Silence is golden, er… platinum
There are myriad quiet PSU out there, but Fractal Design’s new Ion+ Platinum is the first I’ve seen that can be configured to run in a semi-passive “Zero RPM” mode. Which frankly sounds like the perfect approach to selecting a PSU for a HTPC, or any PC, that will be used in a noise sensitive environment.
Introducing the Ion+ Platinum PSU – the power of silence
Revolutionary cables and custom cooling bring game-changing flexibility with silent efficiency.
Welcome the Ion+ Platinum – a modular, high-performance power supply unit with emphasis on whisper-quiet operation, enhanced cable flexibility and superior output quality.
A user selectable semi-passive Zero RPM mode ensures the fan won’t spin up until needed, and even then it is unlikely to be noticed thanks to a highly efficient custom design leveraging an exceptionally low minimum speed.
One of the most revolutionary new features is our very own UltraFlex™ DC cabling. An extremely high strand-count with specially formulated insulation made it possible to reduce conductors to just 0.08 mm in diameter – half the thickness of competing products – without loss of efficiency or current capacity. The UltraFlex™ cable bends and twists effortlessly, eliminating the inherent hassles of traditional rigid power supply wiring to make installation and cable-routing a breeze.
Ion+, available now in 560, 660, 760 and 860 watt capacities, is rated 80 PLUS® Platinum Efficiency, comes with a 10-year warranty and sports a full electrical protection suite for your peace of mind.
Visit our product pages for more information:
Ion+ Platinum 560W
Ion+ Platinum 660W
Ion+ Platinum 760W
Ion+ Platinum 860W
The wattage on those PSUs are pretty high for an HTPC, which tend to be oriented toward the lower power end of the market. Would be interesting to pair one of these with an NVIDIA graphics card (which tend to be quieter than AMD) and the new Ryzen 65W 3700X or 3600X. Would make my HTPC into a bit of a gaming platform too.
I’d probably go completely passive (e.g. picoPSU) for a low-power build. If I were going to build something with a dGPU, I’d prefer to have something like this (with cost being the main drawback), even if a bit higher-spec than required, because it would lower noise most of the time, but have the capability to provide cooling and plenty of power if required.
Agreed