Readjusting to Proper PSU Size - Page 5

As a follow-up update, I received my Rosewill Capstone 450-M, after missing the first UPS delivery attempt yesterday. Due to the length of the cables, it worked out better to have the PSU installed with the fan facing upward, as can be seen by the following (poor quality) cell phone pic :



On the initial power up, there was some noticeable bearing noise. However, after running for a few minutes, the noise seems to have subsided - perhaps the oil/lubricant in the fan needed to be dispersed evenly? With all the fans turned down completely by my fan controller, and my ear up close to the PSU, I cannot detect any significant fan noise from the Capstone, save for a slight whirring sound of air! This is in stark contrast to my AX1200, which I could clearly hear, even with the fan pointed downward, and the side panel installed!

Having a more suitable wattage to match my current rig's components, it also seems like I am drawing a few less watts from the wall, as I am observing from my Belkin watt meter. Using the AX1200 and doing exactly what I am doing now, my power draw would hover around 106-110W. On this Capstone, I am pegged at a solid 100W! This might not sound like very much, and in reality it really isn't, but it goes to show that a unit that is immensely disproportionate to the components' power draw does have an affect on efficiency (small as it may or may not be).

Perhaps it might not be a fair comparison having a tiny PSU being stacked up against a significantly larger one, and expecting similar efficiency and noise levels with (relatively) low-powered components, but I think it is safe to say that maybe these big contrasts can help shine light on why it is important to put emphasis on realistic wattage capacities. While the AX1200 was great for my old Tri-SLI GTX 580 and overclocked i7 930 rig, it clearly was not meant for a power sipping setup consisting like what I am running now.

No doubt about it, OCN has pulled through and made a solid recommendation with these units, and I have no reservations in picking up another unit for an upcoming ITX LAN rig! Thank you everyone for your help and reassurances!

Added my follow up to the OP. Maybe it can help others save some money from buying an unnecessarily large capacity PSU that may be unneeded.

Thank you.