Part 2: Four Cheap 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supplies, Reviewed

Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 520W

Cooler Master is fairly general in targeting its second-generation Silent Pro M series at pretty much any PC. This 520 W power supply is about the right size to handle anything from office computers to mainstream gaming machines, though. The Silent Pro M2 520W is the only power supply in our round-up that sports modular cable management. Every lead except the 24-pin ATX and ATX12V cable is flat, something Cooler Master is now known for.

Cable quality is excellent, and so is our overall impression of this PSU. Each lead is sufficiently long; we'd even go so far as to say generously so. Thanks to a pair of 6+2-pin auxiliary PCI Express connectors, you can natively support CrossFire or SLI without adapters, so long as you're using cards with one input. While the large number of peripheral connectors (six SATA and four Molex) is impressive for this round-up of budget PSUs, it may impact the price. As it is customary for Cooler Master PSUs, the Silent Pro M2 PSU sports a single-rail design, and its 12 V rail can supply up to 40 A.