It may seem like a question with an obvious answer but I just wondered...... :rolleyes:

My current Aopen 300W PSU is fine apart from the medium-pitch electrical whining noise that the PSU makes like i've heard before with all other PSU's that come supplied with a case. Out of all other components the PSU is one of the only things I've never replaced with a branded one like Enermax for example.

I can tell theres a definite difference between fan noise and electrical noise. Fan noise is avoidable with fan control but electrical is dependant on the actual device making it which is only the PSU.

Does a "quiet" PSU mean it has far less fan noise and/or electrical noise?

My PSU is supposed to be silent (Enermax Whisper), and I don't hear it above my 5 case fans and the 60mm fan I have spinning at 5k RPM on my GFX card.

I think it depends on the brand. Good, quality brands like Enermax, Antec, etc. silence their PSU's as much as they can. But other, cheaper brands just put lower-RPM fans on to denote "silent".

I found my AOpen case to be a good all rounder with plenty of room for expansion and I assumed that because the PSU was also the AOpen brand it would make some difference to noise.

Its no quieter than my previous case. I may consider a new PSU eventually as if they run at 25-30dB as advertised, they will be very quiet indeed.

PS. for the record, the electrical noise I speak of from a PSU can be more commonly known as the "audible coil buzzing" component inside of it.

PSU "electrical noise" = the high pitch whine emitting from it as well as the PSU's own fan noise.

Your PSU emits a high-pitced whine? I haven't heard any from my 400w.

Thats because u have an Enermax Whisper.

Apparently, Scan have very cheap own-brand PSUs which all claim to use "Active PFC", "Dual Fans" and "Super low noise" from £30 upwards. I'll have to find out more about these.

Another interesting thing are these New PSUs from Hiper PC Ltd.

The only review here claims they are "Enermax beaters" and i have seen them @ eBuyer for "at least 25% cheaper than Enermax".

I suggest replacing the fan in the PSU with an 80mm from Panaflo or Papst; this is the cheapest, most effective way to quiet the PSU fan noise. I did this on my Antec PSU with Thermally Controlled fan, it's now whisper quiet. The Papst is worth the slightly higher expense than the Panaflo, IMO. In addition, a wire fan grill will be quieter than a grill made of flat, pressed metal. Most cheap PSUs have a grill pressed out of the PSU casing...cut it out and replace it with a wire grill when you replace the fan.

The loudest thing in my system now is the HD! I reduced the sound of the HD around 50% by relocating it but it's still a bit loud. Good Luck!

IMO as well. Papst fans are excellent because they balance them perfectly, eliminating any vibration at all.

Hey, Snowy

I think i got the same prob with ya, got this cheap 300w PSU last Christmas...It's a bit noisy with some screeching noises from the fan during booting.

Here's a related article from Tom's Hardware. It's a good read if you get a chance: http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/02q4/021021/index.html

Electrical whining noise is caused by cheap components, I know from experience of buying cheap cases with cheap PSUs. Does yours whine even when the Power Switch is turned off (i.e. still plugged in to socket, turned on, but ATX switch not pressed), drove one of my customers mental till I bought him a more expensive PSU.