Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
The Cooler Master X Silent Edge Platinum 850W is very different than any PSU we have looked at from the company, or really from anybody, as this is the highest wattage fanless power supply I have ever seen. As you can see in our photo above, the X Silent Edge Platinum 850W I am covering today is function over form, but it does not mean it does not look good. From our view above, Cooler Master's is located dead center on the crystal structure pattern grille for maximum ventilation, which itself is a little offset to the side of this side of the enclosure. The offset makes way for the X Silent branding at the end. 45-degree edges make the unit more interesting to look at. The Cooler Master X Silent Edge Platinum 850W uses SECC for flat panels and aluminum for the integrated heatsink on the enclosure.
At 18cm deep, the Cooler Master X Silent Edge Platinum 850W is very reasonable, considering this is a Platinum efficiency grade passively cooled power supply. For reference, the SilverStone Nightjar NJ700 700W and Seasonic PRIME 600 Titanium Fanless 600W, both fanless units with considerably less wattage, measures in at 17cm. Most modular power supplies are longer than non-modular units by a centimeter or two, as the extra length is needed to accommodate its connector board at the back. We will take a look inside the PSU on the next page. For most ATX or eATX chassis, this length should not be too much of a problem. However, if you have a mATX or mITX case that takes standard power supplies, you should make sure this longer unit can fit in your enclosure and does not cause other incompatibilities.
At the top, a fixed grille provides ventilation to its internal components, which extends over the left and right edges and works alongside the rear honeycomb grille. There are no fans to keep the temperatures in check. Exhaust heat is allowed to leave by natural convection, or via the integrated aluminum heatsink along the sides and at the bottom. Meanwhile, ten screws secure the power supply case together. One screw has a warranty seal over it, so you cannot open the Cooler Master X Silent Edge Platinum 850W without voiding its 15-year warranty.
Starting from the back part of the power supply, we have the same familiar honeycomb mesh design as most PSUs on the market today. What you will find here is a horizontally aligned male connector for power input on the eastern edge and an on/off switch. The reason why the power connector is on the eastern edge rather than the western edge is because the Cooler Master X Silent Edge Platinum 850W is designed to be installed with the ventilation facing up, which is the opposite of units with a bottom-mounted fan.
The low resistance honeycomb mesh design is implemented to maximize airflow and minimize air resistance. This is done as heat needs to leave the power supply as easily and efficiently as possible, because the X Silent Edge Platinum 850W is passively cooled. It is implemented in the most efficient manner possible, as the power input block takes up no more than the minimum amount of room physically required. As with all active PFC power supplies, the Cooler Master X Silent Edge Platinum 850W has an automatic full range 100V to 240V AC line voltage selection, so the user does not have to worry about manually selecting input voltage.
Like many power supplies we cover here at APH Networks, the X Silent Edge Platinum 850W is a fully modular power supply. This means all cables are completely detachable from the main unit. While it is somewhat questionable with regards to why this is necessary, since cables such as the ATX 24-pin and ATX 4-pin/EPS 8-pin have practically a 100% chance of being connected at all times, it may prove to be beneficial to an extent when building your computer initially.
The rear cable connection panel is done nicely. Cooler Master has made the labels correct side up in standard orientation. Similar connectors are grouped together and are laid out in a very logical manner. To ensure you know what is going on, they are all grouped and clearly labeled for minimal ambiguity. On the left, we have a group of six connectors for PCI Express 6+2 pin or ATX/EPS 4+4 pin cables. In the Peripherals section, four outputs support Molex and SATA peripherals. The Motherboard section that supports an ATX 24-pin connector has two separate blocks next to each other. A 16-pin 12V-2x6 PCIe 5.0 header lives in the middle. Lastly, across the top is a USB 2.0, PMBus, and 5-pin PWM fan header. Cooler Master only includes an internal USB 2.0 cable for performance monitoring. Incompatible outputs will not physically fit into each other, so Cooler Master has done a great job in this regard. This generous array of available connectors should be more than sufficient for casual users and power enthusiasts alike.
The external build quality of Cooler Master's X Silent Edge Platinum 850W power supply is excellent as always; a good indication the company is serious about the product they are selling. We will take it apart in just a moment. Fit is done well with minimal panel gaps and all edges are nicely finished off. The level of refinement with regards to the external build quality is right up there with all the other high-quality PSUs I have used in the past. As aforementioned, we will crack open the power supply to see what components are inside in the following section.
The voltage specification label is located on one of the side panels of the X Silent Edge Platinum 850W. There are two main virtual rails. Up to 20A can be delivered via the +3.3V rail for a total of 66W, while the 20A on the +5V rail brings the output to 100W in this area. The total combined output for the +3.3V and +5V rail is 120W. In other words, your power allocation combination must fall within the limits of the listed specifications. Meanwhile, a single powerful +12V rail delivers up to 40.8A -- 849.6W -- to maximize power delivery flexibility compared to multiple rails. Overall, the combined power output for the whole Cooler Master X Silent Edge Platinum 850W is 850W, as its name suggests. It does sound a bit confusing to understand how this works at first, but generally speaking, this configuration allows sufficiently flexible power demands and should be sufficient to accommodate most users. The power outputs in the +3.3V and 5V rails are appropriate for its wattage class. The power outputs in the +3.3V and 5V rails are within the norm, as most PSUs in this wattage range released in the last few years usually have them between 20A and 22A. This is because modern systems do not have a lot of need in this area.
The Cooler Master X Silent Edge Platinum 850W is 80 Plus Platinum and Cybenetics ETA Platinum certified. The 80 Plus Platinum certification means that it is at least 90%, 92%, 89% efficient at 20%, 50%, and 100% load, respectively. Cybenetics ETA Platinum means at 115V input, it is certified to be between 89% and 91% overall efficiency, power factor above 0.975, greater than 76% 5VSB efficiency, and less than 0.16W vampire power. Higher certifications available for power supplies of this type include 80 Plus Titanium, Cybenetics ETA Titanium, and Cybenetics ETA Diamond at press time.
A total of twelve black colored modular power cables are included out of the box. All modular cables are coated and are easy to bend, making them extremely easy to work with. The wires are not labeled, but from a visual inspection, it looks like the high current PCI Express, motherboard, and ATX/EPS connectors are 16 AWG with the rest 18 AWG. Manufacturers often will fatten high current cables to 16 AWG, so this is common practice.
The following modular cables are included out of the box:
- 1x ATX 20+4 pin, 65.0cm
- 1x ATX/EPS 4+4 pin, 65.0cm
- 1x EPS 8 pin, 65.0cm
- 1x 12V-2x6 PCIe 12+4 pin, 65.0cm
- 4x PCIe 6+2 pin, 55.0cm
- 3x SATA, 4 connectors each, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x Molex, 4 connectors, 50.0cm to first connector, 12.0cm spacing thereafter
These are specified measurements from the manufacturer. There is also an internal USB cable that connects to your motherboard's USB 2.0 header that is 80.0cm long. Most users should have no problems with Cooler Master's X Silent Edge Platinum 850W in modern cases. 50cm is the general standard, and the cables included met or exceeded this recommendation on all measurements. However, peripheral cables with a shorter length to the first connector may be advantageous for cable routing and management.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests, Software, Conclusion
