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SilverStone SX600-G SFX Series Power Supply Review

Fan Speed

When testing in a power supply laboratory it is difficult to take fan noise readings as the noise from the Sunmoon test equipment and air conditioning corrupts everything. The next best thing in our circumstances was reading off the fan speed with a tachometer to get an idea for the noise. The ambient temperature during testing held constant at 22 degrees, with 1 degree of variation. Each power supply had a consistent time period of 5 minutes to stabilise between each load scenario.

In my experience the following general relationships apply between noise levels and fan speeds, though it can vary greatly between the type of fan used.

Below 800 RPM – Inaudible/Silent
800 to 1000 RPM – Barely audible
1000 – 1200 RPM – Audible but still quiet
1200 – 1400 RPM – Moderately noisy
1400 – 1800 RPM – Noisy
1800 RPM or higher – Intolerable

OK, things look a little crazy here, so let me do some explaining. The fan seems to tick on and off infrequently between 20% and 50% loads. They said it’s a hybrid fan, but the fan does tend to kick in after just a few minutes of usage. If it’s a cool day and you’re only checking your emails, maybe it won’t spin up, but if you’re gaming, it certainly will spin up the fan; the fan peaked at 1600RPM

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Peter Donnell

As a child still in my 30's (but not for long), I spend my day combining my love of music and movies with a life-long passion for gaming, from arcade classics and retro consoles to the latest high-end PC and console games. So it's no wonder I write about tech and test the latest hardware while I enjoy my hobbies!