PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 600W PSU Review

[siopao1984]

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PC Power & Cooling is a company both well known and favored among enthusiasts for their high performance power supplies. Although the company had been acquired by OCZ several years ago, PC Power & Cooling maintained their (at least partial) autonomy and continues their operation to this date, offering a long list of power-related products. Today we are going to examine the latest addition to the company’s products lineup, the Silencer Mk III 600W power supply. Is the latest Mk III version a worthy continuer of the legendary Silencer series? We will find out in this review.Manufacturer’s features and specifications

• 600W Continuous @ 50C
• Dual-GPU Ready
• 80-Plus Bronze Certified (85% Efficiency); .98 Active PFC
• 120mm double ball-bearing fan
• Up to 90% (10dB) Less Noise per Watt
• +12VDC @46A (Powerful Single Rail)
• Premium Components with 100% Japanese 105°C Capacitors
• Modular Cabling Design
• Automatic Fan Speed Control Circuit
• 5-Year Warranty and Tech Support

AC Input
Operating Range:	90-264 VAC 0.98 power factor
Frequency:	50/60Hz
Current:	100-240Vrms, 9-4.5A
Efficiency:	85% typical load (80+ Bronze)
EMI:	FCC Class-B, CE
DC Output
Output:	+3.3V@24A,+5V@24A,+12V@46A, -12V@0.8A,+5VSB@2.5A
Regulation:	5% (+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
Agency Approval:	cTÜVus, CB, TÜV, CCC, C-tick, GOST, BSMI, China RoHS, WEE, RoHS
Environmental
Temperature:	0-50°C
Humidity:	20-80%
Fan Type:	120mm, ball bearing, thermally controlled
Noise:	20 - 37dB(A)
Miscellaneous
Compatibility:	ATX12V & EPS12V
M/B Connectors:	1 x 20+4-pin ATX 2 x 4+4-pin CPU
Video Connectors:	2 x 6+2-Pin PCI-E
Drive Connectors:	3 x Peripheral 6 x 5-pin SATA 1 x FDD
MTBF:	100,000 Hours
Dimensions/Harness:	150mm (W) x 86mm (H) x 160mm (L)
Power Cord:	US, EU, UK, CN, AU, JP/BZ
Warranty:	5-Years

Read more: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 600W PSU Review by VR-Zone.com

[siopao1984]

The latest addition to the Silencer series is supplied inside a white retail box with discrete, elegant artwork. Although the artwork is simple, the striking white color easily draws an eye’s attention. The packaging is very sturdy and more than capable of protecting the contents.



Inside the box the purchaser will find the power supply well secured with polystyrene foam pieces and wrapped inside a reusable white nylon pouch with the series logo printed on it.



Along with the unit itself, PC Power & Cooling supplies a standard A/C power cable, simple black cable ties, normal 3M mounting screws, a case sticker and a basic manual.



The Silencer Mk III 600W is a partially modular unit and therefore the company supplies a number of modular cables enclosed in a separate white nylon pouch. The Molex/SATA power cables are not sleeved but a ‘flat’, entirely black cable. The thicker PCI-E cables are normal, sleeved cables.

[siopao1984]

Unlike any other unit we have ever seen, the Silencer Mk III 600W easily stands out of the crowd just because of its color. PC Power & Cooling sprayed the chassis with a glossy alpine white paint, making this the first white power supply we have ever seen.



Decorative black stickers with the series and company logo, as well as the power output of the unit, can be still found at both sides of the power supply.



The sticker with the unit's electrical specifications can be found at the top of the chassis. This position will only have it visible in cases with the power supply compartment located at the bottom.



The rear is entirely perforated to allow for the air pushed by the cooling fan to escape towards the outside of the case. The unit uses a standard AC power cable and there is a standard rocker on/off switch at the rear, as well as a tiny sticker with the unit’s model logo.



There is nothing particularly interesting about the front side of the chassis, save for the few connectors of the modular cables; and the fact that PC Power & Cooling actually released a modular power supply, of course. This is a partially modular unit design with some of the cables still hardwired to the power supply. The hardwired cables are sleeved. This unit offers the following number of connectors:

Native cables

24-pin ATX connector

4+4 pin EPS12V/ATX12V CPU connector

6+2 pin 12V PCIe connector

3 x SATA connectors

Modular cables

4+4 pin EPS12V/ATX12V CPU connector

6+2 pin 12V PCIe connector

6 x SATA connectors

3 x Molex connectors

1 x Floppy connector

It is interesting to note that although this power supply only has two PCIe cables, it also has two EPS12V CPU cables for dual CPU systems.

[siopao1984]

For cooling, the company went with an Adda AD1212HB-A71GL ball bearing fan. This fan is known for being reliable but, with a maximum rotational speed of 2200RPM, not anything near silent. Of course the Silencer Mk III 600W unit has a thermal control circuit controlling the speed of the fan which will hopefully not have to rotate as fast.



