Page 4 - Minor Tests and Conclusion
Power supplies are interesting products -- because often, reviews of products in this category are conducted and tested in methods that make it difficult to distinguish one power supply from another. Many aspects have to be taken into consideration -- of which certain criteria consists of efficiency, noise, power ripples, and of course the ability to pull out the rated specifications. Because many cannot afford such equipment to obtain results regarding those aspects, articles covering power supplies often come out with less than adequate and acceptable information. As this is a product report -- not a review -- what we are doing is a close examination of the power supply, and the internal hardware and build. But what we can do for you is do some minor testing with the results we can present to you with, and let other review sites with professional equipment show you the actual test results. We're not going to try to BS you by installing the power supply into the latest gaming rig and try to take readings from that, as this is not even remotely the correct way to test power supply units. We understand that many websites do that as a means of load testing, but the results, even if you use an oscilloscope and multimeter at each output location, it is not sufficient, nor does it accurately reflect the performance of the power supply.
Using our power supply tester which exerts minimal load on the power supply, the initial power consumption was 21W. Measured using our wall meter, this basic load-free power consumption of the Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1500W is the second highest that we have seen. The load-free power consumption is topped by the Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1200W, which draws 23W at no load. Other 1000W plus power supplies such as the Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 1050W and the PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 1200W drew 14W and 10W respectively. While the no load power consumption seems high when compared with power supplies of its class, third parties with professional load testing equipment have reported that the Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 lives up to its 80+ Silver Certification without issues. It is also able to deliver commendable efficiency, voltage regulation, and low ripple overall.
Voltages with minimal load are generally accurate, which is a basic requirement of power supplies out of the box. In this situation all are within 2.5%. The PG (Power Good) delay seems to be well within its rated range and general power supply standard of 290ms.
Active power correction is important to correct AC load line loss. In AC power, there are three components to it; as there is a phase difference between current and voltage. This makes up the power triangle, which consists of the following: Average usable power (P, measured in watts), reactive power (Q, denoted as VA-R), and total power (S, written as VA). While they all have the same physical units, it is not the same thing as aforementioned. What we want is the average usable power -- with as little wasted reactive power as possible. The total power provided over the AC line is the magnitude of the two combined (sqrt(P^2+Q^2)). Power factor can then be easily calculated by P/S. The ideal value is 1.00, and this is where active PFC comes in. A nominal load of 200W (~13%) on the Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1500W had the power factor of 0.95. As the load increases, the PF should approach 0.99.
The Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1500W is a quiet power supply at a low load. As mentioned on the previous page, under 50% load, the fan speed will remain consistently under 1300 RPM. With my current system, it will never get close to 50% load; however, I am positive that someone out there will have a system that will. On a scale from 0 to 10 where 0 is dead silent and 10 is the loudest, I would rate the Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1500W to be at 3.0/10 acoustically under nominal loads. Although this is not the loudest components in the system, this certainly contributes to the overall noise level. Overall, the Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1500W is an great power supply for power users with a demanding system. Currently in the market, there are not many consumer grade power supplies with a 1500W rating.
Cooler Master provided this product to APH Networks to facilitate this report.
The Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1500W is in a league of its own in terms of wattage rating -- and this is its key selling point. That said, 80+ Silver certification is not really that good nowadays, so a nice boost in overall efficiency would definitely be desirable. Overall, the Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1500W is well built PSU for those who needs a power supply to jump start an airplane and power your computer all at the same time.
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
