Silver Power Blue Lightning 600W
by Christoph Katzer on August 27, 2007 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Temperatures
Our testing confirms our initial impression of the heatsinks. They dissipate heat quite well and manage to cool all of the components attached to them. Exhaust temperatures of only 50°C at 26° room temperature, even at maximum load, mean that users will have a relatively cool system. With a 50°C test environment, exhaust temperatures rise 15°C up to 65°C, while the heatsinks are only 10°C warmer than the ambient temperatures. These are fairly good results, but in a stress test environment temperatures are rising quite rapidly and we definitely would be cautious about using this power of supply in such an environment for an extended period of time. At normal room temperatures, the results are much better.
Fan Speed and Acoustics
In our stress testing "heat chamber", fan speed is constantly rising up to the maximum speed of around 2400 RPM as the load and temperatures increase. At room temperatures, the fan holds a steady 1250 RPM up until about a 45% load. While the fan speed is definitely increasing, it's a bit unusual - and actually impressive - that the noise levels continue to stay relatively low, reaching a maximum of 37 dB at full load. Subjectively, the noise levels also agree with what we see on the charts: at maximum load the power supply isn't much louder it than at minimum load. Unfortunately, you can still hear the fan regardless of load, but once placed within a typical computer case the result should be a good, reasonably quiet system.
Our testing confirms our initial impression of the heatsinks. They dissipate heat quite well and manage to cool all of the components attached to them. Exhaust temperatures of only 50°C at 26° room temperature, even at maximum load, mean that users will have a relatively cool system. With a 50°C test environment, exhaust temperatures rise 15°C up to 65°C, while the heatsinks are only 10°C warmer than the ambient temperatures. These are fairly good results, but in a stress test environment temperatures are rising quite rapidly and we definitely would be cautious about using this power of supply in such an environment for an extended period of time. At normal room temperatures, the results are much better.
Fan Speed and Acoustics
In our stress testing "heat chamber", fan speed is constantly rising up to the maximum speed of around 2400 RPM as the load and temperatures increase. At room temperatures, the fan holds a steady 1250 RPM up until about a 45% load. While the fan speed is definitely increasing, it's a bit unusual - and actually impressive - that the noise levels continue to stay relatively low, reaching a maximum of 37 dB at full load. Subjectively, the noise levels also agree with what we see on the charts: at maximum load the power supply isn't much louder it than at minimum load. Unfortunately, you can still hear the fan regardless of load, but once placed within a typical computer case the result should be a good, reasonably quiet system.
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MrOblivious - Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - link
Yes and no. The additional interface and the extreme load a load tester puts accross a single connector magnifies the problem beyond what a system would see happen which is what people were asking about.I am sure Chris is looking into it ;)
yyrkoon - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
to see some Seasonic PSU tests. Not sure *why* but I cannot remember seeing any Seasonic PSU test from you, or any other sites I frequent, and they are supposedly the manufactuers of several of the PSUs for other companies that have good PSUs.Also, it would be very nice to have an article once in a while that explained where the different PSUs were manuafactuered, who actually makes them, and what parts each company typically uses for various models. Anyone can write a review, but no one seems todo this. Be the first ! I *could* probably scour the web to find this information, but if it comes from your guys, I could probably trust the information ;)
Axbattler - Thursday, August 30, 2007 - link
Silent PC Review has made some reviews of Seasonic (and the Corsair too if I remember right).LoneWolf15 - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
A Seasonic 500w PSU review was done very recently by another ]H[ard-core review site. You might want to check it out. They and JonnyGURU as well are very clear about who makes PSU's, capacitor brands in them, etc.Seasonic makes PSU's for a number of companies --the Antec Neo HE line is one example, but they do some others as well.
As for the Silver Power, if Anandtech's weblink is correct to MWave (it is partially broken) and that PSU is available for $69, it's a great price.
JarredWalton - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
The web links are just pulled from the engine automatically (automagically even) based on some search text. I put in "Tagan" and that's what came up. Still, the 530W Tagan is probably pretty decent for $69. This PSU is apparently $88 shipped from http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">Newegg (see above comments).yyrkoon - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
heh Jarred, read the first user review on newegg ... not exactly a good example of a PSU 'review'. I probably would take it with a grain of salt *if* the overall user review % was not what it is.JarredWalton - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
Yeah, Newegg reviews are basically random people spouting off. I've had numerous good quality PSUs fail over the years, and I've had "crappy" PSUs that are still kicking after four years. Without some clear details about the load the PSU was under and the operating environment - let's be honest, overclocking can kill a lot of PSUs if you push it too far - there's any number of reasons a PSU can fail. $90 for a >80% 600W PSU is really pretty good.Christoph Katzer - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
Seasonic comes up this week.Don't worry about the rest, that'll come as well...
Samus - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
Looks identical. Newegg has it for $80.Chris, can you confirm whether this is the same power supply as the silverpower?
Christoph Katzer - Monday, August 27, 2007 - link
Thanks for the info. It is indeed the same PSU.