+12V Ripple


As in all of the previous tests, the Silencer 750W had an extremely good showing in our +12V ripple test. While the traces showed 30mV in the final test, we have to remember that the ATX specification dictates a maximum allowable ripple of 120mV even though our chart only goes to 40mV. Thus, the differences between the power supplies look significant even though they are not.


Heat and Acoustical Characteristics

There are many people out there who are deathly afraid of 80mm fans because they believe them to be obnoxiously loud while only able to move a very limited amount of air. In our experience, the latter point is probably the truer of the two since an 80mm fan just doesn’t have the fan surface area necessary to move large amount of air even if it spins itself to ridiculous speeds. We have also had experiences with horribly loud 80mm fans as well and are happy to report that the lone 80mm on the Silencer fan stays much quieter than we would have expected. However, during the System Stress test its speeds did increase to the point where it was audible over the other fans we had installed. While it was not loud to the point of distraction and it is not recommended to push any 750W power supply this far, it would have been nice to have a completely quiet experience.

Through all of the tests, the exhaust temperature of the 750 Quad stayed well with normal limits but naturally, as the fan speed increased in the last test so did the interior temperatures. That being said, we were extremely impressed with the lack of heat generated by this power supply and the efficiency of its lone fan to remove what little heat is actually built up.