Silverstone SX500-LG 500W Gold SFX-L

seems like i can't get mine to go into fanless mode when idling.

maybe i need to enable the c states and adaptive voltage for my cpu? well hwinfo says that my processor (4770k, 4.6ghz, 1.25vcore) is using ~10W and i'm not sure if that's really significant, given that anandtech reports an idle maximus vii impact to use 62W
 
flod said:
seems like i can't get mine to go into fanless mode when idling.

maybe i need to enable the c states and adaptive voltage for my cpu? well hwinfo says that my processor (4770k, 4.6ghz, 1.25vcore) is using ~10W and i'm not sure if that's really significant, given that anandtech reports an idle maximus vii impact to use 62W
Click to expand...

This is what Tony Ou said when I asked about fanless mode in the SX600-G thread:

Tony Ou said:
Both SX600-G and SX500-LG's fan can stop after starting up. But the load you put on must be low enough for the internal component (not the ambient air inside the PSU) to reach down to their specified equilibrium temperature for the fan to stop.
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Not sure exactly what that means, but all I know is that so far the only way I've found to turn this PSU back to fanless mode after it starts is by opening a window to the room it's in at night and letting the room temp get below 45F. Otherwise, this psu fan will just keep spinning no matter what load is on it. To bad this situation runs contrary to those whose units seem to work as they should.
 
sx500-lg-4.jpg

that's what he means i guess. the fan shuts itself off when the thermometer of some component inside goes below 41C. now what we'd like to know is how much power corresponds to that threshold, given an ambient temperature of 20C or whatever.

whatever at least my fan is reasonably quiet and i don't hear any coil whine so i'm satisfied for now. i can also hear the sounds some of you have mentioned if i stick my ear close enough but it's not a big deal.
 
Yeah the fan on my silverstone 500w sfxl is annoying the more I hear it everyday, makes a faint uneven knocking sound. Also the fan seems impossible for it to shut off even when the system is idle. My system is only putting a light load on it too... GTX960, 4790k, asus z97i plus, only a single 850 pro SSD, and only 1 fan in my entire system which is on my C14 cooler, my GPU or CPU isnt even overclocked at all yet.

Why is it so hard for them to put in a normal fan that doesn't make random noises like its broken when it spins? Also its not just me everyone with the silverstone 500w says they hear this same faint knocking noise which is coming from the fan. We need to figure out a decent fan to swap in this thing and it would be perfect.

Also the cables that came with my PSU had small cuts/knicks in several spots somehow. One of the wires was cut all the way thru the insulation and the wire itself.
 
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you may have just gotten unlucky; i can only barely hear mine when my ears are a foot away

though i should say that the fan in mine is visibly unbalanced; you can see the blades wobble periodically.
 
I returned mine a week ago because of the noisy fan.
Semipassive was also a joke. 35 W system with power supply lying on the table (so no heat) and fan didn't turned off. Fan ALMOST stopped and then got faster again..and again....and again..klack.klack..klack...klack....klack......klack.... ...klack..klack klackklacklackklackklack...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5I8EzaegIo
(It may not sound too loud, but you definitely hear it!)
 
Mine is definitely turning on and off. I'm using a 4670K, low voltage dram, M.2 ssd, and internal graphics (waiting on my 970). I'll probably be in the same boat as you guys when I put the video card in.
 
I have a 980, a 4690k (OC'd to 4.4GHz) and with web browsing/skype/music etc the fan doesn't spin up.
 
The clacking sound like flod, I can only hear 1 ft to 1.5 away. Further than that I can't hear it. This seems to be a common thing among everyone's unit. What I'd like to know is how this compares to the other SFX PSUs in terms of sound.
 
~20°C, if you asked me. 4570, GTX 750 Ti and an SSD results in ~35 W on idle. The power supply wasn't even warm, not a bit.
 
option.iv said:
The clacking sound like flod, I can only hear 1 ft to 1.5 away. Further than that I can't hear it. This seems to be a common thing among everyone's unit. What I'd like to know is how this compares to the other SFX PSUs in terms of sound.
Click to expand...

I had the bequiet TFX 2 Gold in my Milo ML06, which has the 80mm fan spinning all the time slowly..and DAMN THAT THING WAS SILENT compared to this Silversone crap. (Sadly the bequiet SFX variants are noticeably louder than the TFX one, what i've read.)
 
If (when) I buy an sx500-lg next month for my new M1, I'll likely replace the stock fan with one of these if it's not as quiet as I'd like. I'll post again with results if it turns out well, or even if it doesn't (again, this'll be at least a month away, unless someone else performs a similar mod before then).
 
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Mini-review time!


Box


Big warning so people don't think it's broken when the fan doesn't turn on at first :p


Cables, didn't measure but they look similar to the SX600-G cables


Really like the improvements here. ATX adapter is black now and it also comes with really short screws. A problem with the SX600-G is that the screws it comes with couldn't really be used with some of the PSU mounting holes because they were too long and would run into the PCB.


