[HammerNL]

I recently bought be quiet! Dark Power 13 (1000W). The unit is powering my system just fine, but I was surprised by the awful noise of the fan inside this unit. It spins at a very low RPM but it still manages to produces an awful 'rrrrrrrr' sound. It sounds a bit like having a HDD in your system. I recorded a short sample, but it's difficult to capture: SndUp | Post info (in person in a quiet room it's more noticeable). To me it sounds like a €5 trash fan put on a €300 PSU.

I must admit, my PC is custom water-cooled and tuned for silence, so I might be bit picky, but still, my old Seasonic didn't sound like this..

I did search online and found some posts/videos of people having the same issue with DP units. Most of them are DP 12, but funnily enough in the comments you see people asking the same question regarding their DP 13... For example this reddit post.

So what I would like to know is:

• Are there more people with a DP 13 that noticed this issue? (In reviews they mention it's quiet psu)
• Or is this sound profile normal for BQ DP units? (Maybe not so noticeable for users with less silence focused pc's?)

I contacted be quiet and I'm awaiting a response, but I don't have high hopes, as some other user in that reddit post already got a replacement and the issue remained.

 

[shilka]

Your PSU is faulty so return it

 

[KaktusPanda]

I do have the exact same Problem. I even got a replacement from Be-Quiet. The service is very good. However, the replacement shows the exact same behavior. It really sounds a bit like an old HDD. I contacted them again about this. Let's see what they are going to do. My hopes are not that high, tbh.

 

[HammerNL]

Your PSU is faulty so return it

You would hope so yes, but today I received a DP 13 850w model and it has the same problem... It's a ****ty fan, that resonates inside it's enclosure making it worse. If you put some pressure on the psu case it muffles a bit, but still not great. See below:

be quiet! Dark Power 13 Fan noise

If you want a quiet PSU, I would avoid the DP 13 lineup...

 

[Dogzilla07]

It might not be the fan, exactly, but the Hall Effect IC (that controls the fan*). In that case every single one should have it (of the first batch at least)

On a similar note, but possibly something else, a few audiophiles/silent above else users returned the previous Dark Power 12 as well for similar electrical noise.

The Dark Power Pro 12 satisfied those audiophiles (as it's made in a different factory).

 

[Bravo Six]

Honestly I am surprised by the number of high power PSUs from reputable makers that make what I consider unbearable noise. I have a Seasonic PX1300 in a fully watercooled build and the fan (when on in "hybrid mode") makes more noise than all of the Noctua fans combined in my case.

 

[NeverUsedID]

Hi there, i have exaclty the same issue on my Dark Power 13 850w. You can find 2 audio files in the zip. the pc_corsair one is my pc with my old tx650w. The 2. one is ONLY the Dark Power 13 outside of the case.

 

[NeverUsedID]

I do have the exact same Problem. I even got a replacement from Be-Quiet. The service is very good. However, the replacement shows the exact same behavior. It really sounds a bit like an old HDD. I contacted them again about this. Let's see what they are going to do. My hopes are not that high, tbh.

Could they solve the Problem for you?

 

[Always Counterclockwise]

I am surprised by the number of high power PSUs from reputable makers that make what I consider unbearable noise.

As a thread aside, reverse piezo, magnetostriction, PCB flex, and other things can make truly quiet power delivery kind of tricky. However, Seasonic's history of aggressive fan curves shows limiting noise hasn't been something they're actually interested in. Seasonic has cared enough to keep a marketing curve implying some of the Primes are ~20 dB(A) quieter than they actually are on their website. That curve is reused with the Vertices but I haven't encountered credible data on what they actually do yet.

be quiet! is careful to label their figures as fan noise with 230 V mains, which is probably a marketing signal one should expect actual noise levels to be higher. The Cybenetics reports for the Dark Power 12 750 and 850 W suggest about 5 dB(A) more than what be quiet! claims, though that's at least partially explained by the use of 115 V mains with those tests. The lack of a Cybenetics report for the Dark Power 12 1000 W makes me wonder if maybe that unit had the rrrrrr and failed (don't know how Aris conducts that aspect of his business but, when I was doing similar work, we didn't publish failures).

