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Fortron 500 BlueStorm

S

swanysto

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 3, 2005
Messages
340
Hey guys,

I am new to the forum but I just wanted to know if anyone had the above psu. I have read great reviews on it, and I was wondering about the noise. I have a psu now that is solid, but it is so loud that it is annoying. I need it to be REALLY quiet.

Any opinions and especially ones from people who have or had this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Jonathan
 
I have the 400 instead of the 500. Mine is nice and quiet and I can not hear it above my others fans and all.
 
I don't have one of those 2.0 fortrons, but I had a 530 w, and those things are built like tanks, Fortron makes good, solid 5% PSU's that generally get the job done. I wouldn't be ashamed to have one in my case, provided it's properly rated for the job at hand.
 
ralfyboy said:
i just want to know how the airflow works. does it suck out, or blow in?
Click to expand...


yes :p

in the event your serious
all supplies exhaust the case
 
I just bought a FS 500W Blue Storm and I have to say it is one of the nicest PSUs that I have ever seen... it is quiet and has given me no problems so far.

One annoying fact is that it only has one small "floppy drive" type power connector instead of 2 or 3 of them like most ATX PSUs I have used. It is really annoying since I have to plug it into the motherboard on the DFI SLI and don't have any power for a floppy drive should I decide to install one. Using a converter isn't really a problem other than the fact it is going to mess up my case feng shui. ;)
 
Ice Czar said:
yes :p

in the event your serious
all supplies exhaust the case
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure my Antec Trupower 430 pulls air into the case.

More on topic though, would this be a reliable power supply for my rig (see sig) because I'd really like to have a 24pin PSU to run this thing. I think my overclocks are a bit weak because my power supply can't give the voltages I specify in Asus' AI Booster reliably.
 
djskankho said:
I'm pretty sure my Antec Trupower 430 pulls air into the case.
Click to expand...
Because the fan speed controller runs the fans so slowly. My TP430 was an exhaust, a weak one at that.
 
_Korruption_ said:
Because the fan speed controller runs the fans so slowly. My TP430 was an exhaust, a weak one at that.
Click to expand...
oh, your right, temps went up and it's finally blowing a tiny bit of air out.
 
djskankho said:
I'm pretty sure my Antec Trupower 430 pulls air into the case.
.
Click to expand...


not unless someone was asleep at the wheel and put the fan in backward :p

consider that the AMD Builders guide
AMD Thermal, Mechanical and Chassis Design Guide
released with the Tbirds simply added a 2nd fan to assist exhausting the CPU heatsink and mobo compartment faster and that the power supply in ATX has always exhausted the case.
Generally with an intake fan low in the front and the PSU high in the back (assisted by convection of heat rising)

Taking exterior air, heating it up with the supply and pumping it into the case isnt now nor has it ever been an acceptable thermal solution ;)
 
It's definetly more silent than my old Antec True Power 380W and Antec SL350S (and these were more silent than the 300W noname before), but it's not as silent as the Seasonic and Nexus PSU's.

This all depends on how silent you want your computer to be. I have 2 120mm Everflows (@5V) and a 90mm Adda (@5V) on my XP-90 cooling the CPU. The video card is passively cooled and the harddrives are suspended. The Blue Storm is a tad too loud for my taste, it's not an annoying bearing sound it's just that the fan spins too fast.

However it's still decently quiet and the price/silence/performance is great and I would recommend it to anyone except those that have very quiet systems in the first place.