The manuals


Love the proportions of this thing


Same pinout as the 600W


Internals. I'm not qualified to speak to the internal build quality but the fan is thankfully not soldered so fan swaps should be possible. The connector is visible in the top-left corner of the picture, partially covered by a glob of thermal goop.


The fan. Didn't have time today but I'll be testing it to determine the voltage/RPM curve in order to figure out possible replacements.


Test setup

Inside the case is an Intel i7 5930K, Gigabyte X99M Gaming 5, and dual GTX 980 reference. All at stock clocks.

7KFtKD4.png

Here's the test results. Nice that it ran 10 minutes at 100W fanless. Semi-fanless mode works for me, even after running it full-tilt the fan shut off after ~12 minutes of idling at ~50W and then would occasionally kick on after that.

Seems to have issues with my system running at full load but I'm pretty sure SilverStone doesn't recommend running X99 and SLI 980s off this thing :D

Haven't noticed any coil whine at all, either at idle or at load.

I have noticed the slight "clacking" noise some other people have mentioned but it's fairly faint and much, much less intrusive than the SX600-G's fan. I'll be doing more testing of the fan tomorrow though and will report back after using it for a week or so.

I've also test fit it in the M1 using my custom bracket: http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1041440375&postcount=15686

Fan Voltage/RPM tested here: http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1041441547&postcount=463
 
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Thanks for the mini review aibo.

I just finished my second build with another M1 case and z77e itx board. This time, I don't really hear clacking coming from the sx500-lg in this unit. Maybe it's because my cpu fan is running louder on this, but I'll see if I can just isolate the PSU sound and see if I can't pick up the clacking noise. Atm, I'm stress testing, so I'll try to report tomorrow.

edit:I put my ear as close as I can on my second sx500lg and I really can't hear the clacking. Maybe I got lucky on the second one and I might have to RMA the first one... Is there anyone else out there who doesn't have the clacking sound as well?
 
I just got my unit today and its awesome, this thing is quiet and most of the time my cpu fan is louder i do get that sound people complaint about but its so faint and doesn't happen often you can barely notice it or even mistaken it for hard drive reading.
 
option.iv said:
The clacking sound like flod, I can only hear 1 ft to 1.5 away. Further than that I can't hear it. This seems to be a common thing among everyone's unit. What I'd like to know is how this compares to the other SFX PSUs in terms of sound.
Click to expand...

This sound sounds like the sound every Scythe Slip Stream 1200RPM 120mm Slim Case Fan I've owned has had. Scythe have sent replacements, but in the end I've given up trying to get one without it. Once in my case I don't notice the sound, so it's not bad.
 
So i checked again, my second sx500-lg doesnt have the clacking sound. I did order my two at different times, though I'm sure they're from the same stock. The only difference is one is hooked up to 4 pin atx, and the second quiet one is hooked up 8 pin atx. I would swap it, but it's too much of a hassle. I think I just got lucky with my second one, while the first has that clacking sound. Can anyone out there report if they have one that DOESN'T clack.

I'll most likely not RMA my first clacky one, as I can't hear it outside of 1 foot.
 
If you can't hear it under normal circumstances (3 feet or 1 meter away from a closed PC), it's not an issue and would also not bother returning it. Don't forget fans are still mechanical and power supplies still can generate electrical noises. While a rare few might be silent, most are not.
 
Ok, got the fan tested. That blob of thermal goop is a lot tougher than it looks, I thought it would just pull right off but that wasn't happening. I didn't feel comfortable poking around inside the PSU trying to pry it off so I spliced the fan wires :D




And here's the chart:

WfZMLuP.png


Fan starts at 2.50V @ ~205 RPM, quickly ramps up in speed up to 3V @ ~620 RPM and then steadily increases with voltage until 12V @ ~1780 RPM.

So something like the Noctua 120mm 2000 RPM industrial fan mounted to the outside seems suitable if it has a low enough starting voltage.

But if they all have the goop on top the fan connector I don't imagine too many people will be attempting this :p
 
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Aibohphobia said:
Ok, got the fan tested. That blob of thermal goop is a lot tougher than it looks, I thought it would just pull right off but that wasn't happening. I didn't feel comfortable poking around inside the PSU trying to pry it off so I spliced the fan wires :D




And here's the chart:

WfZMLuP.png


Fan starts at 2.50V @ ~205 RPM, quickly ramps up in speed up to 3V @ ~620 RPM and then steadily increases with voltage until 12V @ ~1780 RPM.

So something like the Noctua 120mm 2000 RPM industrial fan seems suitable if it has a low enough starting voltage.

But if they all have the goop on top the fan connector I don't imagine too many people will be attempting this :p
Click to expand...

i bet that goop on the fan connector was placed intentionally since so many people modded the previous sfx options from silverstone
 
chaego said:
i bet that goop on the fan connector was placed intentionally since so many people modded the previous sfx options from silverstone
Click to expand...

Very likely.. but I'd think they'd rather us screw around swapping fans rather than having even more people publicly complaining about the fan noise in their PSUs. Worse-case scenario, the consumer breaks his PSU and sends even more money their way when they need to buy a new one.