Or is this sound profile normal for BQ DP units?

To summarize the answers here, it's undesirable but normal-ish as be quiet! doesn't seem to have taken steps to resolve the problem. That makes me suspect it's common enough to generate significant internet comment but not common enough to have much of an effect on be quiet!'s business costs. More broadly, similar issues driving fan motors are well known and often related to poorly designed or cheaped out circuitry. be quiet! and their OEMs should know better than that, so my guesses would run more towards failure to allow enough design margin for the real world range of component tolerances in production—sometimes it's the fan's mechanical assembly and not the electronics—or parts suppliers missing their specs.

I'm not quite sure what @Dogzilla07 is getting at, though. Hall effect sensors are used for monitoring fan speed and I wouldn't expect them to generate noticeable acoustical noise of their own. Partially defective sensors or excessive electrical noise pickup could confuse the fan speed control loop, perhaps causing the rrrrrr because the fan motor drive's gotten out of its intended operating range.

 

[Bravo Six]

However, Seasonic's history of aggressive fan curves shows limiting noise hasn't been something they're actually interested in. Seasonic has cared enough to keep a marketing curve implying some of the Primes are ~20 dB(A) quieter than they actually are on their website. That curve is reused with the Vertices but I haven't encountered credible data on what they actually do yet.

It is even worse than that. The unit I have (a PX-1300) does not even have a proper fan curve. In hybrid mode, the fan is either off or on at a fixed speed. When the fan is off the unit is nearly silent (still more coil whine than I like), but under a normal gaming load the fan turns on and makes an awful racket, more than all of the Noctua fans combined in my watercooled build.

 

[Dogzilla07]

I'm not quite sure what @Dogzilla07 is getting at, though. Hall effect sensors are used for monitoring fan speed and I wouldn't expect them to generate noticeable acoustical noise of their own.

jonnyGURU said that it sounded most like the Hall Sensor IC noise from what I assume are samples they tried and tested, but skipped on. As it was more constant noise, and of lower frequency (going by the sources in this thread a few others).

owever, Seasonic's history of aggressive fan curves shows limiting noise hasn't been something they're actually interested in.

All problems with seasonic fan noise start and end at them not still not using digital fan controllers, the fans themselves are good, and there is a curve, but the ramp up/ramp down is ridiculous

 

[NeverUsedID]

Thanks for the insides here. Will return my bequiet next week. Thought about a Seasonic, but maybe i will wait and use my 12 Year old very silent TX650W on my 5800x with RX 7900 XT for a while, as it runs very stable for now, and check what the Future will bring. Dark Power 13 Rev. 2.0 as otherwise it looks realy great, Corsair ATX 3.0 PSUs Reviews? How knows

Btw. here is a very nice example of the Dark Power 12 Noise. This is exactly what i see on the Dark Power 13. --> Dark Power 12 noise

 

[Bravo Six]

Btw. here is a very nice example of the Dark Power 12 Noise. This is exactly what i see on the Dark Power 13. --> Dark Power 12 noise

That's a huge fail. The main reason to go AIO/full custom loop in my book is a low operating noise but this endeavor is completely ruined by such a noisy PSU.

 

[HammerNL]

Now I returned both DP 13 units, I was looking at the new Seasonic vertex PX/GX lineup, but PX is not released anytime soon and in general I see a lot of negative feedback regarding fan noise with Seasonic units.

First video spotted of a Seasonic GX unit with 'noisy' fan:

I find it difficult to find a unit that fits my needs: Sillent, ATX3.0, >= 1000w

When I looked in the Cybenetics (atx v3.0) database, the FSP Hydro Ti Pro 1000W looks promising:
Cybenetics Labs – PSU Efficiency & Noise Level Certifications (Link to report is janky)

But I can't find much info about this unit, only this table with ready in Q4 22 on this page: FSP UNVEILS THE LATEST ATX 3.0 PSU RANGE READY TO HIT THE SHELVES SOON

 

[Bravo Six]

Now I returned both DP 13 units, I was looking at the new Seasonic PX/GX lineup, but PX is not released anytime soon and in general I see a lot of negative feedback regarding fan noise with Seasonic units.

