Fan Noise
The name "Silencer" suggests that this is a very quiet PSU that has been designed to reduce the annoying fan noise. Even though the differences are small, the PCP&C Silencer 750W is the quietest PSU we tested so far, when considering both idle and loaded noise levels. However, it is still not "quiet" or "silent", you can definitely hear the fan spinning and I fail to understand why no single manufacturer can run their fan at extremely slow speeds with the high efficiency ratings of modern PSUs.
Value and Conclusion
- With a price of $199 the PC Power & Cooling Silencer Quad is certainly not cheap but you can be assured it's because PCP&C will not accept any compromise by trading quality for price.
- Very high efficiency
- Quiet
- Quad PCI-E power
- 8-Pin connectors for new VGA cards
- Excellent build quality
- Lots of connectors
- Cables sleeved
- Optional Test Report included
- 3 Year warranty
- Expensive
- Not silent
- Basic package design
- Not modular
PC Power & Cooling has a reputation in the industry to make the best PSUs out there - without any sacrifices. Their Silencer 750W CrossFire we had on the testbench confirms that this is true. You can see that a lot time has been used to work on small details like the 6+2 PCI-E power connectors and the extra distance between fan and PCB. All these little convenience details are often what make a difference in the PSU market. Personally I would love to see a modularity feature on this unit, because it just makes your life so much easier and the clever cable lengths of the Silencer 750W could actually shine even more.
The PSU delivers super high efficiency with 82%, taking the number one spot in our testing. While it also claims the number one spot regarding fan noise I must say it still is far from being "silent", you can definitely hear the fan running. While the price of $199 makes the unit the most affordable PCP&C power supply for the home user, it is certainly not cheap. Even though the package design has been improved over previous PC Power & Cooling products, it is still far from other premium brands. With OCZ's vast experience in that sector I am confident that the package will receive a facelift soon.
Update: PC Power & Cooling sent me a picture of the new box art to be coming soon - very nice.