I'm thinking there's still anti-tamper stickers on the case, so it shouldn't have been done as a preventative measure for abuse of warranty. Maybe the connector itself makes funny noises without the goop? :D
 
It's probably just to ensure the fan doesn't come loose, there's an anti-tamper warranty sticker covering one of the 4 screws that hold the top casing on so they have nothing to lose if a user decides to try swapping the fan.
 
Aibohphobia said:
It's probably just to ensure the fan doesn't come loose,
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That's it. It's not thermal, just regular old glue. See how it's dabbed between freestanding components that are close enough to almost touch? It's to stop vibration ('coil whine'/'cap whine' from rapid charge/discharge induced thermal expansion) from causing them to bounce against each other and make a much louder noise.
 
welp

turns out that if i remove my side and top panels the temperature in the psu is just so that the fan turns on and off every 10 seconds. if the top panel is on the fan shuts down for half a second like twice a minute or something. in other words, my idle system is right on the threshold :p
 
pointfiveo said:
Any DEMCifilter ideas for SX500-LG?

Obviously, the outer dimensions should be 125 x 130 mm. The thing is, there's only 5 to 8 millimeters from the edges to the outermost ring of the finger guard which sits slightly higher from the PSU surface. So filters with the regular 11 mm wide frame won't fit very well.
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maybe stick them on the inside of the side panel? but that would create gaps on the sides
 
^^ Maybe request at least 2 (or maybe 3) of their adhesive metal/magnet backing (the kind they ship for non-ferrous attachment) and cut them to fit stacked on top of each other for the area of the PSU case outside the fan guard?

Should give you just enough height to match the fan guard. Though, I'm wondering, with or without the adhesive strips, if a Demci filter on top of the raised fan guard will still fit in the corner space of the M1? On my SX600-G, the filter's already squished in there pretty tightly (not my pic, but shows where it might be an issue)..

ikoE3yJ.jpg


Dunno.. might need to remove the fan guard entirely, or maybe it's possible to bend the guard inward to make it flush with the PSU case (if it doesn't hit the fan, of course).
 
I don't see why the fan is cycling on and off so quickly.

Surely it would be better if there was some hysteresis built in using an electronic timer so that it stayed on for say a minute each time.

Even better would be if there was a DIP switch so that it was adjustable, perhaps even keeping it on all the time, if needed, for case cooling considerations.
 
I would personally pay MORE for this PSU without having fanless mode. Because most fans aren't designed for stop/start applications and you can hear the noise more than with a stable, pleasantly sounding fan.
 
Would unplugging the fan from the PSU and then plugging it into the motherboard using an adapter work? It would mean the fan would always spin but you would have more control over it atleast.
 
Anagog said:
Would unplugging the fan from the PSU and then plugging it into the motherboard using an adapter work? It would mean the fan would always spin but you would have more control over it atleast.
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The rpm/airflow required should be based on the temperature measured by the thermistor attached to the heatsink inside the PSU. Because, that heatsink is what the fan needs to cool.

If you would attach it to the motherboard, what do you suggest the fan profile is based on? CPU core temperature? What happens when the CPU is not loaded, but the GPU is loaded?
 
If you;re willing to do some dirty hacking, and depending on the thermistor used (NTP or PTP), adding an extra small resistor either in parallel with or in series with the thermistor could 'fool' the fan control circuit into reading a temperature higher than it actually is, causing the fan to always spin and never enter idle mode.

Using the fan's own minimum startup voltage threshold along with a super-simple voltage divider circuit is super-cheap and very easy to implement, but not very elegant, relies entirely on using a specific model of fan that just happens to operate in the desired voltage range (see: the difficulty of replacing the SX600 fan), and with undesirable characteristics around the startup voltage that are frequently encountered.
 
WiSK said:
The rpm/airflow required should be based on the temperature measured by the thermistor attached to the heatsink inside the PSU. Because, that heatsink is what the fan needs to cool.

If you would attach it to the motherboard, what do you suggest the fan profile is based on? CPU core temperature? What happens when the CPU is not loaded, but the GPU is loaded?
Click to expand...

Would using the ambient temperature work?
 
Hey guys,

As far as I understand this thing (SX500-LG) is much quieter then SX600-G, right?
I just want to buy most quite SFX PSU for my small gaming rig.Will SX500-LG fit me best?
 
Hike333 said:
Hey guys,

As far as I understand this thing (SX500-LG) is much quieter then SX600-G, right?
I just want to buy most quite SFX PSU for my small gaming rig.Will SX500-LG fit me best?
Click to expand...

It is much, much quieter. I've got both the SX500-LG and the SX600-G in two different systems. The SX600-G is louder and makes a very annoying chirping sound every time the fan spins up, which is often.
 
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.
 
Yeah, I will agree that there definitely are a few annoying quirks on my SX500-LG as well... a clicking fan for instance. However, I really have to shove my ear right next to the power supply in order to hear it. For me, it's barely audible at a foot away. As opposed to the SX600-G, which squeals so loudly I can hear it across the room whenever the fan turns on.
 
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