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Final Analysis
The Silencer's overall performance is impressive. If the transient response on its minor rails was better and the hold-up time was longer, this PSU would have no trouble standing up against Seasonic's top-notch Prime Platinum model, which is best-in-class. What troubles us most is PC Power & Cooling's inaccurate power-good signal. Coming up short in that measurement is unacceptable from any power supply, especially a purportedly high-end one. High Power did a great job in this platform otherwise, so it's a shame to allow such an addressable detail to spoil our overall positive impression.
For a bit of background, the power-good signal informs other components whether the PSU's output voltages are within a safe range, defined by the ATX specification. It is of immense importance. An inaccurate signal can allow various VRMs (on the motherboard, graphics card, drives, and so on) to continue operating in the face of low voltages, applying high stress to their corresponding circuits. That's why we're so unforgiving when it comes to out-of-spec power-good signals.
Although the Silencer 1050W's build quality is great, High Power didn't pay enough attention to the length of its component leads. As a result, there are a lot of long leads on the PCB's solder side. Those can create trouble in some cases, and the quality control process should have caught and fixed this before the PSU ever shipped out to customers.
The 1050W Silencer does stand out for its high performance and value scores. It fares exceptionally well through most of our benchmarks, despite lousy transient response on its minor rails. A fair price does make this a good deal for anyone who wants a high-capacity PSU that doesn't make much noise, though.
With a fluid dynamic bearing-based fan, it could have been even quieter. However, the double ball-bearing fan that High Power used is better able to survive warm operating environments. Thanks to its relaxed speed profile and a semi-passive mode, noise output at idle stays nice and low. We would like it if the semi-passive operation lasted a little longer, but that's a minor complaint.
PC Power & Cooling was smart to choose this new High Power platform. Aside from its long component leads, the PSU is built well using high-quality parts. A 10-year warranty shows that the company has plenty of confidence in the platform's reliability. When it comes to power supplies, though, there are many factors that affect their health, one of which is the power grid's quality. If it's subject to brown-outs and/or surges, then your PSU probably won't last long without the help of an uninterruptible power supply. External factors typically aren't covered under warranty, so do your part to protect your PC by putting it behind a dependable UPS.
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Disclaimer: Aris Mpitziopoulos is Tom's Hardware's PSU reviewer. He is also the Chief Testing Engineer of Cybenetics, and developed the Cybenetics certification methodologies apart from his role on Tom's Hardware. Neither Tom's Hardware nor its parent company, Future PLC, are financially involved with Cybenetics. Aris does not perform the actual certifications for Cybenetics.
