Silverstone builds something unique.
Silverstone is known for building high quality computer parts and this ST40NF is no exception. This PSU is a 400w model, completely fanless and it has a 80 PLUS Bronze specification, which translates into an efficiency of 82 to 86%. It
The PSU features server level quality components and a very good +-3% deviation for all outputs.
The PSU has an 8pin PCI-E power connector and two 6 pin PCI-E connectors. This is enough to connect most graphics cards and while 400w is more than enough for silent PCs, it may not be for high performance builds.
As an example, a rig with 6GB of DDR3 1600, two HDDs, ODD, Core i7 920 and a GTX 260 core 216 eats up 340W in a PSU with similar efficicency as this one. Overclocking is not something sensible to do in either the CPU or GPU when so close to the spec but the Silverstone will handle it - brand PSUs are tested to deliver the rated power at 50ºC.
Still, the ideal scenario for longevity of the hardware would be, at most, 95W CPUs and a card of this range, or this same 130W Core i7 but a less power demanding GPU.
The price for this PSU is very good for something so custom built: around 130eur.
Source: Silverstone
10 comments:
Don't believe the marketing, it does produce electrical noise, the st40nf I bought was so noisy I had to return it for a refund.
Sorry to hear that, it is really a shame when manufacturers deceive customers. Any chance it was defective?
re: defective?
Electrical (capacitor/coil) noise produced by PSUs is an industry wide problem that has always existed, so I wasn't surprised to get a singing unit. Each PSU is unique, so another st40nf may be less/more noisy - it's down to luck.
Manufacturers and the masses simply don't care enough about electrical noise to do anything about it, most people can't hear it over their noisy fans and harddrives.
JD
My bad, I took the 0 dBA rating too seriously.
Yes, you're right, most manufacturers don't care, although some have used solid state chokes explicitly on some hardware:
http://www.siliconmadness.com/2009/07/msi-gtx-275-lightning-1792mb.html
I've managed to find one PSU that is quite ridden of the problem, the Enermax Liberty 500W. Haven't fully loaded it tough, only up to 250W and it's noiseless up to that.
Fine print states "0dB minimum", no maximum is given - meaningless marketing speak.
I'd pay extra for a PSU with SS coils/chokes.
Sounds like you're happy with the Enermax. The only alternative to a nightjar that I'm aware of, is Seasonic's X-650/750, it's fanless at lower loads.
Unfortunately, my current system, an i7 920 Gigabyte mobo and Antec CP-850 PSU, suffers from random coil whine. I suspect the PSU coils, but even after numerous attempts, I'm unable to locate the noise source.
JD
Indeed, just marketing speak.
This one cost me €100 and I'm very happy with it. Would put an extra with SS coils but they're perhaps too big to be built SS.
I chose my Enermax somewhat randomly but I tried to choose a PSU of a renowned brand and one that had plenty of big chokes since it was a bigger chance they were using some in parallel -by splitting the current that goes through. That had worked for me previously with motherboards not using SS chokes and I got lucky here also.
The only complaint is that the fan's bearings aren't very good and they're louder than the air moving, although it's not exactly noisier - it is more noticeable than some cheap 120mm fans, although this does vary even within the same model. Guess I have to try some of those magnetic bearing fans.
The seasonic does look good.
The transformer perhaps? I've heard reports of hot glue put into the metal plates of some of them have solved the problem. On one of my machines I had that problem but mitigated it by stabilizing it using the PSUs casing(with a hard piece of carboard doing the trick).
Magnetic bearing sounds interesting. I run two Noctua NF-S12B @ 600 rpm, one on the cpu cooler and the other as a case fan.
My problem is that I can't reproduce the noise long enough to locate the cause. I think the noise only occurs at certain temperature(s). It lasts from a few seconds to a few minutes and may occur zero or more times an hour.
After running a Zalman TNN500A based system for many years in the past, I've become sensitive to noise and addicted to noiseless computing. Unfortunately, the TNN concept died due to lack of interest.
JD
I never measured my fans but they should be running at about the same speed. Cheap Revoltec 120mm fans though, some with worse bearings than others. Next on the list are the magnetic bearing fans, as even FDB fans from Arctic Cooling have been a disappointment - more useful for lifespan than noise.
That's definitely strange, I've never noticed temperature influencing electrical noise. Should be an issue quite hard to fix.
The concept of the TNN500A was interesting, but the price seemed prohibitive for many people even though it featured a full cooling system. Then again, noiseless computing is a niche, unfortunately.
I've created a topic in the forums (http://www.siliconmadness.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=106) to gather a good electrical noise free PSU list, please add any other comments you may have or let me know what you may feel appropriate to change from your PSUs.
Best regards
I like the "Electrical Noise PSU List" idea.
I'll definitely be looking at other PSU(s) in the near future. I'll post any further noise experiences there.
TNN price prohibitive? Maybe, Apple make big ticket computers, I don't see too many people complaining about their prices.
Regards
TNN500 -- my new SM forum username
P.S. Anyone interested in hard philosophy, have look at donotgod.com
My idea is to expand this to other components ASAP, like motherboards and graphic cards. Motherboards are usually easy to pick right but graphics cards not so much.
Thanks, do share when you get the chance. With time it will turn into a useful list.
Wasn't like $500? People do complain of Apple's pricing, but you do get good hardware most of the time, like the IPS screens.
Best regards
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