power supplies.

 

[Zach_01]

And?
How is that relevant at all?


Those people already have power supplies.

I believe he is saying that most of PCs can run completely fanless PSUs, but I want to know who of those users with the old or low budget systems would want to buy an expensive Platinum+ passive PSU.

These are really for SFF systems

 

[AleXXX666]

I don't mind fan noise so long as it is steady and not too loud; noticeable variations can be very disturbing. A fan should ramp up and down slowly.

exactly! that's why I started to recommend to replace Intel box cooler. And friend of mine noticed that sh*t too - very "old" fans was steady noise so I even liked that mur-mur spinning sound lol but then things have changed and Intel box fans became sh*tty noisy because of sound variations. AMD Ryzen box fans were issued by this plague too. LGA 1700 box fans are fixed by now, but everything before were "appropriate" only for deaf people lol