FSP Aurum Xilenser AU-500FL 500W
by Martin Kaffei on April 20, 2012 4:45 AM ESTFSP Aurum Xilenser AU-500FL 500W
FSP is one of the largest manufacturers for OEM power supplies and adapters. Now they're launching a new fanless series, the "Aurum Xilenser", for users that want absolute silence. We have the AU-500FL on our test bench today. Like the previous Aurum offerings, the new generation is 80 Plus Gold certified.
The casing for the AU-500FL has more ventilation holes than we're used to seeing, with perforations on practically every available spot! Besides the bottom (where a large fan might normally sit) and the back, Fortron has holes on the front and sides of the casing. Even the top (not shown, and assuming a top-mounted PSU; otherwise this is the "bottom") has a few extra holes to help with cooling. With no fan, there's obviously a need to remove heat and the extra ventilation should help in that regard. Of course, even a very slow fan would help a lot more, and perhaps a good CPU heatsink with a large, low-RPM 120mm fan is just what the doctor ordered. If you still want to be completely fanless, though, we'd exercise extreme caution before trying to stuff in 500W of components and other hardware!
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
41 Comments
View All Comments
Pappnaas - Friday, April 20, 2012 - link
but i found no information included about the size of the unit. Would be nice, if the dates could be added.ggathagan - Friday, April 20, 2012 - link
From FSP's website:http://www.fspgroupusa.com/aurum-gold-500-au500/p/...
5.90” (W) x 5.51” (D) x 3.38” (H)
5.51" is 139.95mm
ggathagan - Friday, April 20, 2012 - link
My apologies, that was the fanned version.Looks like 160mm for this version
http://www.fsplifestyle.com/product.php?LID=1&...
Dimensions(L x W x H)mm: 160 x 150 x 86
sgtpokey - Friday, April 20, 2012 - link
What are the dimensions of the PSU 150mm long, 160mm long, or what? This is actually important for those of us with actual experience running fanless pc builds (fot HTPC's).Many fanless enclosures have non-standard formats and may have space restirctions when choosing a fanless psu. In my case the "long" PSU of >160mm will not fit in my case, 160mm would work but leaves me no wiggle room and i would prefer a "standard" size of 150mm.
ggathagan - Friday, April 20, 2012 - link
Call it 140mmggathagan - Friday, April 20, 2012 - link
Or call me stupid and call it 160mmKTGiang - Friday, April 20, 2012 - link
My most recent computer component I bought was a fanless PSU. Specifically, it was a Kingwin STR-500 and I don't have a single regret on the purchase. I had no need for a new PSU but I wanted to change the PSU because the "silent" fan was still audible to my ears in a quiet setting. I love that manufacturers are creating more efficient and fanless power supplies for us consumers to choosefrom.
The one positive side effect of having a single fan PC that I had not realized until recently was the fact that I had almost no dust in my tower after 5 months of heavy usage.
As of right now, my current setup only has 1 Noctua 120mm fan mounted onto a massive Prolimatech cooler. It is on a fan controller that I only turn up when gaming. When idle, the 2 loudest things in my room are the HDD that I have in a removeable bay and the next loudest thing is the power current going through my monitor.
Hints for making the quietest PC:
What I found to be most useful in making a "silent" pc is a case that is well ventilated. The cases that are "silent" and are often laced with tons of "noise dampening foam" tend to hold in heat and don't go very well with fanless equipment. I had previously had the Hush from NZXT and I found that the PC ran about 5c warmer when the side panel was on. I am currently using the NZXT Vulcan which has never been touted as a "silent" case but I bought it and removed both of the included fans. Most of the case is covered in a mesh grill that allows for any heat to dissipate out. I had tried to go completely fanless but it wasn't practical when gaming. As my GTS450 is fanless, there would be absolutely no airflow. The solution was to add a single Noctua fan between the GPU and the CPU to have a "push" of air straight up and out of the case. The main OS is on a SSD to eliminate any vibration noise that may come from the HDD. The storage HDD is on a removeable HDD tray so it can be easily disabled when not needed.
If anyone knows of a quieter fan that has quite a bit of CFM feel free to recommend it. I'd like to find a quieter option if they're available.
jwilliams4200 - Friday, April 20, 2012 - link
I don't know of any fans that are significantly quieter than the Noctua.But I thought you might be interested in a HDD silencer that I have tried, the Smart Drive Neo. It is expensive, but it silences your HDD and keeps it cool. It mounts a 3.5" HDD in a 5.25" bay.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hdd-noise-sile...
Iketh - Friday, April 20, 2012 - link
DONT CLICK THE LINKPlease ban this a$$hole.
JarredWalton - Friday, April 20, 2012 - link
Done! Hint: putting in links (even redirected links) to a site that sells something will get your account banned, ScottKPickering.