Need a new PSU for a tropical environment that's quiet

[gabensux]

Good day,

average high temperatures where I live are around 31 degrees Celsius. In addition to this, the new PSU will be placed in a shroud which can possibly increase the heat produced by the unit.

My PC Specs are Ryzen 9 3950X and RTX 2080 Ti. I plan to purchase the RTX 3090 when it's available.

I'm looking for an 850W unit that's quiet and can run in a warmer than average environment. I know that 850W is overkill for my use case but for peace of mind I want an 850W unit.

I was considering the SeaSonic Prime fanless 700W, but I'm worried that the higher ambient temperature and PSU shroud may stress the components especially as it has no fan.

Some other popular models that I'm seeing that are recommended here are Corsair RMx/HX, Be Quiet Straight Power 11 Gold, Fractal ION 860P, Bitfenix Whisper, SuperFlower Leadex III Gold. I did some research on these units and I'm leaning towards the Be Quiet for the multirail and always-on fan at lower RPMs. However I'm going down a rabbit hole here, some reviews say the Be Quiet is not silent while others say it's silent.

I do not need any digital monitoring features, just a set and forget PSU that's silent and can last me for when I plan to buy the latest flagship GPUs when they get released for many years to come.

I'm buying from the USA.

What advice would you give me?
 

[Moonzy]

8 minutes ago, gabensux said:

Corsair RMx

i live in tropical country

my RM850x fan doesnt spin when my 3900x and 2070 super is under full 100% load on both of them, could consider that

[AndreiArgeanu]

Any power supply with an active fan will generally do, as long as you don't use it at it's maximum capacity, as in using all the 800W from a 800W power supply, as generally speaking power supplies don't get really hot, just make sure there's half decent airflow and you'll be fine.

[gabensux]

32 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

i live in tropical country

my RM850x fan doesnt spin when my 3900x and 2070 super is under full 100% load on both of them, could consider that

I was considering these as they don't use the noisy Hong Hua fan in my AX850 but the Corsair units are out of stock on most websites. Preferably HX850 for multirail support.

30 minutes ago, AndreiArgeanu said:

Any power supply with an active fan will generally do, as long as you don't use it at it's maximum capacity, as in using all the 800W from a 800W power supply, as generally speaking power supplies don't get really hot, just make sure there's half decent airflow and you'll be fine.

Most zero rpm units from my experience are always turning on and off, I was looking at one of the quieter ones with an always on active fan. My case has a PSU shroud so there's no airflow besides the PSU's airflow.

Bitfenix Whipser 850 seems to be out of stock, seems like a solid choice. Alternative solution in stock is BQ Straight Power 11, seems to tick all the boxes for what I want out of a PSU.

Thanks for the replies.

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, gabensux said:

I was considering these as they don't use the noisy Hong Hua fan in my AX850 but the Corsair units are out of stock on most websites. Preferably HX850 for multirail support.

Most zero rpm units from my experience are always turning on and off, I was looking at one of the quieter ones with an always on active fan. My case has a PSU shroud so there's no airflow besides the PSU's airflow.
 

A properly engineered zero RPM unit shouldn't constantly start and stop. Unfortunately, there aren't many that are properly engineered because that costs money.

 

But the HX, HXi, RM or RMi should all be fine.

 

If you're working in a 31°C environment, definitely make sure the PSU is rated for 40 to 50°C.  It's surprising how many PSUs are out there that are onyl 25 to 30°C rated. But it seems like you already know the difference between a good unit and garbage since you're using an AX and are looking at RM or HX.

 

 

[gabensux]

10 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

A properly engineered zero RPM unit shouldn't constantly start and stop. Unfortunately, there aren't many that are properly engineered because that costs money.

 

But the HX, HXi, RM or RMi should all be fine.

 

If you're working in a 31°C environment, definitely make sure the PSU is rated for 40 to 50°C.  It's surprising how many PSUs are out there that are onyl 25 to 30°C rated. But it seems like you already know the difference between a good unit and garbage since you're using an AX and are looking at RM or HX.

 

 

The legend himself... If I weren't saving up to buy a new GPU I would probably get an AX1600i and never look back but sadly money is of limited quantity especially during the human malware crisis. Anyway, I've recommended the RM650x to many local builders who wanted an affordable high end PSU and while never owning one myself I can attest to its low noise performance.

There seems to be difficulties in finding Corsair PSUs on American web vendors. I may need to look at other brands.

Also I do not like my AX850, I think it's the black sheep of the Corsair PSU lineup. Just sharing some feedback.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, gabensux said:

Also I do not like my AX850, I think it's the black sheep of the Corsair PSU lineup. Just sharing some feedback.

