What wattage Fanless PSU

[Skiroy]

Hey guys I had a noisy 650 watt PC PSU. I went to change the fan but it turned out to big. I needed a 120mm x 15mm and I cant find any quiet enough to justify the trouble. So Im now looking into a fanless PSU,but the largest one is only 450W.


How do I figure out what wattage I need for a Pro Audio PC?

I have 4 gigs of OCZ high performance Ram.
Intel Quad core
Matrox dual video fan less card(NOT POWERFUL GRAPHICS CARD) that runs 2 19inch LCDs
UAD solo card
UAD 2 Card
2 sata hard drives
CD Burner
Zip Drive
Occasionally use a back up hot swappable drive
Korg Kontrol 49 midi controller keyboard powered by USB
NI Maschine Pad Controller powered via USB
Profire 2626 interface,but it has its own power supply.
And I use 3 Midi to USB adapter cables
USB wireless Frontier transport remote
USB Wireless Keyboard

I am known to run Protools 8 M powered with several intrument and effect plugins as well as Reason rewired ,Adobe Auditon,have windows explorer open and windows media player all at the same time.

So is 450watts Optimal for all these or should I stick with 650 watts for recording?

 

[zayance]

I have a Corsair PSU, or a cooler master can't remember, 120mm fan, it works great the only thing is that with time my computer gets noisier, disks etc... the dust can help that also.

Of course fanless is better, expensive also, and i think you're ok for your needs with 450W, but all that USB powered stuff get me thinking tough, most of the outboard things i have use external PSU so...., i think it's always better to have a little more power whatever it takes.
Good luck

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=2949

 

[Skiroy]

Im deffinately all for having extra power but a fanless PSU would solve so many of my recording problems. I have invested so much time and effort trying to make my recording area noiseless with no luck. Im in a very small room. My recording come out Bad because essentially my space is to small and dea in order to try and block out PC noise. Cant put them in any other room or the closet. So a Fanless PSU would be so helpfull.
But not at the expense of being under powered.

 

[Gus]

Be mindful that the fan in the PS can be a part of the cooling of the rest of the parts in the box.  It is often an exhaust fan and not only moves air out of the power supply but helps move air inside the box.

 

[zayance]

True you need that, and small room can be a pita also, mine is pretty damn silent anyway but recording in the same room with a condenser will sure be heard. Build yourself a box with insulation inside, with a door etc... get the ideas around the net and build it, just a tought? Of course then don't try to avoid fans, you need some..., that's what i would do, and put some rack ears also, so maybe you can put some other noisy stuff in there.

 

[Gus]

You could place the PC in another room and extend the cables and/or use wireless devices.

 

[zayance]

Seems like he can't

Cant put them in any other room or the closet. So a Fanless PSU would be so helpfull.

 

[Gus]

http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=309    Don't know how noiseless

http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Computer-Cases/Zalman-TNN-500A-Fanless-PC-Case-Review/

 

[zayance]

Yes Baby, water cooled, i wanted to go that route for me, but i'm not in need of tottaly quiet so..., but that's the shit

 

[horvitz]

Everything you could ever want to know about quiet fans!

http://www.silentpcreview.com/section12.html

And every other quiet thing you could imagine for your PC on that site.. Good testing and recommendations.

I did try out a fanless PSU once, and it still needs other fans in the box to push enough air through it to cool off.  I ended up frying the thing.. so, fans in the PSU or fans out of the PSU? Fans nonetheless..

 

[dmp]

I made a dedicated computer for recording that is quiet in the room. I can record with condenser mics and not pick it up at all and it is dead quiet to the ear (still have to turn off the house heat and unplug the refrigerator though)
I have an Antec 450w PSU that only turns on the fan when necessary (never hear it), and Artic Cooling fans for the cpu and case that are rpm controlled by the motherboard (ASUS), which came with an application for optimizing sound / cooling.
The more power your computer uses, the more heat it will generate. If possible, make the machine dedicated for recording and remove as much as possible. Adding a second computer to the room may be easier than making a single quiet machine.

 

[Skiroy]

Yes the only other room is the kids room and they will get into it. Plus I would have to get to many USb extention with signal amps for no latency. I dont think you can have video cable 20 feet or more length.

ANd I do have a 120mm silenx case fan rated at 14db,but you guys make a good point. Because I may have to run the case fan higher for proper case ventilation. Right now with the Power supply fan running I can keep the case fan on LOW. But If I got a fanless PSu I would probably have to run it at least on Medium which is an audiable different. If I get a PSU with a 14db fan in it. I would probably be able to run both on LOW and would ultimately be quieter than run 1 at a higher RPM.

What do yall think about this reasoning?

 

[Skiroy]

I made a dedicated computer for recording that is quiet in the room. I can record with condenser mics and not pick it up at all and it is dead quiet to the ear (still have to turn off the house heat and unplug the refrigerator though)
I have an Antec 450w PSU that only turns on the fan when necessary (never hear it), and Artic Cooling fans for the cpu and case that are rpm controlled by the motherboard (ASUS), which came with an application for optimizing sound / cooling.
The more power your computer uses, the more heat it will generate. If possible, make the machine dedicated for recording and remove as much as possible. Adding a second computer to the room may be easier than making a single quiet machine.

This is a good point. I dont think any of the other devices pull much current. Maybe the Keyboard does the most,so I will probably just get a wall wart for it.

Im pretty sure the Dual monitors are  a factor,and perhaps one large screen would be more energy efficient then 2 seperate ones. But I dont wanna deal with that. Maybe in the future.

 

[tommypiper]

Go Mac, and get the new Mac mini.   ;D   You can probly get them in the $400 - 500 range with education discount or referbished.  They are surprisingly powerful with lots of ports.  And I believe they are fanless!

I'm still running a 12 year old (or maybe it's older now) Mac G4 tower, which still kicks butt, however to reduce fan and HDD noise I put it in a solid wooden box I bought at IKEA.  I drilled holes in the back for cables and one large hole which I put a drier vent hose in and ran it a few feet away from the desk.  The front of the box has a door, so I can access it for DVD drive, etc.  The box never gets hot as the exhaust air is vented away, silently.  Total cost, maybe $35.  

The G4 is the same size as larger PC towers, so you could do this with ANY PC or computer.

 

[wtmnmf]

My engineering PC uses this: http://www.koolance.com/water-cooling/product_info.php?product_id=911

You still need a quiet pump and radiator, with or without fans.

I love Noctua fans: http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-P12-Case-fan-120/dp/B000YSONMO/ref=pd_cp_e_2  When run high speed they are quiet. At low speed, they are silent for all practical purposes.

This one is 25mm.  15mm is really thin...  can you mount the fan outside of the supply?