Silverstone SX500-LG 500W Gold SFX-L

@ Jb1: How is the "clicking" fan in the 500 versus the "chattering" fan in the 600?

I don't mind the weird chirp noise during fan startup on my 600 at all (it's actually gone away for the most part now), but the constant quiet ticking fan just bugs the living shit out of me.
 
Phuncz said:
It depends if your small gaming rig supports SFX-L PSU's, because they are longer than normal SFX PSU's. But at the moment, unless we find a very in-depth review with proper dB readings, we can only follow this logic:
ST45SF-G was not quiet for most, especially under load.
SX600-G was much more quiet for most, but had annoying quirks for some.
SX500-LG seems to be even more quiet for most, with annoying quirks a few people.

This PSU seems to show it's qualities under load, where I've not seen anyone complain about noise.
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Don't forget the ST30SF. Not sufficient for every build obviously, but on my Dad's M1 with no GPU the PSU fan just doesn't switch on at all.
 
WiSK said:
Don't forget the ST30SF. Not sufficient for every build obviously, but on my Dad's M1 with no GPU the PSU fan just doesn't switch on at all.
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If you're within the power budget, the ST30SF is really nice. My rig (a GTX 980 plus a Xeon E3-1240, one each of an SSD, a 3.5" HDD and a slim ODD, plus an AIO cooler) runs with the PSU fan off at idle, and is pretty quiet under load. Still considering switching to a SX500-LG for overclocking headroom on the GPU though.
 
AFD said:
@ Jb1: How is the "clicking" fan in the 500 versus the "chattering" fan in the 600?

I don't mind the weird chirp noise during fan startup on my 600 at all (it's actually gone away for the most part now), but the constant quiet ticking fan just bugs the living shit out of me.
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I find the fan chattering of the 600-G more annoying. I can't hear the clicking of the 500 over the quiet whirr of my reference GTX 970 even at idle. In order to hear the clicking of the 500 I actually have to put my ear a couple inches away from the power supply. I do have my M1 sitting to the right of me though, so the fan for the 500 is pointing the other way.
 
WiSK said:
Don't forget the ST30SF. Not sufficient for every build obviously, but on my Dad's M1 with no GPU the PSU fan just doesn't switch on at all.
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I was going to mention it, but then I read "gaming rig" and it didn't seem like a logical choice to recommend without knowing the hardware involved.

jb1 said:
In order to hear the clicking of the 500 I actually have to put my ear a couple inches away from the power supply.
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Well, that would only be a problem if you would wear your PC on your head, so that's not a real issue. If I run Quake 3 at unlimited FPS, I can also hear coil whine above 800fps (it also hits 2000 sometimes...), but that's just not realistic use of a PC.
 
Phuncz said:
Well, that would only be a problem if you would wear your PC on your head, so that's not a real issue. If I run Quake 3 at unlimited FPS, I can also hear coil whine above 800fps (it also hits 2000 sometimes...), but that's just not realistic use of a PC.
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Right, the clicking is a non-issue for me at least. It's a fantastic power supply!
 
Fitted one to my Ncase and so far the fan has not even started. Im guessing its due to the side intake fan blowing Cold air towards the psu intake (or its busted). :) Keeping my fingers crossed it wont tick once it starts spinning.
 
Phuncz said:
Well, that would only be a problem if you would wear your PC on your head, so that's not a real issue.
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I think I wear my PC on my head quite a bit, as I'm always leaning on my desk and getting too close to my monitor (lazy, crappy eyesight, fashion statement :p). This usually brings the PSU anywhere from 1 to 3' away from my ear (though I finally have it facing away from me). I've been following Aiboh's advice (I think it was his) of just turning up the radio, and this helps at times, but it still pisses me off, cuz I know why I'm doing it :D

jb1 said:
I find the fan chattering of the 600-G more annoying. I can't hear the clicking of the 500 over the quiet whirr of my reference GTX 970 even at idle. In order to hear the clicking of the 500 I actually have to put my ear a couple inches away from the power supply. I do have my M1 sitting to the right of me though, so the fan for the 500 is pointing the other way.
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Thanks Jb1, appreciate the comparison!
 
AFD said:
I think I wear my PC on my head quite a bit, as I'm always leaning on my desk and getting too close to my monitor (lazy, crappy eyesight, fashion statement :p). This usually brings the PSU anywhere from 1 to 3' away from my ear (though I finally have it facing away from me). I've been following Aiboh's advice (I think it was his) of just turning up the radio, and this helps at times, but it still pisses me off, cuz I know why I'm doing it :D
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That was probably me :D

I'm hoping in the next few days to make a small write up on the fan noise. I'm waiting on an adapter so I can take the stock fans off my Asus 780 and use two Noctua P12s instead.

