1U PSU or PicoPSU that is quiet/silent/fanless

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idea

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May 19, 2011
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I am planning out building a MicroATX or Mini-ITX system that fits in a 1U Chassis. It should be silent or near silent (15dBA). And YES, I understand the challenge with building anything silent when it comes to rackmountable equipment. That's what makes it fun for me. I have to put this thing in my bedroom and still be able to sleep at night.

Option #1- Ideally, I'd like to fit a 1U PSU in there but I'm not sure if I can find one that is quiet enough. I found this one 300W Ultra Quiet 80 PLUS FlexATX PSU for C1/C2-RACK Chassis (mini-itx.com) but I have nothing else to compare it to and don't know if it fits in anything besides mini-itx.com's rackmount chassis.

Option #2- Dare I say it, but there is an option of buying a regular 1U PSU and hacking it up to replace the stock fan with a quieter PWM replacement [link]

Option #3- PicoPSU. I don't know much about them, however I do know that they require an external power supply brick, which I'd rather not deal. I'm trying to rack up this equipment nicely inside a cabinet and don't want power bricks hanging all over the place.

This PSU will be used in a diskless 1U system. I am still deciding between two builds:
  1. MicroATX system based on Supermicro X9SCM paired with a Xeon E3-1265L (45w TDP)
  2. MiniITX system based on Supermicro X9SPV-LN4F-3QE paired with a Core i7 Mobile (35w TDP)
  3. Either system will have no HD or SSD, other than a USB thumb drive which will boot VMware ESX
 
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TheBay

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What's going inside it drive wise, how many? Spinners or Solid state, what CPU platform etc.
 

PigLover

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Jan 26, 2011
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Up to about 130w total system usage the picoPSU is an outstanding solution. Your biggest issue with using them in a rackmount solution will be where to mount/hide/protect the external power brick. Also, you'll want to do something to secure the plug, usually a barrel plug or 4-pin DIN - both type tend to work loose with vibration in the rack or get accidentally knocked out when working with other cables.
 

idea

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May 19, 2011
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What's going inside it drive wise, how many? Spinners or Solid state, what CPU platform etc.
First post edited with system specs. Thanks for pointing that out

Up to about 130w total system usage the picoPSU is an outstanding solution. Your biggest issue with using them in a rackmount solution will be where to mount/hide/protect the external power brick. Also, you'll want to do something to secure the plug, usually a barrel plug or 4-pin DIN - both type tend to work loose with vibration in the rack or get accidentally knocked out when working with other cables.
Hey PigLover, yes I have the same concerns as you do about where to mount the external power brick, but I must admit you can't get any more silent than a PicoPSU.
 

PigLover

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Jan 26, 2011
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Since you are not using any disks, putting an mATX or mITX form factor inside a full-with 1U chassis will leave you a lot of unused space in the chassis. You might be able to put the brick inside the case, which also solves the connector problem since you can also put that inside the case and secure it fairly easily.
 

nitrobass24

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Dec 26, 2010
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I dont know how much power you need, but if 120W is enough see if you can get a Sparkle Power SPI120GNF
 

TheBay

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Feb 25, 2013
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I am planning out building a MicroATX or Mini-ITX system that fits in a 1U Chassis. It should be silent or near silent (15dBA). And YES, I understand the challenge with building anything silent when it comes to rackmountable equipment. That's what makes it fun for me. I have to put this thing in my bedroom and still be able to sleep at night.

Option #1- Ideally, I'd like to fit a 1U PSU in there but I'm not sure if I can find one that is quiet enough. I found this one 300W Ultra Quiet 80 PLUS FlexATX PSU for C1/C2-RACK Chassis (mini-itx.com) but I have nothing else to compare it to and don't know if it fits in anything besides mini-itx.com's rackmount chassis.

Option #2- Dare I say it, but there is an option of buying a regular 1U PSU and hacking it up to replace the stock fan with a quieter PWM replacement [link]

Option #3- PicoPSU. I don't know much about them, however I do know that they require an external power supply brick, which I'd rather not deal. I'm trying to rack up this equipment nicely inside a cabinet and don't want power bricks hanging all over the place.

This PSU will be used in a diskless 1U system. I am still deciding between two builds:
  1. MicroATX system based on Supermicro X9SCM paired with a Xeon E3-1265L (45w TDP)
  2. MiniITX system based on Supermicro X9SPV-LN4F-3QE paired with a Core i7 Mobile (35w TDP)
  3. Either system will have no HD or SSD, other than a USB thumb drive which will boot VMware ESX
Are you in the UK? as I can get brand new Supermicro 1U Passive chassis with quiet PSU for £21 and one with fans for £29 Both take ITX and mATX
 

idea

Member
May 19, 2011
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Are you in the UK? as I can get brand new Supermicro 1U Passive chassis with quiet PSU for £21 and one with fans for £29 Both take ITX and mATX
I am in the US. Are you saying Supermicro sells a quiet 1U chassis in the UK only? Link to product page please?
 

