Well, after much thought I've decided to stick with my computer as my main source. Being that my computer is going to be my permanent source I want to do anything (within reason) to improve the sound I get from it. So, I've been wondering--would replacing my computer's power supply with something better improve the sound? My current power supply is the stock one which came with my computer (a Compaq). I don't no much about computers but I imagine it's not of the best quality (ie does not give the cleanest power).

So far my computer setup consists of Winamp and Foobar with upsampling and ASIO enabled and a M-Audio Revolution as my soundcard. I intend to try playing sound through the rear outputs of the Revolution as well (a la Glassman's recomendation). I will also likely upgrade to a RME Digi 96/8 PAD within the next few months.

Would a better power supply lead to a perceptible increase in sound quality now with my Revolution or in the future with a RME?

I believe this is a total unknown. I know for a fact that the best power supplies (Enermax, Antec) provide far cleaner and more stable power than the cheapies. But the question is will this affect your soundcard at all? I know better quality power supplies affect system stability and component life of stuff like your chip, motherboard and (especially) ram. (for those of you who don't know, the #1 ram killer is cheap power supplies, unstable voltages will kill a stick of ram very quickly).

However, I'd be surprised if a power supply upgrade would affect the sound out of your soundcard at all. Then again, it wouldn't be totally crazy either. I really, really doubt anyone here (or anywhere for that matter) can give you a definite answer on this issue, so my advice is: try it if you've got the money. A good power supply is a good investment anyways.

-dd3mon

Well, depending on the fan thats in your current power supply (if there is one, no idea with Compaq) then there are benefits to getting a top quality powersupply thats engineered to be quiet. There are 1 or 2 totally sillent power supplys that are passively cooled, that provide very clean power.. I am however entirely too lazy to go look them up right now.

I use a TTGI 520W power supply modded to quietness with two Panaflo 80mm L1A fans, and the important +5 and +12v will only flutuate by +-1% over days of continuous useage, much better than the manufacturer's spec of +-5%.

The PC Power & Cooling models would be the best for precise power, since they are spec'd to +-1% operation, and have an insane amount of regulation technology inside, compared to other brands. The downside is that they're very expensive, $189 for the 510W model I'd buy (you probably don't need that much power for a stock system).

Your results will vary so my advice is try it out for yourself to judge it in your system. There are just too many components inside the computer to say something is for sure improvement for everyone.

I have noticed some differences in sound from different power supplies and motherboards. I'll leave it at that.

Though it is unknown if it will improve the sound, PC Power and Cooling right now is one of the most well known, rock solid, kick ass PSU's yuo can pickup, and i use one in my audio PC at school. Aside form the possibility of audio benefits, they have built in surge protection, a 3 year warranty, and rock solid power that doesn't even flinch. Many reviews are available on them, and aside from perhaps one of the cheaper variety that are OK (enermax, antec) this is the best you can do for the money on a home pc in my opinion.

The one i use is the 425ATX, i think they are available for around $150 or so last i checked, maybe cheaper?

From what I have read, I completely agree with the previous posts regarding PC Power and Cooling products. Rock solid! The only downside I see here is the associated mechanical noise from the fan. Unfortunately, modding this with a quieter, lower cfm fan will definitely cause the PSU to run hotter and may lower the performance that puts it above of other PSUs (although, Iron Dreamer seems to be having good results with his panaflos.) It will definitely reduce the life of the unit, but is probably an insignificant amount of time.

I found this power supply roundup helpfull from anandtech.
http://anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1841

Of particular interest to me was the section on interference. They had this to say regarding those with the lowest interference: "This came to almost no surprise to us, since these power supplies were the most shielded and heavily constructed of the bunch." Perhaps those EMI/RFI shielding sheets talked about elsewhere on these forums really would be a good idea.

As far as sound improvement, I agree with lan verbatim.

I don't know if you'll have better sound but a quality power supply will provide you stable power and better efficiency for sure. Oh and don't forget the quietening thing too, it's probably the biggest improvement you could have.
Brands like Enermax or Antec build some nice power supplies, but if I were you, I would buy a Tagan(380W or 480W, depending on your needs), it has 2 fans, but those 2 fans are damn quiet.
In my opinion, no need to invest in a fanless model, cuz it's really expensive at the moment, so except you've a fanless computer, forget it.

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Once you get some rest, can you come back and post the info, please? I for one listen to my headphones really near my computer, so a dead quiet or super quiet PSU would be a total blessing for me. Thanks.

PC Power and Cooling's power supplies are awesome, they make the best in the busines...just thought I'd let you know Here

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In my opinion, the answer is "probably not" unless you have a really cheap power supply installed (generic no-name brand that came with a cheap PC case). The Compaq may fit that definition, but does it take a standard ATX power supply?

Many switching power supplies are noisy mostly outside the audio range (in the MHz). See this page (under "Switch Mode Regulated Power Supplies):

http://www.tangentsoft.net/audio/opamp-ps.html

Secondly, the motherboard does some filtering of the power before it reaches the card... and with the better cards, there's likely additional power filtering on the card itself.

Ultimately, I don't believe that PC power supply noise is a significant issue that affects soundcards (unless the PSU is really very bad). The EMI environment inside a PC is a different matter altogether though (although the best cards are designed to reject this noise as much as possible).

It wouldn't hurt to get a PSU that's both quiet and efficient, however. See here:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/module...ticles&secid=4

Here's the PSU I bought recently and am currently using:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/module...tid=107&page=1

Only 300 watts, but at ~78% efficiency that's better than most 350 to 400 watt power supplies. High efficiency in a PSU is much more important than sheer wattage (much of which gets wasted in a typical configuration anyway).

Hey Tim,

How loud is this PSU in your system? Can you hear it at all, or is it as quiet as they claim in their ad?

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It's really darn quiet, but unfortunately I have other fans that are generating a lot of racket (my PC is currently in a cheap/poor case as well that leaks way too much sound, and is very prone to vibration). I'll remedy this eventually...

One side effect of the Seasonics PSU is that it simply doesn't move as much air as the Antec PP403x I had in there before. Although it's quieter, my PC gets hotter. Not a problem for me, but it could be for some.

Tim,

Interesting you should close on the heat issue note. Since I live at such high altitude heat IS an issue for me. I have a 120mm case fan on the Antec SLK 3700 series case, so along with that I might be fine with heat. I would hate to spend a bunch of money on a new PSU only to find it overheats and shuts down on me. The one thing in my favor is that I don't have much in my computer to draw a lot of power. I only have a video card, (4) RAM sticks, a DVD-R/W burned and a CD-ROM. The CPU is a 2.8GHz, so all-in-all, I am not running above more than 110-120W total power right now.

Since I have time before I could get a PSU to me, I may choose to wait a year and see what comes out in the mean time. Who knows, maybe they'll release some really good, quiet PSUs in that time that blow away even these silent wonders.

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I think it's unlikely you'd have problems with the PSU... the fan is variable speed, and at the high efficiency level of this power supply it should be able to cool itself OK... it's the rest of the PC I'd be a little worried about (the 120mm might be enough of course).
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I'm in a similar situation, not much stuff in my PC. I read on the Silent PC Review site though that even with a loaded PC, they generally draw less power than most people think... i.e. 400 watts is probably overkill for most PCs with less than 3 or 4 hard drives.
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Always possible... they've sure come a long way just in the last couple years (cases too).