PC Power & Cooling Silencer 1050W PSU Review: Affordable Yet Powerful

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Load Regulation, Hold-Up Time & Inrush Current

To learn more about our PSU tests and methodology, please check out How We Test Power Supply Units. 

Primary Rails And 5VSB Load Regulation

Load Regulation testing is detailed here.

Hold-Up Time

Our hold-up time tests are described in detail here.

Despite the bulk caps' high capacity, this PSU's hold-up time is less than 17ms. Worse, the power-good signal is inaccurate.

Inrush Current

For details on our inrush current testing, please click here.

The inrush current with 115V is normal, given this unit's capacity. However, with 230V input it's quite high.

Load Regulation And Efficiency Measurements

The first set of tests reveals the stability of the voltage rails and the Silencer’s efficiency. The applied load equals (approximately) 10 to 110 percent of the PSU's maximum load in increments of 10 percentage points.

We conducted two additional tests. During the first, we stressed the two minor rails (5V and 3.3V) with a high load, while the load at +12V was only 0.1A. This test reveals whether a PSU is compatible with Intel's C6/C7 sleep states or not. In the second test, we determined the maximum load the +12V rail could handle with minimal load on the minor rails.

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Test #12V5V3.3V5VSBDC/AC (Watts)EfficiencyFan SpeedPSU NoiseTemps (In/Out)PF/AC Volts
16.921A1.989A2.001A1.003A104.84790.364%0 RPM<6.0 dB(A)45.67°C0.975
12.029V5.025V3.297V4.987V116.02740.19°C115.04V
214.849A2.991A3.007A1.207A209.34093.224%0 RPM<6.0 dB(A)46.83°C0.995
12.017V5.016V3.291V4.971V224.55740.71°C115.04V
323.183A3.491A3.495A1.411A314.44093.140%625 RPM13.7 dB(A)40.86°C0.994
12.010V5.016V3.290V4.963V337.59847.73°C115.04V
431.506A3.987A4.014A1.614A419.69093.018%802 RPM19.7 dB(A)41.79°C0.995
12.013V5.017V3.290V4.957V451.19049.29°C115.04V
539.524A4.984A5.019A1.818A525.00392.694%805 RPM19.8 dB(A)42.13°C0.996
12.005V5.019V3.288V4.951V566.38350.84°C115.03V
647.404A5.979A6.026A2.023A629.57291.836%960 RPM25.3 dB(A)42.74°C0.997
12.019V5.020V3.287V4.944V685.54352.59°C115.03V
755.295A6.959A6.957A2.224A734.92191.300%1100 RPM29.2 dB(A)43.09°C0.997
12.041V5.031V3.320V4.949V804.95353.95°C115.03V
863.276A7.952A7.988A2.429A840.26490.680%1240 RPM33.1 dB(A)43.69°C0.998
12.040V5.032V3.305V4.943V926.62255.17°C115.02V
971.558A8.463A8.436A2.433A945.15390.034%1400 RPM36.1 dB(A)44.53°C0.998
12.055V5.024V3.319V4.934V1049.77356.70°C115.02V
1079.807A8.957A8.982A3.056A1049.94889.273%1400 RPM36.1 dB(A)45.72°C0.998
12.033V5.026V3.307V4.911V1176.11458.87°C115.01V
1188.469A8.952A8.976A3.054A1154.80488.518%1420 RPM36.2 dB(A)46.88°C0.998
12.039V5.029V3.309V4.913V1304.59760.82°C115.01V
CL10.146A16.006A16.001A0.000A134.81885.432%0 RPM<6.0 dB(A)42.59°C0.985
12.054V5.028V3.286V5.048V157.80751.73°C115.05V
CL287.510A1.004A1.001A1.000A1064.49389.548%1405 RPM36.1 dB(A)45.34°C0.998
12.012V5.016V3.307V4.976V1188.74358.32°C115.02V

Load regulation on the +12V rail is tight, but it cannot compete with Seasonic's Prime models. When it comes to the 5V rail, the Silencer leads. It lands within 1% on the 3.3V rail. Lastly, the 5VSB rail maintains low deviations.

Strangely enough, the platform's peak efficiency is apparent with 20% load instead of the expected 40-50%. All 80 PLUS Platinum requirements are met though, even in the face of our very high ambient temperatures. Color us impressed!

Output noise remains low during the worst-case scenario (test number 11) in an almost 47°C ambient environment. Moreover, up until the 20% load test, PC Power & Cooling's fan does not spin. We are completely satisfied by the fan's speed profile. However, we would like to see the passive mode last a bit longer.

Finally, the APFC converter's performance is impressive. With 20% load the power factor is close to one.


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Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

Aris Mpitziopoulos is a contributing editor at Tom's Hardware, covering PSUs.