Look at the Seasonic S12 if you want a really silent PSU with good performace.
430W: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-151-023&depa=0
500W: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-151-024&depa=0
 
My friend recently bought this for a system, and unlike most PSU (as you probably know) it uses a 120mm fan which means it is gonna be pretty quiet. And it is, aside from his zalman 7700cu it has to be the quietest component in his pc.
 
a cut and paste directly from another current thread :p
-------------------------------------------
Seasonics are favored supplies over at SPCR's forums for their great efficiency
(greater effucuency = less waste heat = less air needed to remove the heat = lower sound signiture)
and the S12 is impressive Lee Garbutt (one of the 3 competent reviewers I know of) did a review of it here
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=106
-------------------------------------------
most supplies sound signiture can be greatly improved with a little modding
the greatest advantages often coming from lowering the air temperature you feed the supply (particularly in a thermally controlled fan)
and swapping out say one high speed 80 and replacing it with quiet but still high flow multiple fans in effect integrating the PSU with a duct system very similar to what you see in many OEM CPU thermal solutions
CFM isnt the whole game static pressure plays a big role review fans in series

another (no so) little cut and paste :p
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

well that push pull mod should have helped
you can physically guess what the exhaust temperature is with your fingers
or you can use most any thermometer at the exhaust or actually place a sensor in the supply like say what comes with a DigitalDoc5

offhand Id say you need to confirm the software, and yes it can be that far off if it thinking its reading a different thermoresistor

A resistive device used for temperature sensing that is composed of metal oxides formed into a bead and encapsulated in epoxy or glass. A typical thermistor has a positive temperature coefficient; that is, resistance increases dramatically and non-linearly with temperature. Though less common, there are negative temperature coefficient thermistors.
Click to expand...

so which metal oxides impact its "scale"

a little cut and paste


Ice Czar said:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
here is a great thread about ducting for a PSU
> http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=8450
and some thermodynamics\aerodynamics infor
Ice Czar said:
Lee Garbutt did a push>pull fan mod on a Turbo Cool 425
http://www.leesspace.com/quiet_psu.htm
note that while its much quiter the actual airflow and maintained temperatures are nearly identical
and this thread at spcr can give you lots of ideas about ducting (again)

but do to the design of the heatsinks and the density of the component package
as mentioned above, I wouldnt do the top fan mod on a Turbo Cool

boning up on Fans might be helpful as well
its not just the airflow that is important, but the static pressure
a supply with a greater resistance will benefit from a higher static pressure



Air Flow Vs. Pressure Characteristics
Parallel & Series Operation
Stall of Axial Flow Fans

Basic Fan Laws
How to measure Airflow vs Pressure
How to Achieve Low Noise
Accoustic Noise
EMI
Introduction: Forced Convection Cooling
How to select the right fan or blower
Step 1: The Total Cooling Requirements
Step 2: Total System Resistance / System Characteristic Curve
Step 3: System Operating Point
Click to expand...

there are three basic components to any thermal solution:
the heat transfer interface
(in this case the heatsinks total area)

the heat transfer medium's volume\pressure to time
(in this case airflow, with additional variables like airflow resistance)

and the temperature differential
(where using cooler air has a huge impact)
while the efficiency of a given supply at a given load will determine the high side of a temperature differential, by employing a cooler airstream you have the option to lower the lower side of the differential

a real good computer oriented guide to thermodynamics
General Heat Transfer Guide

Heat transfer is all about temperature differentials. Conduction through materials and convection away from surfaces is proportional to the temperature differential that exists. Basically the thermal resistance of a given solution changes with the temperature differential, which is why thermal solutions are rated in °C/W which leaves that variable ambient open but gives you a formula

The heat transfer through the wall follows a simple equation:
Q=k/L(T1-T2)


We can draw some interesting conclusions from this equation. First, heat transfer is proportional to the temperature difference on the object. If the temperature differential doubles, the heat transferred doubles. Second, the conduction coefficient "k" is proportional to heat transfer. If the conduction coefficient doubles, the heat transfer doubles Alternatively, for the same differential temperature, twice as much heat may be transferred. The final observation is "L". As thickness increases, heat transfer decreases. Alternatively, to maintain the same heat transfer through a material twice as thick requires twice the temperature differential.
Click to expand...

while that addresses conductance, there is a corrallary for convection (transfer from the heatsink to a fluid (air\water\ect)
its known as Newton's Law of Cooling

your pretty much stuck with the heatsink a supply has, but altering the airflow isnt the only tool left to you
a few simple mods and that supply will increase its range, edit > or you can use less airflow and thus quiter fans for the same capacity\temperature
the main objective being not to draw the hot air from the heatsink through the supply and getting it its own cool airstream, you do of course still need to exhaust the case ;)


