Zalman 7000 CU

Michelangelo

I just installed a Zalman 7000cu and I do not notice any decrease in noise at all. Its turned down to silent and not on normal.

Hmmm what could it be?

ozt9vdujny3srf

probably your gfx fan or if you have them northbridge fan / case fans

Col_Loki

lol, the battle begins.......

Things to check ....

Most Probably the PSU, NB fan, GFX fan, Hard Drives, Case fans........... PSU & case fans being the biggest offenders. Once your down to worryin about the NB then your doing well. What PSU do you have?

Michelangelo

I have a sneaky suspicion its the psu....

its a chieftec 360watt which comes with the dragon full towers. I took out gfx card and only have one case fan which is the one on the side panel of the chieftec case which I do not even turn on as it sounds like a hoover! lol

Anyone tell me for sure its the psu? Are these generally noisy?

Col_Loki

Yea PSU's are normally one of the bigger offenders noise wise. If you have no case fans and the Zalman fitted then its almost definetly the PSU (if the noise is still bad).

Chieftec arent known for quiet operation....... best ones are probably be-quiets , Antecs (especially the single fan 380w one - quietest ive ever seen), Fortrons if you mod the fan to run @5v.

Be-quiets are available from www.hitide.ie
Antecs from www.elara.ie
Fortrons www.pc-look.com

When the manufacturers say silent PSU etc its generally a lie!!

neokenzo

I got the Zalman and even on the highest speed, it seems very quiet. Probably because my case fan is noisy

Michelangelo

What about the Zalman 400 watt on pc-look.com. 100 euro to get it over here.

What ya think about it? Anyone have one? Is it Uber quiet?

unkel

Originally posted by Michelangelo
What about the Zalman 400 watt on pc-look.com. 100 euro to get it over here.

What ya think about it? Anyone have one? Is it Uber quiet?

Yeah, have had it since last year and very satisfied with it. Very powerful and very quiet. Unlike most other PSU's, it actually generates more power than specified. Pc-look seems to be a sound company. Just placed my first order with them last Monday and awaiting arrival of the goodies

To get the best advice possible about PSU's and quiet computing in general here on boards.ie, you should contact the resident expert on this subject: COL_LOKI

Col_Loki

lol unkel .

Totally forgot to mention Zalman, i knew i was missing one :rolleyes:

If your on a budget and are prepared to mod a little then look along the lines of a fortron 120mm with a zalman 5v adapter (or you could connect it directly to the 5v)....... very quiet operation and a 300w/350w should power almost any system you throw at it. Bear in mind you will have to take the cover off your PSU (voids warenty)

Be-quiets, Zalmans and antecs are generally the best of the crop for quiet operation , with Be-quiet & Zalman being made more so with this in mind. Like unkel said Zalman are excellent PSU's and produce more power than there rated for..... which is nice (same with fortrons)

ozt9vdujny3srf

http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=CAS00101&productID= tbh

Col_Loki

Originally posted by COL_LOKI
Antecs (especially the single fan 380w one - quietest ive ever seen)

The single fan 380w is the one fitted to the sonata and is shockingly quiet but it depends on load. If your system isint drawing much power then it is soo hard to hear this even with everything else shut off (just PSU running).

Also the be-quiets & antecs have fan controllers so it will run your case fans depending on load....... which generally runs the fans 4-5v - very very quiet if not silent (depends on fan).

Sonata is a good choice if your looking for a case.......

OfflerCrocGod

As far as I'm aware Zalman use Forton PSU in there own branded PSU so you would be better off going for the cheaper Forton - they also make more Watts then they are rated at.

Col_Loki

As far as I'm aware Zalman use Forton PSU in there own branded PSU so you would be better off going for the cheaper Forton - they also make more Watts then they are rated at.

Yea thats on the ball. Only problem is the Zalman is based on a different model of the fortrons than ive seen available in europe (single small fan version).....

The only ones ive seen are the 120mm versions which are loud unless you mod them. They are excellent value for money and produce alot more power than there rated for....

300w -> 380w ish
350w -> 420w ish
400w -> 450w ish

Fortron have alot of different models and re-branded versions that it is hard to give an accurate power output..... ie there is a 350w version that produces 450w of actual power.

Some people wont want to take the PSU cover off, snip wires and put the fan running at 5v which is why i recomend be-quiets, Zalmans, antecs. If you dont do the mod then its not the quietest PSU in the world but with the mod done its very very quiet (am using one at the min).