Power Supply If you had to choose: semi-passive 80+ Bronze versus "quiet" 80+ Gold?

[ikjadoon]

Hello, everyone! The system for the PSU:

• i5-8600K (95W TDP; stock clocks and stock Intel cooler; will be undervolted for silence soonTM)
• Zotac GT 710 2GB (19W TDP; passive)
• ASRock Fata1ty Z370 Gaming-ITX/ac
  
• 2 x 8GB GEIL EVO Spear DDR4-3000
• 250GB Samsung 960 EVO NVME

The system is used for web development (80%), video editing & encoding (15%), and 2D casual gaming (5%), so power draw is quite low. I think, even in extreme stress, I will barely crack 150W. And, yes, why buy a Z370 board + K CPU without overclocking and an ancient GPU? There was a sale at Microcenter and I needed a new system ASAP.

I'll save $10 from our supplier with the SUB model, but it's not much relative to the total cost of the build. Silence + cheap + performance are the goals.

Choice 1: Seasonic SSP-300SUB:
[80+ Bronze] + [fanless up to 30% load] + [+3.3V @ 14A, +5V @ 17A, +12V @ 21A, combined from two 18A rails]

Choice 2: Seasonic SSP-300SUG:
[80+ Gold] + ["quiet" fan] + [+3.3V @ 10A, +5V @ 14A, +12V @ 25A]

Lingering questions:

1. How "quiet" is the SSP-300SUG? I've heard mostly quiet, but I wanted to ask: at low power draw (~30W total), is the stock Intel cooler louder? I might migrate to a quieter CPU cooler in the future, which makes me not eager of a constantly-on 40mm fan.

2. Who's the efficiency winner here at low draw (~30W)? I recall higher PSU temperatures -> higher leakage > more power consumption, so the SUG wins hands-down, right?

3. Can you unevenly "wear out" a single rail in a multi-rail PSU? I presume on the SUB, the CPU has a separate rail vs all the other connectors. The CPU rail will never trip (Tom's Hardware clocks the i5-8600K @ 120W at peak load with P95, so just 10A needed vs 18A available), but is this even an issue? Do I need to be concerned about "balancing" the load here?

4. For longevity, the SUG is the winner, right? Higher efficiency with an always-on fan.

5. Every blue moon, I'm in hot ambient areas (~30C): the SUB's semi-passive fan is also temperature-controlled, right? So even at 10% load, if the components are hot enough, the fan will turn on as it's needed, right? It won't bake itself, right? Terrible question, but I just want to be sure.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. Since the prices are so close, it's a dilemma. I'm using an ancient eMachine PSU from the 2000s (more than capable at 180W), but I'd like to transition properly (and finally be able to close my case).

P.S. Completely unrelated, but how easy are these cables to bend? The sideways orientation of the PSU's "modular" end comes close to my two populated DIMM slots, but I've got about 50mm of wiggle room before I'd need a sharp bend.

 

[xelrix]

Unrelated, but ditch the 710 as even the integrated uhd 630 might be better.

At least get a gtx ?50 (550/650/750/1050) for some cool gaming.

 

[ikjadoon]

Unrelated, but ditch the 710 as even the integrated uhd 630 might be better.

At least get a gtx ?50 (550/650/750/1050) for some cool gaming.

Ahaha, no no, I agree. I don't actually play proper games on this rig--mostly just Super Hexagon (a 2D game on Steam) to unwind in the evenings. The GT 710 is significantly slower than the HD530 and it'll be dominated by the HD630 in actual gameplay (as long as there's Intel driver support).

The only reason I bought it: a legacy 120Hz strobed backlight LCD that I love which only supports NVIDIA GPUs. It's sadly a long explanation, but strobed backlights (i.e., Lightboost in this monitor) have much less motion blur (i.e., much closer to CRT). I'm running 120Hz at 10% and it's crazy smooth.

You can hack Intel iGPUs to support it, but it's a minefield of "don't unplug the monitor" and "restart exactly 4 times and don't login the third time, but restart to BIOS", etc. because there's NVIDIA DRM built into the monitor (tell me about it!). It's a small $40 sacrifice, though, for getting essentially CRT clarity in an LCD.

----

I somehow conflated various threads; I actually found a few user reviews of the SUG right on this forum.

>https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...dular-150mm-flexatx-psu.618/page-2#post-14765

I also have this [SUG] PSU, and while it is not loud at idle, it is still very noticeable.

>https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...dular-150mm-flexatx-psu.618/page-3#post-26779

Still, the SSP-300SUG could be a little quieter. Especially at idle - for me it actually never gets noticeable warmer or changes it fan speed even at load.

That settles it for me. To the semi-passive SSP-300SUB we go. I'll give up the 5% efficiency loss (an extra 1.5W of heat dissipated at 20% load).

 

[zovc]

Whoa, hey @doogie, have you heard about this (old?) monitor tech?

 

[IntoxicatedPuma]

 

[BeerNsoup]

just checked in to see the consensus... but nice colour coding bud!