I would mention that its only under truely adverse conmditions youd likely have a problem, and that, any alterations you do to the case could be likely used for the next upgrade and are infrastructure investments of both time and $$$
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click to expand...
 
well thanks for the info guys.
I checked out the seasonic, but that is a little more than I wanted to pay. I am hoping the fotron is quiet enough. I say that relatively, cause the power supply I have now (linked below, has 3 fans that run at about 1500 rpms, so when the computer starts I always look up cause I could swear a plane was taking off in my room. I also unhooked all fans to see if they were contributing, and the sound was almost the same, so I figure the fans I have are pretty quiet. I was stupid, cause I needed a powersupply fast and I just went to compusa and bought the first one I saw for the best price.

So now I am making sure I do my research this time. I picked the fortron to ask about cause I heard fortron was a solid psu, and for the price I think it might be one of the better ones.

Anyways, if you have any suggestions for keeping the supply below 100 I would certainly take them, seeing as it is going to be a month before I act. Here are my specs btw, and just to mention I plan on adding a 6800gt at about the same time, so I was thinking 500 watts would be a good amount, plus the rails seemed really good too. Also I dont think it makes a difference but I want to add a better heatsink than the stock soon also, prolly zalman or thermalright(still a ways off though).

Thanks again,
Jonathan

MY PSU
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=316281&pfp=BROWSE

My System
Asus A8V deluxe
AMD 3500+
Radeon 9800pro 256/256
1 gb (2x512 dual) geil ram 2-4-4-8
200 gig Western Digital 8mb 7200 rpm
80 gig seagate
52x36x52/16x cdr/dvd
120 m intake
92m exhaust
80 m harddrive fan
 
not sure, but they are pretty low if I remember correctly. I think 12v was something like 15a. It seems like a pretty stable power supply, and the voltages seem to be pretty solid, but I cant stand the sound of 2 80mm fans and 1 92mm fan running at 1500rps each, not to mention when I have them at 2500 rpms each. There is also and emergency setting for when it is really getting hot that sounds like a windtunnel mixed with a squeeling noise.
 
Ice Czar said:
what are the amps per rail listed on the side of the supply?
Click to expand...
Type: ATX
Maximum Power: 500W
PFC: Passive
Hold-up Time: 16.6 ms minimum: at 115V/60Hz
Efficiency: over 70% minimum
Over Voltage Protection: +5V: 6.5V, +3.3V: 4.6V, +12V: 15.5V
Input Voltage: 115-230 V AC
Input Frequency Range: 47-63 Hz
Input Current: 10A maximum / 115 Vrms; 5.0A maximum / 230 Vrms
Output: +3.3V@30A, +5V@28A, +12V1@15A, +12V2@15A, -12V@0.5A, +5Vsb@2.0A
MTBF: 100,000 hours at maximum load at 25ºC ambient
Click to expand...
If you get it, let me know how it runs. It's one of the cheaper ATX2.0 powersupplies and I'm really interested in how well it works.
 
LOL

I know the amps for the BlueStorm
I was asking about that Compusa wonder :p
SurePower 450W it is at least correctly listed as an ATX12V v1.3
in fact that link lists just about everything but its amps :rolleyes:

thus its impossible to tell if its a hybrid v1.3 or not
 
http://www.xbitlabs.com/misc/picture/?src=/images/video/ati-powercons/t4.gif&1=1
http://takaman.jp/D/?M=PbQDQbdHdSAgXKTKkG5@BDhH7XgZAZavHCMZ&english

with a theoretical maximum of
+12A @ 17.7A
329W

realworld worsecase draw of
+12V @ 13.2A
269W

that supply Id assume needs to be derated by a third for temperature
that is an oldschool ATX12V v1.3 supply with the majority of the capacity on the +3.3V \ +5V rail
hybrids have some of that shifted to the +12V rail
because CPUs switched from being powered off the +5V to the +12V

so that supply effectively has all of 13.3 amps at say 40C
on a worse case senerio, with the mobo, CPU, GPU pegged the HDDs and fans post spinup and an optical spinning up, it might handle it
but then again it might be pushed close enough to the edge(or depending on how hot it is over the edge for quality stable power

that videocard doesnt eat alot of +12V so thats a plus for stability
the drives and fans are also relatively static once spinnung (though moving the arms about add some dynanism)