Forget the Seasonic PX, I have a PX-1300 and it is incredibly noisy when the fan is on under a "normal" gaming load. I measured ~ 34 dB measured two feet from the case.

I find it difficult to find a unit that fits my needs: Sillent, ATX3.0, >= 1000w

When I looked in the Cybenetics (atx v3.0) database, the FSP Hydro Ti Pro 1000W looks promising:

I am not familiar with the FSP but I am also looking at power supplies to replace the aforementioned noisy unit. My conclusion seems to be that the AX1600i is still the best PSU out there in terms of pretty much everything, including noise, in the class of high power PSUs. Not ATX3.0 officially but it can handle the mandated power excursions just fine and one can just get new cables for the new motherboard and GPU connectors. I will probably get one when I can find a good deal.

 

[zzztopzzz]

Forget the Seasonic PX, I have a PX-1300 and it is incredibly noisy when the fan is on under a "normal" gaming load. I measured ~ 34 dB measured two feet from the case.



I am not familiar with the FSP but I am also looking at power supplies to replace the aforementioned noisy unit. My conclusion seems to be that the AX1600i is still the best PSU out there in terms of pretty much everything, including noise, in the class of high power PSUs. Not ATX3.0 officially but it can handle the mandated power excursions just fine and one can just get new cables for the new motherboard and GPU connectors. I will probably get one when I can find a good deal.

Seasonic Titanium Prime TX-1000. Whisper quiet.

 

[KaktusPanda]

Could they solve the Problem for you?

Yes. First, they inspected my original unit and confirmed that this noise was out of spec. Then they offered to send a pre-tested DP13 to me. This one arrived today, and it's way quieter. It's inaudible when ~30cm away from the unit. It's also absolutely inaudible when built inside my PC case. This wasn't the case for the last two Units I had.

So, all in all: quiet DP13 units do exist, but you may have to exchange some E-Mails with the Support to get one. Now I have a quiet, Titanium rated ATX 3.0 PSU which is quiet and has ten years of warranty. I'm happy now

 

[NeverUsedID]

Now I returned both DP 13 units, I was looking at the new Seasonic vertex PX/GX lineup, but PX is not released anytime soon and in general I see a lot of negative feedback regarding fan noise with Seasonic units.

First video spotted of a Seasonic GX unit with 'noisy' fan:

I find it difficult to find a unit that fits my needs: Sillent, ATX3.0, >= 1000w

When I looked in the Cybenetics (atx v3.0) database, the FSP Hydro Ti Pro 1000W looks promising:
Cybenetics Labs – PSU Efficiency & Noise Level Certifications (Link to report is janky)

But I can't find much info about this unit, only this table with ready in Q4 22 on this page: FSP UNVEILS THE LATEST ATX 3.0 PSU RANGE READY TO HIT THE SHELVES SOON

Yes, was also looking for an alternative. This one look promesing for me: SilverStone HELA 850R Platinum
But fro now i just wait and use my old 650w.

 

[NeverUsedID]

Yes. First, they inspected my original unit and confirmed that this noise was out of spec. Then they offered to send a pre-tested DP13 to me. This one arrived today, and it's way quieter. It's inaudible when ~30cm away from the unit. It's also absolutely inaudible when built inside my PC case. This wasn't the case for the last two Units I had.

So, all in all: quiet DP13 units do exist, but you may have to exchange some E-Mails with the Support to get one. Now I have a quiet, Titanium rated ATX 3.0 PSU which is quiet and has ten years of warranty. I'm happy now

Thx for the reply, i also was talking to the support. The Support is realy fast. Thats impressive. I Still decided to return it, as i do not want so much hazzle with a pricy premium device. Also this error exists since Dark Power 12 and it look like its not so rare as it should be. I will go for a ZeroRPM.

 

[Dogzilla07]

When I looked in the Cybenetics (atx v3.0) database, the FSP Hydro Ti Pro 1000W looks promising:

That's Dark Power 13. Though I guess it's possible it won't because it has a different fan