Off-board/External ATX Power Supplies? 79
atomicretro asks: "Basically I'm on a quest for a silent PC, so I am looking to take my ATX power supply unit, external. I was simply wondering if anyone else had tried this with any success, or any commercial companies sold them.
Silence is required as this PC is being used in my dorm room, and it's hard to sleep next to a whining PC. I've got the sound levels pretty much down to a minimum by adding various silent PC parts, but a separate power supply would be pretty cool. Any help or ideas accepted!" There was a similar question that was posted about
two years ago, and it would be interesting to note if anyone in the market was listening.
Silent? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Silent? (Score:1)
Re:Silent? (Score:1)
Re:Silent? (Score:2)
Just extend the heat sinks outside of the power supply's case. No water pumps, no piping, no motors...
=Smidge=
If 55W is enough... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:If 55W is enough... (Score:1)
The xbox is relatively cheap ( $200US ), is almost silent when it is turned on, and has plenty of power and space to run Linux. (Pentium 733-MHz, 8gig hard drive) . Has anybody tried this and had successfull uptimes? I googled for information yesterday and found lots of sites describing how to modify the box but no reports as to how reliable hardware is when left running 24/7.
Re:If 55W is enough... (Score:1)
Kris
Re:If 55W is enough... (Score:1)
Inside is better (Score:2)
Re:Inside is better (Score:2)
Speaking of risk... Have you though about what fun things water can do in a 120V power supply in a metal enclosure that's attached to the metal case?
Re:Inside is better (Score:1)
http://www.rainwulf.com/article_wpsu.html [rainwulf.com]
don't know if i would risk it though. heh
Re:Inside is better (Score:1)
Not that an external PSU would make it quieter... (Score:2)
Would help if you had a reason for doing it, too, as 'silence' doesn't quite cut it. But ok, y'know, whatever steams your sausage.
Use with care (Score:3, Interesting)
My Recommendation (Score:1)
That said, also look into the miniITX stuff pointed to in one of the earlier posts... I have a miniITX computer with external power supply, but you can't run a pentium or AMD on it, just doesn't provide enough power.
uphill, both ways, in the snow, often drunk (Score:3, Funny)
Oh, yeah maybe I do. I just don't remember it ever being a problem falling asleep. Sleep just sorta happens on command after thirty hours of mudding and/or codeing and/or codeing muds and/or mudling coeds.
The fan should be the least of your beauty nap worries.
Re:uphill, both ways, in the snow, often drunk (Score:2)
Hint: Mudders and Coders NEVER have anything to do with 'coeds'
Quiet PC Article (Score:2, Informative)
turn it off (Score:1)
On the other hand, even when my PC fans were broken (and making a lot of noise) I had no problem falling asleep, even with four computers in the room. You must be a light sleeper.
Re:turn it off (Score:2)
Sleep did not come, however. I found that it was WAY too quiet in the room without the computers whirring and crunching. Although a quiet PC is nice, shouldn't all geeks pretty much be used to the constant noise, like people whose yards back up to a major highway?
Re:turn it off (Score:2)
I slept in a room with an aquarium most of my life (think fans are loud, try a reciprocating motor, especially if you can't
Re:turn it off (Score:2)
Re:turn it off (Score:1)
Re:Don't bother, get a laptop... (Score:2)
Also, laptops run very close to thermal limits... most modern laptops are not very comfortable to have on your laptop anymore.
Desktops tend to be about half the price of equivilent laptops, and most parts are easily exchangable. For instance, you can change a video card in a desk
How about a KVM cable? (Score:1)
Re:How about a KVM cable? (Score:1)
I leave my old systems, complete with several external SCSI enclosures, running all the time, and the noise doesn't bother me at all... of course, they're in the office down the hall.
I wrote in my journal about building one (Score:1)
I wrote up in my journal about where I got the parts and which ones I used.
It is not a fantastic machine, it is to be a node in a cluster - but you can't sleep while that machine is going, then you have a problem - not with your machine, but a larger sleep issue (I'm also curious what dorm/school you live in where the largest noise issue is your computer).
I have had problems with the case that I have used, but I have a new one on the way t
Come on.... (Score:2)
Re:Come on.... (Score:2)
You have no idea how jealous I am.