I tried modding the BIOS but it seems the card is hardwired at a minimum 1100 RPM fan speed so I haven't bothered trying to analyze the fan noise of the PSU.

I did play a round of BF4 though and the fan on the PSU didn't come on so the semi-fanless is indeed working for me FWIW.
 
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I have to say I'm really disappointed with my SX500-LG. I picked it up from the post office yesterday and hooked it on outside my case to test it out.

Nice, fan not kicking in during the first 10min of web browsing. Start FC4, fan kicks in. Quit FC4, fan slows down and starts to sound like a locomotive. :confused: The galloping sound is very clear in my unit and is REALLY annoying especially since the rest of the system is quiet.

I took it off and did some testing with a hair dryer. Jump started the PSU, warmed it up with a hair dryer and waited for the fan the get max rpm and then started to wait for the PSU to cool down.

20 minutes later the fan is still spinning and making the ridiculous noise. It has stopped a few times but started spinning again within a couple of seconds. And note that there is no load on the PSU at the moment.

:mad:

E: Over an hour later the fan is still spinning...
 
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Just installed a new SX500-LG in my M1 v3, and I can't get the fans spinning for the life of me. I guess my H100i keeps the ambient temps low enough for the unit to remain fanless. So the heat's gonna have to come from my GPU... I'm not complaining though, just want to get the fan going to make sure it works at least and also to see how bad the noise is. Waiting for some Steam games to download now...
 
What ambient temp?

There seems to be some discrepancy with the semi-passive operation. I've played a few rounds of BF4 with a 5930K and GTX 780 and the fan didn't come on but that was about 18-19 C.
 
I don't have an accurate way to measure my ambient temp, but I have P95 burning my CPU right now and they're running at 80 C. And then according to Corsair Link, I have some "Gigabyte Motherboard Temps" but I don't know what they refer to:

Gigabyte Motherboard Temp 0: 35 C
Gigabyte Motherboard Temp 1: 0 C
Gigabyte Motherboard Temp 2: 69 C
Gigabyte Motherboard TZ00 Temp: 27.8 C
Gigabyte Motherboard TZ01 Temp: 29.8 C

And right now the PSU is still operating in fanless mode. About to run some 3DMark benches soon...
 
wovie said:
I don't have an accurate way to measure my ambient temp, but I have P95 burning my CPU right now and they're running at 80 C. And then according to Corsair Link, I have some "Gigabyte Motherboard Temps" but I don't know what they refer to:

Gigabyte Motherboard Temp 0: 35 C
Gigabyte Motherboard Temp 1: 0 C
Gigabyte Motherboard Temp 2: 69 C
Gigabyte Motherboard TZ00 Temp: 27.8 C
Gigabyte Motherboard TZ01 Temp: 29.8 C

And right now the PSU is still operating in fanless mode. About to run some 3DMark benches soon...
Click to expand...

What CPU/GPU are you using?
 
i5-4690K and GTX 670

OK so here's my findings. Out of the 5 "Gigabyte Motherboard Temps", only 2 of them changed when I switched from P95 to 3DMark.

GB MB Temp 0: Increased from 35 C to 42 C
GB MB Temp 2: Decreased from 69 C to 30 C

So Temp 0 should be related to the ambient temp, and Temp 2 is the CPU.

When Temp 0 is >= 40 C, the fan on the PSU turns on. Below that, it shuts off immediately.

By far the loudest thing in my setup is the H100i. I can't tell when the PSU fan switches on/off due to the noise from the H100i. Regardless whether the PSU is on or off, even when I put my ear next to it, I don't hear any noise whatsoever from the unit (no pitch/coil, no clacking).

As far as I'm concerned, the SX500-LG is dead silent to me. I'm very happy with it, and can easily recommend it to anyone.
 
Just finally ordered my SX500-LG this morning, got it from a Canadian online store for $115.75 CAD including 5% tax and free shipping which converts to $93.01 USD, so actually cheaper than Amazon.com.

I can finally complete my build, huzzah!
 
I installed this PSU in the M1 with the v3 bracket and a long card (R9 290) with the backplate taken off.
I couldn't find a way to fit with the PSU fan facing the panel, because the cables will be over the GPU and it's too tight. With the fan facing inside, the cables are at the edge of the GPU and I was able to get it to fit.
The galloping sound is present but I can only hear it by placing my ear close to it.
Compared to my Bronze ST45SF, this is a lot more quiet at idle or load.
 
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Hey can someone tell me if this is normal? I received my SX500-LG and when I plug it in my motherboard's psu indicator led is on (mobo is in the OFF state). Then I flip the SX500-LG's power switch on the back to the OFF position, and the motherboard's leds immediately shut off (Good so far).

