300W to 450W: 20 Power Supplies on the Test Bench
by Christoph Katzer on December 31, 2008 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 370W & 420W
The Silencer series is well known in the enthusiast community, but you rarely see reviews of the smaller 370W and 420W models. These two smaller versions look similar to the bigger brothers with a single 80mm fan at the back of the power supply. They also only come in matte black, while the 750 QUAD is offered in black, red, and blue. The front (i.e. inside the PC chassis) is perforated with long openings to maximize the airflow. The Silencer power supplies use a single strong 12V rail instead of separate 12V rails like all the other units in this roundup.
It's no secret anymore that the Silencer series is made by Seasonic, which includes the 370W and 420W versions as well. Seasonic loves to install cheap heatsinks that consist of an aluminum plate with the fins stamped into shape. It is an effective way to make heatsinks and Seasonic has done well so far, but the problem is that these heatsinks are not really designed for a pull-through cooling system like we see with the Silencer series. It doesn't mean it doesn't work, but with different heatsinks the effect would be better. Maybe this is one area where we should cut them some slack for the sake of cheaper production. The primary capacitor is made by Chemi-Con and the secondary caps are made by Ostor.
Both of the Silencers have the same cable length and number of connectors. The 24-pin, 4-pin, and 6-pin PEG connectors are on 40cm cable harnesses. There are another two cable harnesses with three Molex connectors each, and a final harness with three SATA connectors. The maximum length of 75cm is sufficient for most medium sized chassis.
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7Enigma - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
That is a heck of a lot of work for this article and we appreciate it immensely! Between this article and the upcoming mid-range builders guide (I'm begging...please get it out asap) you have reaffirmed for me this is the #1 site.Thanks again.
TheDoc9 - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
The breakdown of the cable connectors and the build quality descriptions were helpful. The power noise charts look useful as well.mino - Monday, January 12, 2009 - link
Copy that, one of the best PSU roundups around.magreen - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
We definitely appreciate the roundup. It addresses our needs as consumers. I wish you'd add more info about the Antec Earthwatts 430 though... it's one of the most popular PSUs on the forums here and always shows up for cheap in the hot deals section, often bundled with an Antec case. Wish you'd give us more details on its efficiency, ripple, and your overall take. I don't think you actually said anything about its performance at all. Thanks!OddJensen - Monday, January 5, 2009 - link
Isn't there a Delta made version of the 430 as well?Christoph Katzer - Monday, January 5, 2009 - link
Yes which we didn't have.Christoph Katzer - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.a...">http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.a...Here's the original review from a year ago. Even though I didn't mention it in the conclusion I think you have a great comparison with the respective graphics towards the end. :)
donjuancarlos - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
Thanks for this article. I am one of those who does modest OCing and no SLI, and this article was pertinent for me.eetnoyer - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
No temperatures at load? I would think that temps at 100% load for each unit shouldn't be too much. Just as a worst-case thing.