Its likely an acceptable shorterm solution but I wouldnt push the rig to the worse case senerio (which is a very rare occurance in any event) and try to find a cool location

Good Luck ;)
 
I am assuming you are talking about my current psu, and not the Fortron I am thinking of gettting. In that case, yeah I agree with you, it isnt that great, and again, I was stupid for buying it without researching.

Could that be the reason my computer (graphics card) skip in games like cs:source and deathmatch?

Man I need to get a new psu.
 
bendit said:
this a "seasoned" seasonic, very popular over at SPCR, with 22a on the 12v rail
and it has a $10 rebate....2.0 spec as well..

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-151-007&depa=0
Click to expand...

This is not 2.0 spec. It's an old school PSU also, and I don't think it's a good recommendation (considering possible future upgrades). ATX v2.0 have 2 +12v rails generally adding to 28A+ even on the low end ones.

And to the original(sp) poster, I think the Fortron 500 would suit your needs. Let me know how it is though, I'm about to build a new rig and was thinking about it. In my current P4 rig I'm using a Fortron Blue 350 and it's keeping up nicely... Ice helped me out a couple of months ago with the decision :)

BTW, my Fortron Blue 350 makes very very little noise.

Edit: The 500 still looks good, but I just noticed that it's +12v1 and +12v2 rails don't seem to supply as much as comparable Antec/OCZ 480-500 watts... But it doesn't look like you'll need that much right now.
 
Roguer said:
This is not 2.0 spec. It's an old school PSU also, and I don't think it's a good recommendation (considering possible future upgrades). ATX v2.0 have 2 +12v rails generally adding to 28A+ even on the low end ones.

And to the original(sp) poster, I think the Fortron 500 would suit your needs. Let me know how it is though, I'm about to build a new rig and was thinking about it. In my current P4 rig I'm using a Fortron Blue 350 and it's keeping up nicely... Ice helped me out a couple of months ago with the decision :)

BTW, my Fortron Blue 350 makes very very little noise.

Edit: The 500 still looks good, but I just noticed that it's +12v1 and +12v2 rails don't seem to supply as much as comparable Antec/OCZ 480-500 watts... But it doesn't look like you'll need that much right now.
Click to expand...
hmmm..not what Seasonic says.
Take it up with Seasonic,

The basic packaging has not changed, but a prominent sticker declares the unit to be PCI Express Ready, and compliant with ATX12V v2.0 as well as EPS12V standards.

sticker.jpg

​
The features cited are significant. The same sticker is also on the Super Tornado 400 Rev.A3 sample box, but not on the Super Silencer or Tornado 300 Rev. A3 sample boxes. An e-mail from Seasonic clarified the differences between the lower and higher power Rev. A3 models, and the reasons for them.
"The Seasonic Super series were the first ATX12V v1.3 PSU models in the market when they were introduced last year. The new ATX12V v2.0 PSU guide released a few months ago specifies guidelines for compliance with motherboards that integrate PCI Express. Since Seasonic has already developed designs that meet the new guidelines, Seasonic chose to combine ATX12V v2.0 features along with EPS 12V
features to make our PSUs useful with high-end desktop PCs as well as professional multi-CPU workstations.



