PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 400W
by Martin Kaffei on May 19, 2012 2:05 PM ESTConclusion
The Silencer Mk III 400W leaves a great impression when it comes to external appearance and electronics. The performance isn't bad, but it does not have anything to do with silence when it comes to high loads. The build quality is very good as always, but the crossload performance is mediocre.
All necessary parts are included in the package. You get the usual set of accessories (a power cord, a few screws, and so forth) and some additional extras such as cable ties. The 5-year warranty from PC Power & Cooling is also welcome. The Silencer Mk III provides one 6/8-pin PCIe connector and 10 peripheral plugs on four cables. Additionally, you get a 4+4-pin CPU connector and a 55cm long 24-pin cable. The cable lengths are generally adequate and longer than many lower wattage PSUs. Moreover the cable sleeving is quiet good for a PC Power & Cooling product.
Internally, the PSU has a small main PCB that would work fine in a smaller housing. PC Power & Cooling only uses Japanese capacitors as promised. The main cap is an expensive type with an average endurance at 105°C. Beyond that the manufacturer used 105°C capacitors on the secondary side that provide a low ESR. Transient filtering is well equipped and there's a MOV as an overvoltage protection. The ICs have all important safety functions. Overall, the component selection and build quality make this a good middle class offering.
What you get for your $69.99 is a good PSU for midrange systems that won't be heavily overclocked or run multiple GPUs—you can still do a fair amount of overclocking if you're so inclined, though that flies in the face of being green I dare say. The cable lengths are suitable for mid-tower and smaller cases, there are sufficient connectors for the target market, and overall build quality, voltage regulation, and efficiency are very good.
Pricing ends up being the big selling point here, especially when we consider the original Seasonic versions cost more. At Newegg they don't even sell an affordable 400W PSU with modular cables. Only Antec a is potential competitor as they offer modular PSUs at the same price. In fact, the HCG-400M uses the same design, so there is no clear winner in that comparison. One reason to prefer Antec is the fact that they provide two connectors for graphics cards. FSP sells a PSU called Aurum 400W ($74.99) which is an inexpensive 80Plus Gold model. Only fan noise is a problem FSP still has to deal with. Finally we can recommend Antec and PC Power & Cooling, if you are interested in modular PSUs and FSP, if you want to get Gold on the cheap.
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iamkyle - Saturday, May 19, 2012 - link
How about the ability to compare this unit with the other ones that Anandtech has tested.So we can see the differences among units, no?
piroroadkill - Saturday, May 19, 2012 - link
If you want more indepth reviews of PSUs, you should head to http://www.jonnyguru.com/ first.iamkyle - Sunday, May 20, 2012 - link
But that's my point...every other review on Anandtech is very in-depth...except PSU reviews. It's the weakest link in the Anandtech review chain.I just want things to be on par.
ectoplasmosis - Monday, May 21, 2012 - link
Agreed.This review is particularly bad... in scope as well as being very poorly written, with many superfluous and awkwardly-worded sentences.
"A small sticker is within the scope of delivery as well"; what is that supposed to mean? Reads like something an immature student attempting to feign verbosity would write.
This sentence simply doesn't make any sense whatsoever: "The build quality is very good as always, though it seems the converter type is a very common choice these days, especially since the crossload performance is mediocre". Bizarre use of the language.
And describing sound levels as "small fan noise" and "strong fan noise" with no quantitative measurements? Ridiculous, especially for an Anandtech review.
Ditch the reviewer and get someone in that knows what they're doing when it comes to testing and writing about PSUs.
ETPrice - Wednesday, February 27, 2013 - link
This whacky language is the kind of nonsense you can get from some machine translations from a foreign language. Someone may have taken foreign text and run it through a machine that is not up to speed with the complexities of the English language. You also get this kind of nonsense when a non-speaking-English author does a literal word-for-word translation from his or her own language. " It don't work!"The review should have been sent back to the author;i.e., rejected. That's what editors are for.
average_joe - Thursday, May 24, 2012 - link
Or http://www.hardocp.com/reviews/psu_power_supplies/jabber - Saturday, May 19, 2012 - link
Are baffling. I removed the huge one in my Corsair 750W. I also replaced the leaf blower fan for a low start power 1700rpm one. Works a treat now.plonk420 - Saturday, May 19, 2012 - link
and this company once said that modular was baaaaad. still, i have 4 PCP&C here... :DHomeles - Saturday, May 19, 2012 - link
PCP&C doesn't even exist anymore... they've been bought by OCZ, so this is essentially an OCZ power supply with some PCP&C stickers on it. This particular unit was built by Seasonic though, which was PCP&C's original OEM.Operandi - Saturday, May 19, 2012 - link
OCZ owns them but they still exist, a buudy of mine had to get a RMA for a refurbished Silencer that turned out to be DOA. PCP&C support is the same as it allwyays was, no holding on line and a real American on the other end as sell as a RMA number with minimal hassel.Product lines remain the same, this is just the continuation of the Silener line which was always OEMd by Seasonic.