PC Power & Cooling Silencer 760W & 910W
by Martin Kaffei on August 2, 2011 7:15 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Seasonic
- PSUs
- OCZ
- PC Power & Cooling
- Silencer
- 760W
- 910W
OCZ gave us two Silencer samples with typical characteristics for a PC Power & Cooling product which remind us of the older days where PC Power & Cooling was an independent designer. Of course Seasonic made the basis for these two power supplies but finally they have changed the hole cooling concept. In addition Seasonic is a great ODM who provides a high-quality layout.
When we take a look at the delivery contents we can find similar extras in the packages. Both PSUs come with a power cord, a small user manual, some screws and one PC Power & Cooling sticker. While the 760W version has eight SATA connectors on two cables the 910W model comes with an additional SATA cable. Both ones are able to supply two high-end GPUs or four GPUs with one PCIe connector each. And we shouldn't forget that these PSUs provide two 8-pin connectors (one with 4+4-pin) for CPUs with a length of 60cm. That's more than enough for current hardware in a large computer case. Only the cable sleeving could be a much better version.
In the inside of the PSU the manufacturer uses two very large heatsinks for the MOSFETs and diodes as well as an additional heatsink for the bridge rectifiers. The internal design is almost perfect for an 80mm cooling but we have to criticize that there s not much space in the primary circuit. Many chokes are glued together in this part. PC Power & Cooling (Seasonic) implemented Japanese capacitors from Nippon Chemicon and Rubycon. The EMI filtering is equipped well while the power factor preregulator is outstanding. Two chokes, two caps and two bridge rectifiers are very powerful, specially in order to provide a clean output voltage for switching. That's relatively unusual (for the smaller 760W version).
As always we take a look at the current prices. Let's start with the 760W model which costs 129.99USD. To get 80Plus Silver from Corsair you have to pay 10USD more for a HX 750W. Even the previously tested Antec HCG 750W with an 80Plus Bronze certification is as expensive as the Silencer 760W. In addition there is a visible price difference to most 80Plus Gold models. Altogether the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 760W is a good buy for enthusiasts who care about a strong cooling.
Ditto for the Silencer 910W which showed slightly worse results in our test. With 159.99USD it is less expensive than the SilverStone ST1000-P with the same 80Plus certification. The only real competitor for PC Power & Cooling is the Enermax Revolution85+ 920W since it has modular cables.
Finally the PC Power & Cooling 910W gets a compliment for an adequate performance while the Silencer 760W gets our Silver award for low(er) ripple & noise results and an excellent price-performance ratio. The only two things this PSU should have to be ready for our Gold award are a better fan (Sanyo Denki, Nidec, Delta) and 80Plus Gold.
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opc - Tuesday, August 2, 2011 - link
I have a five year old version of the 700W PSU, and it is the only component in my PC that has never once given me a problem, and never once needed to be upgraded. I remember hesitating before pulling the trigger because it was a little more expensive, but I'm really glad I spent a little bit more because it has been well worth it.The PSU has been running SLI video cards (7800GTX -> 8800GT -> 460GTX) its entire life, along with a power hungry processors (Q6600@3.6GHz) and usually several HDD's and SSD's of various types over the years. It has never missed a beat in all that time.
I really wish there was a product like this in every segment of the PC industry. I've had countless problems with motherboards, memory, HDD's, SSD's, and even processors on occasion. If I could spend a little more on those other items and know that they would last without giving me grief, then I would do it every time.
Hopefully these PSU's are just as well made as they used to be, and if they are, then they definitely get a glowing endorsement from me!
Cheers,
Owen
londiste - Tuesday, August 2, 2011 - link
whole, not hole :)Spazweasel - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
Hole cooling is important. That painful burn can be a real buzzkill.raejae - Tuesday, August 2, 2011 - link
This is entirely meant as constructive criticism... but it seems this article was checked with a spell-checker and nothing else. The grammatical errors, misspellings, and sentence structure make it nearly unreadable... which is disappointing, because I'm very interested by these power supplies.cgramer - Tuesday, August 2, 2011 - link
Agreed. I think AnandTech needs to get one or more copyeditors on staff. Despite that, I still love their reviews. :-)SilthDraeth - Tuesday, August 2, 2011 - link
I believe English may not be this reviewer's native spoken or written language. I admit it was a bit difficult of a read, but really, it is a psu review.As long as the numbers on the charts look good. And the conclusion fits the bill, then I believe stressing over the oddly structured sentences is wasted energy.
cgramer - Tuesday, August 2, 2011 - link
I'm not stressing over it, really. I'm concerned mainly about AnandTech's image. Poorly-written articles (even if they're impressive for having been written by a non-native English speaker) reflect poorly on a site's or publication's level of professionalism. I'm noticing a lack of proofreading and editing in lots of publications lately, including extremely popular print magazines such as Motor Trend or Automobile. It's a shame, really, that quality of writing doesn't seem to matter as much in this online age.As I said earlier, though, despite the sometimes-rough writing, I do love AnandTech. It's the first place I go for in-depth reviews of computer-related products. :-)
Meghan54 - Tuesday, August 2, 2011 - link
Completely agree. I've always said this place could use just one competent copy editor. It'd make a world of difference in the professional image of AT, not to mention making the articles an enjoyable read instead of the tedious work it sometimes is right now.ajtyeh - Tuesday, August 2, 2011 - link
Sweet deal, it was on slickdeals yesterday, and a bunch of people got in, i cant belive you guys did a rewview right after i bought it. i have never known the reliability of PC power and cooling but after you did this review, it got rid of my buyers remorse.GO ANANDTECH
Vinas - Tuesday, August 2, 2011 - link
Still rocking a TurboCool 1200... Bow to me.