PC Power & Cooling Silencer 760W PSU
By: Mak213
Test System:
Case: Apevia X-Cruiser
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 940
Heatsink: Thermalright Ultra eXtreme 120 (TRUE)
Motherboard: Biostar TA785GE 128M
RAM: 4GB OCZ DDR2 1066MHz
Graphics Card: EVGA 8800GTX 768MB
OS's: Windows 7 64 Bit and Ubuntu 10.10
INTRODUCTION
PC Power & Cooling has been in the industry for 25 years now. They are a sub-division of OCZ and have been on the forefront of leading technology for power supplies for high end systems. They were also part of the innovation of the first CPU cooler, the first PC heat alarm, the first independently-regulated PC power supply, the first redundant power system, the first NVIDIA SLI Certified supply, the first 1000W computer power supply and the first - and still only company - to offer an individual certified test report with each power supply sold.
SILENCER 760W SPECIFICATIONS
AC Input Operating Range: 90-264 VAC
Frequency: 47-63Hz
Current: 10A max. @ 100-240 Vrms
Efficiency: 88% Typical Load (80+ Silver)
DC Output:
+3.3V @ 24.0A
+5V @ 30.0A
+12V @ 62A
-12V @ 0.8A
+5VSB @ 3.0A
+3.3V & +5V Combined = 150W Max
Contiuous Power = 760W Max
Peak Power = 836W Max
Regulation: "2% (+3.3V, +5V, +12V) 5% ( -12V, +5Vsb)"
Ripple:1% (p-p)
Hold Time: 20ms minimum
PG Delay: 100-500ms
Safety Over Voltage Protection: +3.3V, +5V, +12V
Over Current Protection: 135%
OPP Over Temperature Protection: 100 C
Agency Approval: UL, CUL, TUV, CB, RoHS
EnvironmentalTemperature: 0â°-50â° C
Humidity: 20-80%
Fan Type: 80mm, ball bearing, thermally controlled
Noise: 23 - 36dB(A)
Compatibility: ATX12V & EPS12V
M/B Connectors: (20+4) pin, 8 pin, (4+4) pin
Video Connectors: 2 (6 pin), 2 (6+2 pin)
Drive Connectors: 8 x SATA, 7 x Peripheral, 1 x Mini
MTBF: 100,000 Hrs
Warranty: 7-years
PRODUCT IMAGES
INSTALLATION
Previously I was using an OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W PSU which is a modular unit. A modular PSU will nearly always offer easier cable management than a standard PSU; moving from the ModXStream to the Silencer proved no exception. With the abundance of cords available within the Silencer.
The Silencer comes with 4 6-pin connectors for SLI compatibility, as well as 2 sets of cords for SATA power and 2 sets of Molex power cords. I found myself struggling a little trying to find a place within my Apevia X-Cruiser to hide these cables so they would not hinder air flow or make the case look unorganized.
Before installation could begin I removed my Thermalright Ultra eXtreme 120 HSF so that I could move things about my case with ease. Doing damage to such a vital component of the system is obviously ill advised, so I took the above measures to ensure nothing bad would happen.
The actual install process of the Silencer 760W was rather simple. Contrary to what you'd think, the abundance of cords mentioned previously actually eased the installation procedure. Just 1 of the SATA Power Cords was needed to power 3 of my 4 Hard Drives within my case. Previously, the ModXStream only had enough connections for 4 IDE and 4 SATA Devices total. This is a challenge when you have multiple hard drives and optical drives to connect. I could only accomplish what I wanted with the use of Molex Splitters to ensure I had enough connections. Having 4 Hard Drives within a case can be challenging for many PSUs; for the Silencer it was a walk in the park. With just 1 of the Molex cords I was able to power both of my IDE DVD DL Burners and my last Hard Drive. That Hard Drive is a SATA as well, but the power adapter for it was Molex due to the fact I specifically purchased it that way years ago.
I continued on to connecting the 3 separate case fans, the GPU fan and the status lights on the front of my case. It was easy to accomplish this task with just 2 connections out of 4 from the 2nd Molex power cord. I used a dedicated connection for the GPU fan; for the case fans I was able to piggy back them onto a single connection. The Apevia X_Cruiser comes with Lights and Dials on the front of the case. These were able to be piggy backed onto a single connection as well so that I could have a fully functional front panel. Even though there was enough connections to be able to connect just about every device on its own, I decided to save the other 2 Molex connections for later as you never know when you might upgrade and need such a connection. I find it easier to prepare now for that time than to try and rewire my case again after I install more hardware.
With all peripherals connected it was a simple matter to finish the installation by plugging in the 24 Pin cable to the motherboard, the 4 Pin ATX and the 6 Pin GPU power cords. I cleaned up some of the cables and hid them as best I could in order to maintain air flow. From start to finish the upgrade took less than 30 minutes.
TESTING
A Kill A Watt P4460 was used to test the draw of the PSU with a Digital Multimeter used to verify the line voltages against PC Power & Cooling's stated values. After testing the voltages manually I decided to check using the popular "HW Monitor" software by CPUID as well. The results shown within the program were almost identical to those found on my multimeter. When I say almost identical, the results shown within HW Monitor are off by maybe ~1/96th. Not enough that the results from the program can't be shown and used. Only being off by about 1/100th is not enough to warrant any worries from a user.
After testing with the Kill a Watt I found that the PSU falls within the grounds of the testing parameters set forth by 80Plus.org, who gave this item a Silver Rating for its efficiency. Under light load the PSU takes in about 180W of power. Under typical load of about 50% the Silencer inputs about 435W of power. Under full load the PSU inputs about 884W of power. My findings with the Kill a Watt were withing 2% of the reported findings by 80Plus.org who certified them. I have linked to the PDF file for you to view for yourself. 80Plus is far more crediable than myself when it comes to such findings and testing. It serves you better seeing the results from them, rather than me.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Aside from the fact that the Silencer 760W unfortunately isn't a modular PSU, it is a great unit. One of its best qualities for me was how much quieter it is than my previous PSU. If it wasn't for the lights on my case and the sound of 1 of my case fans, I would not even know that my PC was even on. The abundance of connectors available made powering everything I needed a simple process; previously this wasn't possible without the addition of multiple splitters and multiple items piggy backing onto each other.
Along with that the coating on the cords makes sure that even though the cords may get close to something that is hot and/or abrasive, the cords will not get damaged easily. I am extremely satisfied with this unit, definitely more so than I have been with my previous PSUs. While it may seem like overkill at first, it is nothing but pleasant to have that many additional connections at your disposal.
CONCLUSION
What else can be said at this point? The PC Power & Cooling Silencer 760W has lived up to its name and company reputation. Flexible enough to allow you to upgrade in the future if you so wished, quiet enough to be literally unnoticeable, and verified at over 80% power efficiency. I'm awarding the Silencer 760W 5 stars out of 5.
RATING
I would like to thank PC Power & Cooling the pleasure of reviewing this product.