Then ~15 seconds later those same LEDs flick back on for ~1s and then shut back off. I tried this with my psu tester and same thing happens, the psu tester will power back on for a moment ~15s after unplugging the SX500-LG (The tester is using the +5VSB for power). Should the SX500-LG be masking this residual power or is that normal? I do not have another psu to test right now and I can't remember if I've noticed this in the past with other power supplies. Thanks for the help.
 
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Just checked and mine does the same thing.

Haven't seen behavior quite like this but I have seen one PSU that the power indicator LED on the PSU itself didn't go off (showing the PSU was mostly drained of power) for 10-15 minutes after being unplugged.
 
Nothing to worry about, I'd say. I've encountered many different psu power-off behaviors in my days, and although the most usual behavior is a continuous steady drain of the capacitors for a couple of seconds, there are many others (e.g. pulsating).
 
Residual electricity in capacitors I'd uneducatedly guess. If this was worrisome, they wouldn't have been given approvals in the EU and US.
 
Phuncz said:
Residual electricity in capacitors I'd uneducatedly guess. If this was worrisome, they wouldn't have been given approvals in the EU and US.
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All we know is that it's providing 1 second of current at 5V, enough to light a LED. You wouldn't notice that even if you had both + and - wires directly in your hands.
 
backfeed said:
Nothing to worry about, I'd say. I've encountered many different psu power-off behaviors in my days, and although the most usual behavior is a continuous steady drain of the capacitors for a couple of seconds, there are many others (e.g. pulsating).
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Thanks for the responses. Yeah, in the past I've seen it where leds will stay lit for a bit as it drains. First time I've seen this behavior though, so I wanted to make sure it wasn't just mine acting that way. Good to hear.
 
Forgot to post an update here.

I have to retract my previous statements about the SX500-LG consistently running fanless at anything other than a heavy load.

Since I took apart the PSU and spliced in a connector so I could test the fan curve I haven't really done any gaming. I was trying to do a silent build in my case though so I've been playing around with different ways of cooling my GTX 780.

In the process of testing the video card cooling I tried running both FurMark and Prime95 and the system shut down after a few minutes. On inspection I noticed the PSU was pretty hot so I took the front panel off and started the machine back up to verify if the fan was working. To speed up the test process I just took a heat gun and pointed it at the intake and within 15 seconds it shut down.

So now that I verified it was the PSU overheating I took a closer look and turns out the connector I had spliced in had worked loose and got stuck in the fan. So this whole time I thought the PSU was doing a great job but actually it was because the fan couldn't spin. Oops :eek:

Pretty impressive though, it had run about 30-40 minutes previously with just FurMark without shutting down. Probably shortened its lifespan a bit but at least we know the overtemp protection is working :D

So I added back a zip-tie to prevent the wire from getting loose again and since then the fan has come on even at fairly low loads.
 
hm.. i wonder whether it would be okay to remove the fan, flip the psu, and use a radiator's exhaust to cool it

would be pretty sick to have only 2 fans and a pump making noise in the m1
 
Aibohphobia said:
Forgot to post an update here.

I have to retract my previous statements about the SX500-LG consistently running fanless at anything other than a heavy load.

Since I took apart the PSU and spliced in a connector so I could test the fan curve I haven't really done any gaming. I was trying to do a silent build in my case though so I've been playing around with different ways of cooling my GTX 780.

In the process of testing the video card cooling I tried running both FurMark and Prime95 and the system shut down after a few minutes. On inspection I noticed the PSU was pretty hot so I took the front panel off and started the machine back up to verify if the fan was working. To speed up the test process I just took a heat gun and pointed it at the intake and within 15 seconds it shut down.

So now that I verified it was the PSU overheating I took a closer look and turns out the connector I had spliced in had worked loose and got stuck in the fan. So this whole time I thought the PSU was doing a great job but actually it was because the fan couldn't spin. Oops :eek:

Pretty impressive though, it had run about 30-40 minutes previously with just FurMark without shutting down. Probably shortened its lifespan a bit but at least we know the overtemp protection is working :D

So I added back a zip-tie to prevent the wire from getting loose again and since then the fan has come on even at fairly low loads.
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On the bright side, it means that splicing an extra resistor into the fan line (or more elegantly, the thermistor wiring) to drop the fan speed should be possible, with no ill effects in all but the highest loads. If it was running fanless for 1/2 an hour with Furmark without hitting the thermal protection temperature, it should be able to run with much less airflow than it;s currently getting, as long as ambient temperature is not too hot and it;s getting fresh air (I guess Silverstone need to spec it to run in a worst case scenario of a hot room and pulling hot air from inside the case).
 
EdZ said:
...with no ill effects in all but the highest loads... I guess Silverstone need to spec it to run in a worst case scenario of a hot room and pulling hot air from inside the case
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I would think Silverstone are looking more at the PSU reaching the 3 years of the warranty.