The OEM behind the Silencer Mk III 600W unit is Seasonic and the power supply is based on their 600ET Bronze platform.



The filtering stage of this power supply is exceptional, starting at the back of the A/C receptacle and continuing on the PCB. It totally consists of six Y-type capacitors, three X-type capacitors, three coils, a surge suppressing MOV and also a glass fuse. Way stronger than the minimum recommended, the filtering stage of the Silencer Mk III is amongst the best we have ever encountered.



The primary capacitor of the power supply is supplied by Nippon Chemi-Con and is rated at 400V/560μF at 105°C. Nippon Chemi-Con also supplies the secondary side capacitors, with a stray Rubicon capacitor among the crowd.



The bridge rectifier chip is mounted on its own, small black heatsink.



The heatsinks of the Silencer Mk III are not too small but not large either; one could say that they are merely average considering the class and purpose of this power supply. They ought to be more than enough for the thermal needs of a 600W unit; however this particular model needs to be able to remains quiet as well.

[siopao1984]

In order to provide you with the most professional and accurate reviews, we are using the following equipment to test the performance of power supplies:

Modified SECC steel case with thermal generation and control components installed
Custom USB controlled DC load, 2.2KW maximum power drain
3KVA VARIAC
Lutron DW-6091 Power Analyzer
USB Instruments Stingray Oscilloscope
SL-5868P digital sound level meter
CompuLAB interface
MyPClab thermal interface
Labjack U3-HV interface
Custom calibration box
Custom software
More information about our testing equipment and methodology can be found in this article.



The PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 600W unit successfully completed all of our tests without any operational and/or performance problems. From the results of the above table we can easily conclude that the electrical performance of this particular load is amazing. With the voltage ripple barely reaching 26mV, the figures translate to a 0.13% ripple under maximum stress and a 0.37% 12V rail regulation across the load range.



The Silencer Mk III 600W is an 80Plus Bronze certified unit and from the above chart we can see that the power supply delivers what is promised, even though just barely. With an efficiency of 85.5% under nominal load and no less than 83% across the load range there are no miracles here, however the unit does perform on par with its certification and specifications.



When it comes to thermal performance, the Silencer Mk III 600W unit performs very well and with exceptional linearity. The power supply should barely become warm while operating under nominal load.



Finally, the acoustics performance of the PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 600W power supply is…peculiar. The device runs extremely quiet up to 80% load, generating virtually no audible levels of noise. If the load surpasses 80% of the power supply’s capacity however, the acoustics figure skyrockets from an inaudible figure up to over 40dB(A), a level of noise not only audible but definitely irritating.

[siopao1984]

Quality (30% of the total score)

Ever since their founding, PC Power & Cooling has been a company traditionally committed to high quality and the Silencer Mk III 600W power supply is a worthy continuer of the company’s reputation. The company designed this unit very well, choosing very good quality components and, with Seasonic being the OEM behind this particular product, the power supply is also extremely well assembled. The Silencer Mk III 600W unit also had one of the most thorough filtering stages we have ever seen, ensuring not only that no interference from the utility grid will reach the unit but little interference created by the unit itself will also be placed back to the grid. PC Power & Cooling covers their product with a 5 year long warranty, testament to their faith on this unit’s long term reliability.

Quality Score 10/10



Performance (40% of the total score)

Even though the electrical performance of the Silencer Mk III 600W unit was outstanding, the overall performance of the product has left us with mixed feelings. On one hand the unit displayed itself being capable of delivering extremely good electrical performance, fine electrical efficiency and linear thermal performance, yet the acoustics behavior of the power supply left something to be desired given this is a product designed first and foremost to stay quiet at all times. The power supply does stay entirely quiet until it is heavily loaded, at which point the fan will spin dramatically faster and turn this power supply from a sleeping baby to a howling beast.

Performance Score 8.5/10



Value (20% of the total score)

Value for money is always a critical factor when picking components, even for enthusiasts and professional users. With an MSRP of 89.99$ USD (113$ SGD) at the time of this review and with a street price as low as 59.99$ USD, considering the high overall performance and outstanding quality of the PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 600W unit, the power supply is certainly going to create havoc amongst the competition in the value-oriented segment of the market.

Value Score 10/10



Aesthetics (10% of the total score)

Aesthetics are a subjective factor and it would be difficult to rate the Silencer Mk III 600W unit, being the only white power supply we have ever seen. Everyone who owns a case with a side panel window and cares about having the innards of their system on display, expect from MAC users of course, will have to determine whether the white color matches their system by creating a good contrast of if it looks entirely out of place. Other than that, the power supply is very well made and no visual imperfections are to be seen, plus the modular design is certainly adding a lot of points to the unit’s appearance factor.

Aesthetics Score 9.0/10

[daotski]

galinga gud ani boss. .hehe