Re:Come on.... (Score:2)
We both built lofts of the same dimensions and put them on either side of the room, which was on either side of the window and air vent. Then I built two small tables the same width as our desks, and we placed the desks facing each other on either side of the room, under the lofts, with the tables in between.
So essentially it was like one huge table with a desk on either end. The towers went under the tables, and the air conditioner made a wind tunnel through there
You know you're a nerd when... (Score:4, Funny)
Ok, you know you're a nerd when you can't sleep because of your power supply fan, and you try to design a new external power supply instead of just turning the computer off at night. Haha, this poor guy is going to be a virgin for life.
Re:You know you're a nerd when... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:You know you're a nerd when... (Score:2)
- AIM/ICQ etc. Non-nerds like collecting messages from people at night.
- File sharing.
- Falling asleep to music.
What really surprises me is that this guy has such a quiet dorm...
Re:You know you're a nerd when... (Score:1)
Re:You know you're a nerd when... (Score:1)
If he leaves his PC on all night. I have no problem leaving my PC on, however the ball and chain moans about
1) Light from the DVD player
2) Light from the DVD player *on standby*
3) Light from the VCR
4) Light from the little "tape in" on the VCR on standby
5) Light from the TV on standby (little red LED)
6) Light from the Power, HDD, keyboard LED, speaker LED, etc on my PC
7) *tiny* red light from my amp on standby
It's very infuriating! Oddly she doesnt min
Re:You know you're a nerd when... (Score:2)
Wrong, wrong, WRONG! You could not be any further from the truth. A real nerd would have several redundant power supplies, and each would most likely be quite loud. They would have been selected not to minimize noise but to maximize airflow; nerds know that more airflow means more cooling means better performance and less component failure. Moreover, what is this strange revulsion toward machine noise? Rea
Re:You know you're a nerd when... (Score:1)
The PC case AMPLIFIES the vibrations. (Score:5, Informative)
I think a smarter solution then an external PSU would be a Quiet PSU like the Vantec VAN-520a Stealth [vantecusa.com] and mount it using rubber gaskets where the screws go. If you wanted to take it a step further you could build a rubber gasket around the entire PSU itself to reduce any vibrations even more.
My PC is very quiet because of this method. I have 4 case fans + 3 PSU fans and I can't hear any of them for the most part.
Check out this [techtv.com] article over at TechTV from The Screen Savers on how to make a Quiet PC
Re:The PC case AMPLIFIES the vibrations. (Score:1)
Joe
Silence is creepy (Score:2)
It really creapy. After 20 years os associating the din of drives, fans and the hum of monitors with computers - it was really creep to have a dead quiet computer for a change.
Google is your friend (Score:1)
I've been obsessing over computer noise for a while... both so I can sleep with out turning my computers off... and because I use my computer for studio work (audio recording)
Currently I'm using zalmann flower heat sinks and zalman 70mm fans turned way down. As for power supplies... the Nexus is a good bet (around $75) or the zalman quiet power supply (around $40)
I wouldn't bother out-boarding your powersupply, a waste of money and effort... but just in case you still want to
PCs for Audio (Score:1)
End result: a dual CPU AMD-based machine with three hard disks that's so quiet I have to look at the lights/fans to check it's running, even with the case off. I should also mention that we lined the case with sound deadening material (sheets of cork/other s
Obligatory plug (Score:3, Insightful)
External? The asus in front of me shipped with a 3 foot cable... that's definitely long enough to take outside of the case, but that wouldn't quiet the problem. There are some amazingly expensive fanless solutions available if you look (200$+), but for most people replacing the fan is good enough. There are also water-cooled psus, but they are also too expensive realistically for college use. Pick up a low-flo panaflos (L1A) from one of the places listed in the "hot deals" section (if you are near boston, I can get one to you), and put that in place of your fan. That is enough to cut sound down noticably.
Quiet PSU (Score:2)
Or mod your existing power supply and but a variable speed fan inside. That's what I did, and I can't even hear my PSU.
wire length is your problem (Score:4, Informative)
heck, even just adding 6 inches can mess it up and make your system unstable.
sorry, but that's reality. mobo's today need SUCH high current that you simply cannot just extend the wiring and have it work right. unless you use ungodly thick cable, that is.
