Introduction

We would like to thank Silverstone for supplying the review sample.



Passive PSUs address the most noise sensitive of you. Aside from potential coil-whine issues, their main downside is their increased price compared to conventional PSUs. However, users who want inaudible components are willing to spend more in order to have a completely silent system.

Silverstone has a long tradition in selling fanless PSUs, since they do so since 2004, but their Nightjar series only included two outdated models, so it was nigh time to bring it up to speed with the competition. Only a few OEMs offer passive platforms, but with very good results, and Silverstone teamed with Seasonic for their new unit. Silverstone also says to have made sure the NJ520 is up to their standards of silence before giving production their go. The unit is based on Seasonic’s topnotch KM3 platform, the same platform the Seasonic Platinum Series Fanless 520 W (SS-520FL) we reviewed in the past utilizes.

The NJ520 sports Platinum efficiency and features a fully modular cabling design with four PCIe connectors, so it can power a SLI or Crossfire configuration. It clearly trumps the SS-520FL so far since the latter only has a pair of PCIe connectors. The unit’s other characteristics include a full set of protection features and a single +12V rail. The NJ520 is unfortunately available at a pretty stiff price, which is to be expected given its high quality and passive nature.