Higher wattages doesn't always mean more quiet

[LukeSavenije]

Introduction:

Many buy a high wattage PSU because they need it, but some buy them just to have their system more quiet, or at least, they think it will. After talking about the 50% efficiency myth here, this is generally the second given reason for it, and from a theoretical standpoint it makes sense. 

 

higher wattage PSUs need more components to supply the advertised power to a system, and will inside the same platform generally look the same otherwise.

 

an example is shown here, with the Corsair RMx

(RM550x, Tomshardware)

 

(1000w, TechPowerup)

 

Example 1: RMx

because you'd stress the components less a piece there would be less heat in theory, making the fan spin less quickly, which would in theory make a more quiet PSU. 

if we compare the graphs, we see that the fan kicks in later on the 1000w, making it more silent at those loads in theory, but when the fan kicks in, it actually kicks in louder than on the RM550x. an even better view would be if you compare two that don't use a semi-passive mode.

 

Example 2: Dark Power Pro 11

here you can see it much clearer, as it doesn't use a semi-passive mode.

 

Example 3: Toughpower PF1

there are extreme examples like Thermaltake's Toughpower PF1, which blasts it's fan directly when turning on.

 

Verdict:

overwattage can make sense in some cases, if the usage stays inside the lower parts, but it's better to focus at noise output in general, not just how much wattage you can run until the fan starts spinning.

 

get a PSU that fits your system's usage, and look at reviews what is the most quiet PSU inside your budget is, not what the highest wattage is you can afford. as always with wattage: quality>quantity

 

Sources:

rm550x (tomshw), RM1000x (TPU), DPP11 850w (Tomshw), DPP11 1000w (TPU), PF1 1200w (TPU)

[LukeSavenije]

14 hours ago, James Evens said:

The 1000x makes less noise then 550x at the same output. Just scale each graph properly and overlay it:

read again

 

15 hours ago, LukeSavenije said:

if we compare the graphs, we see that the fan kicks in later on the 1000w, making it more silent at those loads in theory, but when the fan kicks in, it actually kicks in louder than on the RM550x

 

[Kilrah]

Still wrong/irrelevant.

There is no load within the capabilities of the 550W power supply where the 1000W makes more noise and that's the whole point of using a larger PSU than needed, IF you can run your system on a 550W PSU then using a 1000W one the fan will basically never spin, and if you do pull more than 500W it will spin but makes less noise than the 550W would

Not to mention less stress on the oversized components obviously.

[LukeSavenije]

14 minutes ago, James Evens said:

Still agree with the verdict quality should be the focus over wattage rating when choosing a PSU but this compression actually shows the opposite of what you descried.

better?