Re:wire length is your problem (Score:5, Informative)
Power supplies CAN be built with what is called "remote sense", and in fact most lab grade or TRUE high power power supples use it.
What is done is that you have a pair of leads that carry the current, and a pair of leads that feed back the measured voltage at the load to the regulator. The regulator raises it's output to get the "correct" voltage at the point where the sense leads are connected
This is really about the only way you can do it with high power supplies. I worked on one supply that used to put out 5 volts, 100 amps +- 20 millivolts from no load to full load. The ONLY way to do that is have remote sense because the output leads have significant resistance when you talk about those tolerances
I've always been surprised that PC power supplies have not done this
Re:wire length is your problem (Score:2)
-Paul Komarek
I need the noise! (Score:1)
Silence in a dorm room? (Score:4, Interesting)
You are living in a dorm room. I would think that the guys playing Xbox with the volume at max until 5am down the hall would keep you up more than some fan on your computer.
I ended up purchasing a fan that I could run at night just so I could drown out the noises down the hall. Now I can't sleep without it.
Re:Silence in a dorm room? (Score:1)
Get used to it (Score:2)
Re:Get used to it (Score:1)
Move the fan (Score:2)
Do you have space for a big pipe? (Score:2)
Replace the fan with a vertical pipe. The hot air will rise and convection cool the power supply.
Try to get the pipe outlet up above the living space, that will keep the heat away from you. I don't think you'll need that much height to get enough air flow, but I haven't tried it yet.
Its easier to move the entire computer elsewhere.. (Score:2)
Yes, they were listening (Score:1)
My laptop runs very quietly.
How powerful of a PC are you looking to make? (Score:1)
I'm assuming because you are running this at night it will be a server. If you're talking about a small load server you could even go with one of the Eden based EPIA boards. There isn't even a fan on the processor.
As for the power supply, the morex 55W at either of the aforementioned sites will power most EPIA systems. Rumour is there will be a more powerful Morex-like PSU coming out soon
Fanless ATX PSU (Score:1)
Here's a fanless ATX PSU [deltatronic.info] from Germany. Probably very quiet. ;-)
PC Power & Cooling (Score:1)
Ear plugs (Score:1)
Sounds like a good d
Re:Ear plugs (Score:1)
Re:Ear plugs (Score:1)
silence is golden (Score:2, Interesting)
1. buy components which make less or no noise. the less noise you have to start with, the less you have to get rid off. eg. get a video card that doesn't require a fan rather than one that has one or choose a hard disk based on its quietness. seagate barracudas are a good choice.
2. replace noisy case fans with quiet ones. this makes a huge difference. the most popular quiet fans are Panaflo L1As. even quiet fans can be made e
Grandpa rant (Score:1)
Fanless PSU (Score:1)
No link handy but ... (Score:1)
(Maybe sold under the "Windy" brand???)
I have to cruise Akihabara in the morning looking for some "junk" so I could get the details
Hard drive (Score:1)
Seriously though, couldn't you just buy some PS/2 or USB extention cables and put the computer in a closet or something? You could take it out when you wanted to use it during the day.
Also, you get computers like the older compaq deskpro range that, although the PSU was in the case, you REALLY have to strain to hear the fan. I believe the fan
Already been done. (Score:2)
quiet PC(yeah right!) (Score:1)
Heat exchangers, large remote power...URLs! (Score:1)
Reformatted Was Re: Heat exch... (Score:1)
Remoting all the controls, with limits you can extend the mouse, monitor, keyboard and other cables. Some research would be needed if it's a very long distance.
I have seen multiplexers that do ALL of these on one wire but do not know if they'd pass any gaming spec.
Cooling: A bit of mistyping but good. http://www.geocities.com/teranova52/html/pc_cooli n g_theory.html I would use a non corrosive
Here it is! 350 watts external ATX PSU. (Score:2)
There are some other *very* quiet internal PSUs on the market. Fortron has some new models available with 120 mm fans (a 120 mm fan moves nearly three times more air than a fan with 80mm running at the same speed, so the fans can run really slow). Engelking has a PSU, that only uses a fan, if it get's too hot (45 degrees celsius). With a moderate PC the fan will be off most of the time.
And like some othe