Running at higher temperatures than it's designed might compromise the lifespan of some components, e.g. capacitors.
 
EdZ said:
If it was running fanless for 1/2 an hour with Furmark without hitting the thermal protection temperature, it should be able to run with much less airflow than it;s currently getting
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But isn't the only noise problem some people have with the PSU related to the fan turning on and off, not the speed itself ? By this logic, it would be better if the fan was on all the time, instead of being off it was running at it's lowest speed that doesn't produce any weird noises.
 
I have installed my SX500-LG power supply.

It seems to be making an odd noise when the fan is spinning. The fan noise seems to be caused by a misshaped fan or something.

Can't really hear it over my GPU fan.

I will clean the GPU sometime later and see if the PSU fan is an annoyance.
 
Mine is the same. It's very quiet, but if you listen closely it's as if one of the blades of the fan is rubbing or it's off balance or something. Generally happy with it since I can't hear it over any other ambient noise in the room, but still unfortunate.
 
Was keen to get one of these for a silent-as-possible SFF build. Still am. Sort of.

Why is it so hard to add a few extra dollars to the BOM and put a decent fan with a decent profile in a power supply?

Would I pay $20-30 extra for a small, efficient and quiet supply with a Noctua in it? Why yes, I would!

Or even better, a modular power supply with modular fans. We spend hours tweaking our choice of case fans, but have zero choice when it comes to power supplies. These PS companies are missing some great co-branding/differentiation opportunities....
 
There isn't a slim 120mm Noctua.

Even if there were, it likely wouldn't have enough torque to cool this PSU. The whole Noctua trick to having "silent" fans isn't about Austrian design, nor about build quality (made in China just like a Globe fan). Generally a Noctua is quieter because it runs slower and they offer you a "low-noise-adapter", which just undervolts the fan to run even slower.
 
WiSK said:
There isn't a slim 120mm Noctua.

Even if there were, it likely wouldn't have enough torque to cool this PSU. The whole Noctua trick to having "silent" fans isn't about Austrian design, nor about build quality (made in China just like a Globe fan). Generally a Noctua is quieter because it runs slower and they offer you a "low-noise-adapter", which just undervolts the fan to run even slower.
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I think that Noctua's trick is that their fans don't behave abnormally when undervolted or forced to run at low rpm. I've had fans make ticking sounds or stop spinning with undervolt adapters. Meanwhile, Noctua fans are guaranteed to work.
 
Yes indeed, Noctua fans are seemingly designed around running quietly, without issue. I also like the noise signature more, it's less unobtrusive. I also expect them to last longer without noise issues.
 
cowsgomoo said:
I think that Noctua's trick is that their fans don't behave abnormally when undervolted or forced to run at low rpm. I've had fans make ticking sounds or stop spinning with undervolt adapters. Meanwhile, Noctua fans are guaranteed to work.
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Exactly. Every other fan I have tried in the past either ticks or pops or rattles or buzzes or whatever-other-annoying-noise it-can-produce when undervolted / low speed PWM controlled. All of the Noctua fan I have used has been fantastic in that regard. They are decently quiet at full speed as well, but that is subjective.
 
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phillyboy said:
Exactly. Every other fan I have tried in the past either ticks or pops or rattles or buzzes or whatever-other-annoying-noise it-can-produce when undervolted / low speed PWM controlled. All of the Noctua fan I have used has been fantastic in that regard. They are decently quiet at full speed as well, but that is subjective.
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Exactly....they under volt as expected. Most other fans...not so much.
 
Is the SFX market so small that small specialist companies like Be!Quiet feel it's not worth it? If Silverstone can regularly screw up the fan design and implementation with their CMs, then someone like Be!Quiet could actually take that nearly impossible last step and have Enhance/FSP/Seasonic/SuperDuperFloweryContractManufacturer install a quiet fan...

Which brings up another idea...why not make a kickstarter project for a kickass SFX power supply? Worked for Ncase...of course there's the volume thing, but who wouldn't want to have an extra thousand SFX power supplies in their closet? ;-)

EDIT: Be!Quiet does make the SFX POWER 2 300W unit - but only seems available in Europe and oh, the irony, does not have a great rep for its fan noise. ...and it's only 300W, so not fancy GPU for you!
 
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clockdogg said:
Is the SFX market so small that small specialist companies like Be!Quiet feel it's not worth it? If Silverstone can regularly screw up the fan design and implementation with their CMs, then someone like Be!Quiet could actually take that nearly impossible last step and have Enhance/FSP/Seasonic/SuperDuperFloweryContractManufacturer install a quiet fan...
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Funny you should specify be quiet, they've actually had a couple of SFX PSUs for some time. They're non-modular though, and based on the same design as Silverstone's older bronze-rated units (OEM'd by FSP).
 
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