TheBay

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Feb 25, 2013
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idea

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May 19, 2011
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Ah yes I am familiar with their 1U chassis products. Check my first post, option #2 has a link to a guy who modded Supermicro's PSU with a 4-pin PWM fan: Ablecom SP262-1A 260W 1U PSU ? Lucid Solutions

Unfortunately they are not very quiet. They are advertised as "low noise" because Supermicro thinks the noise levels are acceptable especially when compared to other rackmount equipment. And they are probably correct. It's just not quiet enough for me.
 

TheBay

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Feb 25, 2013
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Ah yes I am familiar with their 1U chassis products. Check my first post, option #2 has a link to a guy who modded Supermicro's PSU with a 4-pin PWM fan: Ablecom SP262-1A 260W 1U PSU ? Lucid Solutions

Unfortunately they are not very quiet. They are advertised as "low noise" because Supermicro thinks the noise levels are acceptable especially when compared to other rackmount equipment. And they are probably correct. It's just not quiet enough for me.
I'm sure the silver 200watt ones have PWM fans, I have a 360watt silver 1U SM PSU which is silent and has a PWM fan. It's only noisy when I load it up with 10x drives, a RAID controller and run a load of VM's

Change the PSU Fan or fit a pico PSU brick inside the case.
 
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idea

Member
May 19, 2011
86
5
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I'm sure the silver 200watt ones have PWM fans, I have a 360watt silver 1U SM PSU which is silent and has a PWM fan. It's only noisy when I load it up with 10x drives, a RAID controller and run a load of VM's

Change the PSU Fan or fit a pico PSU brick inside the case.
I am very confused by what you're telling me. Please help me understand. It would be very helpful if you can provide links to specific models. The chassis I would be interested in is a SC512 which comes with 200 or 260W PSU and is featured here: Super Micro Computer, Inc. - Products | Chassis | 1U | SC512L-260 / SC512L-260B - I would remove the 10cm blower fan, those are 59 dBA!

I am confused because one of the PSUs they offer (the 260w in this example) is reported to be a model Ablecom SP262-1A 260W and it's documented on this page that the fan is too loud: Ablecom SP262-1A 260W 1U PSU ? Lucid Solutions
 

idea

Member
May 19, 2011
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The models I listed come with a 200w PSU (High efficiency, Low Noise)
Look at the 2 links I put up, the model you are suggesting has a normal non efficiency rated loud PSU with no PWM.

If you want the 512 Chassis over the 502/510 (I prefer the 510) then look at the Supermicro | Products | Chassis | 1U | SC512-203B or Super Micro Computer, Inc. - Products | Chassis | 1U | SC512L-200B
Thanks so much. I am going to research this. Btw the reason I posted the 512 is because the 502 or 510 seems to have fixed I/O plates so they are designed for one specific motherboard.
 

idea

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May 19, 2011
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Can the system in my first post (mATX X9SCM with E3-1265L) be powered by a 150W PicoPSU with 8.5A 12v power adapter?

I'm looking at PicoPSU kits. The PicoPSU itself of course will fit within 1U, and it seems that I can place up to a 8.5A (102W) 12v AC/DC power adapter inside the case within the space where the ATX PSU would have gone.

picoPSU-150-XT with 102 power kit
This kit's power adapter has the dimensions 2.37" x 1.38" x 6.74", the 1.38 height fits within the 1.75" 1U standard

picoPSU-150-XT with 150W Adapter Power Kit
This kit's power adapter has the dimensions 6.6 x 1.8 x 3.4 inches, and 1.8" height is taller than 1.75 1U standard.
 

TheBay

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Feb 25, 2013
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You raise a valid point regarding the 502/510 and the backplate, however Supermicro boards fit, just not other manufacturers without some cutting lol. Seeing as you are looking at the X9SC series I don't see an issue with it fitting.

As long as the PicoPSU supplies enough on the +5v rail it should work fine, I run 8x 3.5" hard drives, Optical drive, E3-1230v2, SSD's, RAID Card and a X9SCL and that never goes over 200watt!

Seeing as you aren't going for an array or RAID cards etc I can't see that ever hitting over 120watt, 150 will be ample.