I'm not a big fan either.  Most of the issues are because it's Seasonic.  It's just has a lot of rough edges as Corsair engineers had their hands tied working with them.   The fan is not Corsair's.  The fan controller is not an MCU.  And there's no OPAMPs measuring current to allow the fan to run based on temp OR load.  These are all things every other Corsair PSU from RM up have.  At least the fan is PWM instead of Prime's DC fan and uses a better driver IC so it's not AS NOISY as the Prime the PSU is based off of.  

 

If you think 750W would be enough (I do), the RM750x is in stock at Newegg at a non-rape price:  https://www.newegg.com/corsair-rmx-series-rm750x-cp-9020179-na-750w/p/N82E16817139233?Item=N82E16817139233&quicklink=true

 

Best Buy should have the RM850x:  https://www.bestbuy.com/site/corsair-rmx-series-850w-atx12v-2-4-eps12v-2-92-80-plus-gold-modular-power-supply-black/6229601.p?skuId=6229601

 

 

[gabensux]

11 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

I'm not a big fan either.  Most of the issues are because it's Seasonic.  It's just has a lot of rough edges as Corsair engineers had their hands tied working with them.   The fan is not Corsair's.  The fan controller is not an MCU.  And there's no OPAMPs measuring current to allow the fan to run based on temp OR load.  These are all things every other Corsair PSU from RM up have.  At least the fan is PWM instead of Prime's DC fan and uses a better driver IC so it's not AS NOISY as the Prime the PSU is based off of.  

 

If you think 750W would be enough (I do), the RM750x is in stock at Newegg at a non-rape price:  https://www.newegg.com/corsair-rmx-series-rm750x-cp-9020179-na-750w/p/N82E16817139233?Item=N82E16817139233&quicklink=true

 

Best Buy should have the RM850x:  https://www.bestbuy.com/site/corsair-rmx-series-850w-atx12v-2-4-eps12v-2-92-80-plus-gold-modular-power-supply-black/6229601.p?skuId=6229601

 

 

Wow, I completely overlooked those, I spent hours on newegg today and yesterday. Now do I buy that RM850x... I would have preferred the HX850 but I'm remembering an article that multirail doesn't matter for 99% of people from the jonnyguru website. The difference between the 750 and 850 is less than ten dollars too. Seems like the 850w is the choice even if my power requirements aren't particularly high (single gpu). Thanks for finding that link for me btw.

[Moonzy]

13 hours ago, jonnyGURU said:

definitely make sure the PSU is rated for 40 to 50°C

might be a dumb question

 

is the rated temp ambient temp or internal component temp under full load?

[AndreiArgeanu]

16 hours ago, gabensux said:

Most zero rpm units from my experience are always turning on and off

Well if that fan is not going full blast and is actually stopping sometimes that should mean that temps are ok, because the only reason to my knowledge the fan in the power supply turns on based on temperatures not power consumption.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Moonzy said:

might be a dumb question

 

is the rated temp ambient temp or internal component temp under full load?

Ambient.   Many components inside the PSU actually get well above 100°C.

[Ankerson]

23 hours ago, jonnyGURU said:

I'm not a big fan either.  Most of the issues are because it's Seasonic.  It's just has a lot of rough edges as Corsair engineers had their hands tied working with them.   The fan is not Corsair's.  The fan controller is not an MCU.  And there's no OPAMPs measuring current to allow the fan to run based on temp OR load.  These are all things every other Corsair PSU from RM up have.  At least the fan is PWM instead of Prime's DC fan and uses a better driver IC so it's not AS NOISY as the Prime the PSU is based off of.  

 

If you think 750W would be enough (I do), the RM750x is in stock at Newegg at a non-rape price:  https://www.newegg.com/corsair-rmx-series-rm750x-cp-9020179-na-750w/p/N82E16817139233?Item=N82E16817139233&quicklink=true

 

Best Buy should have the RM850x:  https://www.bestbuy.com/site/corsair-rmx-series-850w-atx12v-2-4-eps12v-2-92-80-plus-gold-modular-power-supply-black/6229601.p?skuId=6229601

 

 

 

Tell us how you really feel. 

 

 

[Ankerson]

23 hours ago, gabensux said:

Wow, I completely overlooked those, I spent hours on newegg today and yesterday. Now do I buy that RM850x... I would have preferred the HX850 but I'm remembering an article that multirail doesn't matter for 99% of people from the jonnyguru website. The difference between the 750 and 850 is less than ten dollars too. Seems like the 850w is the choice even if my power requirements aren't particularly high (single gpu). Thanks for finding that link for me btw.

 

 

That was an older article from 2008...

 

I do think it likely might not matter as much as some want others to believe and they are rabid about it....

 

Although the added safety of the Multi-Rail isn't exactly a bad thing so.

 

That said the RMX is an excellent PSU.