PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W Power Supply Review

1. Introduction2. PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W (Bundle and Cables)3. PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W4. PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W (Internal)5. PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W (Super High Res Gallery)6. Testing Methodology and Results7. Closing Thoughts8. View All Pages

PC Power & Cooling have earned one of the most respected reputations in the power supply sector for releasing a steady stream of quality designs throughout the last decade. In 2007, OCZ Technologies acquired the company, taking them into the fold and subsequently enhancing their own portfolio. Today we are looking at the latest 600W in the Silencer III Range, one of three models (with 400W and 500W) available.

The Silencer MK III 600W, according to OCZ, is engineered with ‘only premium components', including 105C Japanese capacitors and heavy duty protection circuitry. It is a modular design with 80 Plus Bronze certification. They include a 120mm variable RPM fan and for peace of mind a full, 5 year warranty.

Specifications:

• Continuous output rated at a demanding 50°C ambient temperature
• Built with 100% Japanese low ESR 105°C capacitors for high reliability
• Single +12V rail for efficient power distribution in your system.
• Compliant with the latest ATX12V v2.3 standard for worry-free compatibility
• A large temperature and load controlled 120mm double ball-bearing fan for whisper quiet operation
• 80PLUS Bronze certified for up to 85% efficiency under real world operating environments
• ErP compliant for low power usage in standby or off mode.
• Active Power Factor Correction (PFC) to effectively regulate input voltage
• Heavy-duty protection circuitry, (over-voltage, over-power, and short circuit) for protecting your valuable components
• Safety Approvals: cTÜVus, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TÜV, CCC, C-tick.

The PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W arrives in a very understated box with the name of the product on the front and an artistic representation of the power supply underneath.

Inside, the power supply is protected between two soft foam pieces with a user manual resting above the modular cables.

The bundle includes a user manual, region specific power cable, mounting screws, cable ties and a soft felt bag containing the modular cabling.

Above left, the hardwired cables which are built into the main chassis. Above right, the modular cables which can be attached when needed.

They include:

• 1 x 20+4-pin ATX (550mm)
• 2 x 4+4-pin ESP/12V CPU (600mm)
• 2 x 6+2-pin PCI-E (570mm)
• 3 x 4-pin Peripheral (560mm + 120mm + 120mm)
• 6 x 5-pin SATA (500mm +150mm + 150mm)
• 1 x Floppy

The PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W ships between sculpted foam pads, but inside they have also encased the chassis inside a little felt bag which looks rather nice.

The power supply is finished in white, with stickers detailing the product name across the side. The rear of the unit is fully vented to help with air flow and there is a power switch and connector offset to the left. The white finished is quite resistant to scratching and it doesn't leave finger print marks either.

On the other side of the chassis, is the hard wired cable section, which has a rubber housing which improves the appearance. The modular cables connect to 6 black ports, which are all arranged in a row.

PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W
DC Output	+5V	+3.3V	+12V	-12V	+5Vsb
Max Output	24A	24A	46A	0.8A	2.5A
Total Power	130W		552W	9.6W	12.5W
	600W

PC Power & Cooling are using the Adda AD1212HB-A71GL fan (120mm ball bearing), which we have seen used in several other quality power supply designs. They are using a partial plastic cover to specifically direct air towards the front of the power supply.

The power supply is based on a Seasonic branded design. It is exceptionally clean internally with careful attention to design detail.

The unit uses four Y capacitors, a single X capacitor and a coil. On the main board are two more ferrite coils, another X capacitor, two Y capacitors and an MOV. They are using a 105c rated Chemi Con capacitor for the primary side with the PWM/PFC controller offset to the left. We noticed other Chemi Con capacitors throughout the design, even on the modular board at the rear.

The cables are fully sleeved inside the chassis to help prevent fraying over time.

On this page we present some super high resolution images of the product taken with the 24.5MP Nikon D3X camera and 24-70mm ED lens. These will take much longer to open due to the dimensions, especially on slower connections. If you use these pictures on another site or publication, please credit Kitguru.net as the owner/source.

Additional technical assistance: Peter McFarland and Jeremy Price.

Correctly testing power supplies is a complex procedure and KitGuru have configured a test bench which can deliver up to a 2,000 watt DC load. Due to public requests we have changed our temperature settings recently – previously we rated with ambient temperatures at 25C, we have increased ambient temperatures by 10c (to 35c) in our environment to greater reflect warmer internal chassis conditions.

We use combinations of the following hardware:
• SunMoon SM-268
• CSI3710A Programmable DC load (+3.3V and +5V outputs)
• CSI3711A Programmable DC load (+12V1, +12V2, +12V3, and +12V4)
• Extech Power Analyzer
• Extech MultiMaster MM570 digital multimeter
• SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa)
• Digital oscilloscope (20M S/s with 12 Bit ADC)
• Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA

DC Output Load Regulation
Combined DC Load	+3.3V		+5V		+12V		+5VSB		-12V
	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V
75W	1.09	3.33	1.47	5.01	4.92	12.18	0.50	5.03	0.20	-12.09
150W	2.09	3.33	2.97	4.98	10.02	12.17	0.50	5.00	0.30	-12.10
300W	4.30	3.32	6.00	4.96	20.58	12.15	1.00	4.99	0.30	-12.11
450W	6.57	3.32	8.48	4.94	31.79	12.14	1.50	4.98	0.30	-12.12
600W	9.94	3.30	12.20	4.91	41.78	12.12	2.50	4.97	0.30	-12.14

The PC Power & Cooling supply delivers strong regulation across all the outputs and handles the load tests very well. All of the primary rails stayed with 2.5% of the nominal voltage.

PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W	Maximum Load
	712W

We managed to get 712W out of the PSU before it would shut down, gracefully.

Next we want to try Cross Loading. This basically means loads which are not balanced. If a PC for instance needs 500W on the +12V outputs but something like 30W via the combined 3.3V and +5V outputs then the voltage regulation can fluctuate badly.

Cross Load Testing	+3.3V		+5V		+12V		-12V		+5VSB
	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V
590W	1.0	3.32	1.0	5.05	46.0	11.97	0.2	-12.12	0.50	5.03
145W	12.0	3.30	15.0	5.03	2.0	12.12	0.2	-12.09	0.50	5.01

The PC Power & Cooling power supply handled the Cross loading tests very well and we didn’t experience any issues throughout testing. All the voltages remained well within specification.

We then used an oscilloscope to measure AC ripple and noise present on the DC outputs. We set the oscilloscope time base to check for AC ripple at both high and low ends of the spectrum. ATX12V V2.2 specification for DC output ripple and noise is defined in the ATX 12V power supply design guide.

ATX12V Ver 2.2 Noise/Ripple Tolerance
Output	Ripple (mV p-p)
+3.3V	50
+5V	50
+12V1	120
+12V2	120
-12V	120
+5VSB	50

Obviously when measuring AC noise and ripple on the DC outputs the cleaner (less recorded) means we have a better end result. We measured this AC signal amplitude to see how closely the unit complied with the ATX standard.

AC Ripple (mV p-p)
DC Load	+3.3V	+5V	+12V	5VSB
75W	10	5	10	10
150W	10	10	15	10
300W	10	10	15	15
450W	10	10	20	15
600W	15	15	25	20

Noise suppression is absolutely fantastic, falling well within the rated specifications, only 25 mV from the 12V output at full load is a superb result.

Efficiency (%)
75W	81.34
150W	84.93
300W	86.79
450W	84.56
600W	83.14

Efficiency is impressive for an 80 Plus Bronze rated power supply, peaking at 86.79 percent at 50 percent load.

We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.

Today to test the Power Supply we have taken it into our acoustics room environment and have set our SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa) one meter away from the unit. We have no other fans running so we can effectively measure just the noise from the unit itself.

As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.

KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 Player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum

Noise (dBA)
75W	29.2
150W	29.7
300W	31.6
450W	33.4
600W	37.9

The power supply becomes audible at around 400W load. Nothing overly intrusive, but noticeable. At 80% load the fan spins up considerably and at full load the noise emissions are around 38 dBa, clearly heard. It isn't really practical to be running a 600W power supply at full load 24/7, so we recommended that if you need 500W or more on a regular basis, aim for a higher output model.

Temperature (c)
	Intake	Exhaust
75W	35	41
150W	35	43
300W	37	44
450W	41	49
600W	44	53

The Adda fan keeps temperatures under control, peaking at a 9c above ambient threshold when at full load.

Maximum load	Efficiency
712W	80.34

At 712W the PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W rated just over 80% efficiency. This is not a viable ‘real world’ situation, but its interesting nonetheless.

The Silencer MK III 600W has achieved the high standards we would expect from a PC Power & Cooling product, which in itself is no mean feat. The bright white appearance might not appeal to everyone, but there is something to be said for standing out in such a crowded market.

The modular design will appeal to those who are in the market for a clean system build. The internal design is also exemplary with a high level of attention to detail and we always like to see 105c rated Chemi Con capacitors incorporated into a design.

Noise suppression is fantastic … it is not often we record between 15 mW and 25 mV at maximum load across the full range of output. The power supply held load regulation well and cross load stability was not a problem. Efficiency is also without question, achieving almost 87 percent efficiency at 50 percent load, very impressive for an 80 Plus Bronze rated unit.

The only slight downside with the product is the 120mm ADDA fan, which I found could ramp up quite quickly when the load was 450W or higher. It wouldn't be an annoyance for many people as generally noise emissions are quite good, but if you need a system to run 500W+ on a regular basis and have a problem with noise, then we advise you to aim higher in the OCZ range.

Pricing in the United Kingdom is quite competitive, with OCUK taking preorders now for £76.99. If this is too rich for your blood, then check out their 500W and 400W models.

Pros:

• Exceptional build quality.
• great load regulation.
• superb efficiency.
• Modular.

Cons:

• A bit loud at higher load.

Kitguru says: Another exceptional design from PC Power & Cooling.

Become a Patron!