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, is not nearly sufficient, nor does it accurately reflect the performance of the power supply.
Using our power supply tester which exerts minimum load on the power supply, the initial power consumption was 8W. This is the same as the Seasonic M12 II 500W, which is undoubtedly an excellent power supply in terms of efficiency and performance, as tested by many. Cooler Master's Silent Pro M 1000W is 80+ Bronze Certified power supply, meaning it should have a minimum efficiency of 85%. Various reputable sources with professional load testing equipment shows that it lives up to its 80+ Bronze Certification at all load levels.
At minimum load our power supply tester is customarily accurate; this is a fundamental to any power supply out of the box. There is a 0.1V difference in the +5V rail, +12V rail and a 0.2V difference in the -12V. The Silent Pro M has the prevailing PG of 300ms. Collectively, the results were quite accurate compared to the advertised ratings.
In terms of active power line correction, it was always shifting between 0.95-0.97, but it stayed mostly at 0.97. Of course, it would be best at 0.99 but this PF is acceptable.
The one thing that amazed me was the noise of the Cooler Master Silent Pro M 1000W. The fan managed to push out a reasonably high amount of air at a low noise level. During nominal standard loading conditions for an average system, the fan is near silent. Other components in your computer is likely going to be louder than the Silent Pro M. With the included special vibrational dampener, it further reduces noise levels. On a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is silent and 10 is the loudest, I would subjectively rate it at 3.0/10 -- which is quite a bit acoustically than most power supplies in the market. Overall, the Silent Pro M is sufficiently quiet according to its name under nominal loads.
Special thanks to Lulu over at Cooler Master for making this report possible.
The Cooler Master Silent Pro M 1000W is a quality power supply unit. This is combined with its high rated output, excellent modular cables, and an admirable noise level. For MSRP $209.99 at press time (Retail is around $169.99), it is pretty competitive for a quality unit.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
