At first, i was surprised when the PSU fan started whirring for some seconds while the System was in idle.
Then i was confused after it went on for the 3. time.
Currently i’m annoyed.
I planned to use the system on my desk, but the constant on and off, instant ramp up and nerve wrecking pitch of the PSU fan makes me consider alternatives.
Is this a common issue with the PSU fan or is it just the one i got?
I hear the same thing with the PSU fan when the system idles. The main 120mm system fan doesn’t come on, but the PSU fan will occasionally come on for maybe 15-20sec at a time. I can feel the hot air blowing out the PSU and it sounds worse than the noise the 120mm makes during moderate system usage.
It sounds like what I would expect a 40mm fan to sound like, but I would maybe prefer the fan be constantly on at a lower duty cycle than what this currently sounds like at idle.
I have an extra flexATX PSU lying around and I’m thinking about swapping out the whole PSU.
Ah yeah, another thing i’m curious about. Not a single PSU i’ve ever owned gets so darn hot with a load of ~12W (measured at the socket).
Makes me wanna try my 500W HD Plex PSU on the desktop. Just to compare the idle draw at the socket.
Edit: the 500W HD Plex is, in fact, not fanless. I just never heard it…
Oh, that’s very disappointing. Did you open a support request?
Following. Noise level is one of the biggest reasons I even chose this system versus other options and I have to agree that one of the worst things you can have is a system that kicks the fan on and off intermittently. The PSU fan isn’t controlled by the system in any way, correct? So there’s no UEFI setting to just set the PSU fan to run at a low duty cycle continuously?
Correct. No control or indication what the PSU fan is running at.
I heard the fan go on just now and it was on for more like 80-90sec. And it is about 7-8min between when the fan runs until the next time it runs. This is while the system has been idling for at least 2-3hr in 21C ambient room temp.
I don’t have any audio measuring tools, but when the PSU fan is running it sounds similar to any other nuc or minipc type fans I’ve had in the past. I thought the desktop with the large 120mm wouldn’t sound like this especially at idle.
It isn’t loud, but just not what I expected when there have been statements about the noise or lack there of for the framework desktop. The system is silent once the PSU fan has done its job.
I have a framework13 intel-13gen in a CM case 3ft away from me that always has its fan on. The PSU fan in the framework desktop 3ft in the opposite direction is definitely more noticeable when it turns on.
That is very useful information and frustratingly, this means there is no way to fix this via BIOS updates or anything. It could only be fixed by changing out the PSU. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Not yet.
If this is to be expected, there probably not much FW could do.
I guess that is something for support…
Mine is the quietest device in the office
Yes, Flex ATX PSUs all have such a small fan, some if not most have it on all the time. Depends on preferences if that is considered better or worse.
Seems like it is a better option to get the mainboard, put it into an SFF case with a semi passive high wattage SFF PSU, might not even be more expensive to do so.
For those already owning a Desktop with case and PSU, if you are daring, you can have a look into the HD PLEX 250W GaN, check if it fits in the first place and be aware that it is just rated for 250W. If your staying on powerlevel Balanced it should work out. Power draw from what I read should not go beyond 160W then, leaving a good buffer for transient peaks but no guarantees. On Performance it is more like 210W max power draw, without considering transients. That might be pushing it.
Noctua has a 40mm lineup: https://noctua.at/en/products/fan?size=2645. Might aswell try one of these 
Because the FlexATX form factor is so small, there is only room for a 40mm fan. We investigated swapping to Noctua’s 40mm, but found that the air pressure was insufficient to cool the Power Supply. Instead, we looked through Delta’s catalog to find the ideal fan.
Uh. Interesting. Thanks for the hint.
From that same framework desktop power supply deep dive blog post:
We spent several sessions inside of an acoustic chamber listening to and measuring different Delta fans to choose the one that sounded best while pushing both enough CFM and enough pressure to handle full load at high ambient temperature.
…
During low system load, the fan stays off, and once the threshold is passed, the fan gradually ramps to the target RPM.
To me it just sounds like a regular 40mm fan instantly going from 0% to 25-30% duty cycle for ~1min every ~10min. Mine doesn’t sound like a gradual ramp in person.
Noctua just posted a custom side panel: How to make the Framework Desktop run even quieter
The Nocrtua side panel does change the intake grill for the PSU fan, but probably won’t change PSU fan ramping behavior.
The 500W HD Plex PSU seems a lot more efficient and a lot cooler.
The FW Desktop now idles between 5 to 7 watts measured at the socket (in stark contrast to the 11 to 12 watts of the “stock” PSU. The power draw under full load is also ~10 watts less than before. Even an old 430W ATX PSU i had lying around netted 1 watt less idle draw.
Now i am genuinely confused. Isn’t the customized FSP PSU supposed to be optimized for efficiency?
Edit/PS: the “stock” PSU is actually admiringly silent when the fan is not running. It’s kinda sad that the idle/low load efficiency is so bad …
Given the commentary offered in Framework’s ‘Deep Dive’ blog on the PSU I don’t think this is to be expected. I certainly expected, after reading that article a VERY quiet PSU. I’d strongly encourage opening a support request and, at least, get Frameworks to respond
Oh, thanks for that.
I’ve got those files hoarded away for when I get my first batch 12 email. (Doing my best to be patient)
Depending on when I get that email I may end up printing it either in black or the nice nebula purple I’ve currently got in the printer.
Anyone has gotten any reply from support about this?
Waiting for my Batch7 still but would be good to know what support says.
I opened a support request and linked the topic. Will report back.
Please do! I will cancel my order if the desktop is not quiet. I wanted to rather use this then my 13 inch since the fan noise it really annoying on 13’ and i want a quiet “desktop” pc.