Sounds like a match. The 460w may be a better one. Of course it doesn't have the "bling" of the OCZ and I know that rulz around here....;-). The newer S12 has dual rails and that may be a better fit for this young man. But they are more expensive. And I understood he was on a budget.:)


regards,


Mike






​
 
actually I dont see "compliance" listed
just compatibility clamied

for instance it cant be both ATX12V v2.0 and EPS12V compliant at the same time
one has 2 +12V rails and the other has 3 to 4 +12V rails
if it has a single +12V rail its an ATX12V v1.3 hybrid
meaning some of the capacity has been shifted to the +12V rail in compliance with the v2.0 spec and it has the 24 pin EPS12V main connector, as well as the 4 pin ATX12V mobo connector
and for compatibility with EPS12V it would also have the 8 pin connector

thus its not really compliant to any spec though it would meet many individual parts of several
 
Ice, granted. as you are always pointing out things are
confusing right now. Its clearly a stop gap until the S12 series
is out there. Having said that, it is among the most modern PSUs
you can get and at a good price. I still don't quite understand
why two rails are better than one but you always have to have
goals no? :) This would probably be a great match for him and without doubt the 460w would. But I understand the "bling bling" bias of the site and I defer to that. :cool:

Regards,

Mike

ps: you do a great job with your psu recs....
 
I actually liked your suggestion bandit, but the only problem I saw with it, is that it is only 400w, and the 12v is a bit lower than the fortron.

My friend has a neopower that he said he would sell me for 100, and they retail at 149.99 and I have seen them on pricegrabber for about 110. Is the neopower a much better solution, even though it is one of the biggest power consumers out there?

Should I stick with just getting the fortron?

Thanks for the freat replies,
Jonathan
 
Id say any of the three (Seasonic, Neopower, Fortron) will do just fine ;)
each having different strengths

bendit, I jumped on your post solely because you used the word "compliant"
as you mention its confusing right now, and manufacturers arent making it all too clear
listing supplies by compatiblity. In fact at the time I bought my PCP&C EPS12V I was under the impression it was a compliant EPS12V :p
In fact it wasnt, I was a bit hot inder the collar for a few days until gee sat me down and explained that for that supply there really wasnt much of a point having multiple +12V rails since it was so well regulated.

the point of breaking out multiple rails is to compartmentalize noise and the varible draw of other components, and its far more imporant in cheap supplies that are at spec, and not as important for the high quaility supplies that exceed spec, youd really need to tax them before any advantage would be seen, a very atypical config up till just recently (monster SLi and +12V CPUs)

the drawback of course is that amp capacity isnt shared acorss the rails
so a well regulated single rail is more flexible

right now you really need to dig to uncover which part of which spec a supply actually is "compliant" too ;)
 
I have this PSU and it is pretty good. Yes it is quiet, my case fand drown out any noise the PSU makes. My PC has not had any problems with power at all, under all loads with the following specs:

Thermaltake V7000+ case (5 fans)
Asus AN8-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
1Gb 2xCMX512-3200C2PT Corsair DDR 400 Ram
AMD 3500+ (939 pin) Newcastle Core
2x80gb Caviar Western Digital (8MB buffer) drives in RAID 0
1 XFX 6800 GT (will buy 2nd when price goes down and have an SLI system)
Blue Storm 500 460W PSU
Sony DVD16x/ CD 52 xR/RW
Sony Floppy

THG has a good article on newer PSUs at
http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20050228/index.html

Bottom-line great price for a really good PSU. Can always spend more though and get a PCP&C 510 SLI for $240.
 
god people just so others dont get confused the fortron doesnt JUST have 15amps on the 12v rail, it has 2 15amp rails for a total of 30amps. its very silent hence the 120mm fan, and it only hits 40db if you draw more then the average system would
 
yeah I saw that on newegg and wonderd if you added the 12v's
Good to know my PSU has a 30a on the 12
 
Is it just me or is really hard to find the 500W Blue Storm around? I can only find it at newegg and one other online store. Has Fortron pulled the line or something?
 
blink182prj said:
Is it just me or is really hard to find the 500W Blue Storm around? I can only find it at newegg and one other online store. Has Fortron pulled the line or something?
Click to expand...

Yep... I overpaid a bit to get mines ($204 for both). :(
Now there are back in stock @egg.
 
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