Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
The SilverStone Nightjar NJ520 520W is both an orthodox looking and unorthodox looking power supply at the same time. At first glance, it is easy to miss the details, because -- let us be real for a moment -- a power supply is a power supply. However, if you look closely, the devil is in the details. Rather than using a customary black matte coating, or the more hipster white eggshell finish, SilverStone resorted to using a dull silver paint. From a distance, you may even mistake it for an early 2000s unpainted "value" PSU, but rest be assured it is indeed painted, and it is intentionally done this way in tradition of the Nightjar series. From our view above, SilverStone's logo is not found anywhere; the fan grille is replaced by a large, open honeycomb mesh for maximum heat dissipation. More openings can be found on both sides, because the completely fanless Nightjar NJ520 will need as much airflow as it can get.
Measuring in at 16.0cm in length, the SilverStone Nightjar NJ520 520W is a reasonably short power supply. It is two centimeters longer than the SilverStone Strider Gold ST65F-G 650W, but the Strider Gold in question is one of the shortest modular power supplies ever made. 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, length should not be much of a problem, if at all. However, if you have a mATX or mITX case that takes standard power supplies, the shorter length will definitely serve as an advantage, especially considering the fact the NJ520 is fully modular. Meanwhile, four screws secure the cover onto the rest of the power supply case together; where one screw has a warranty seal over it, so you cannot open the power supply without voiding the three year warranty.
Starting from the back part of the power supply, we have the same familiar honeycomb mesh design like most PSUs with bottom mounted fans (Except the SilverStone Nightjar NJ520 520W has no fans at all, and is designed to be installed with the mesh opening facing up); and the standard on/off switch located beside of the male connector for power input on the western edge. A Nightjar badge used for branding can be seen as well. 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 SilverStone Nightjar NJ520 520W is passively cooled. It is also implemented in an efficient manner, as these components take up minimal amounts of room at the back. As with most new power supplies, the SilverStone Nightjar NJ520 has an automatic full range (100V-240V) AC line voltage selection, so the user does not have to worry about manually selecting input voltage.
Like the SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution ST75F-G 750W, SilverStone Strider Gold ST75F-G 750W, SilverStone Strider Gold S ST85F-GS 850W, SilverStone Strider Gold ST65F-G 650W, and SilverStone Strider Plus ST75F-P 750W, where only one of the list was reviewed by me, the SilverStone Nightjar NJ520 520W 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 for other manufacturers, since cables such as the ATX 24-pin and ATX 4-pin/EPS 8-pin have practically an 100% chance of being connected at all times, it may prove to be beneficial to an extent when building your computer initially. SilverStone's short cable kits are not compatible with the NJ520.
The rear cable connection panel is done nicely. 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 labeled for minimal ambiguity. However, the 24-pin motherboard connector is split into two different blocks (With a total of 28 pins, too), which is kind of weird. Where have we seen this before? Yep, none other than the Seasonic Platinum 1000W and Cooler Master V1000 1000W, both of which are built by Seasonic. Could this be a Seasonic build as well? We will find out when we crack open the NJ520.
Moving on, we have four peripheral outputs for six SATA/five Molex/one floppy, and four PCI Express/motherboard outputs for one ATX/EPS 4+4 pin and four 6+2 pin connectors in aggregate. This is rather interesting, because since each PCI Express cable has two connectors, the NJ520 has more sockets then there are cables. Either way, incompatible outputs will not physically fit into each other, so I think SilverStone has done a great job in this regard. This reasonable array of available connectors should be more than sufficient for the intended market of this power supply, because, after all, this is a 520W passively cooled unit.
The external build quality of SilverStone's Nightjar 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 comparable with all the other high quality PSUs I have used in the past. The main difference is SilverStone specifies the installation orientation of the NJ520 by a warning label shown in the photo above, because it is passively cooled. As aforementioned, we will crack open the power supply to see what components are inside in the following section.
The voltage specification label on the top panel of the SilverStone Nightjar NJ520 520W. 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 100W. 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 43A (516W) to reduce operating overhead compared to multiple +12V rails. Overall, the combined power output for the whole NJ520 is... well, 520W haha. Again, your power distribution in your system must fall within the limits provided -- it must not exceed 66W on the +3.3V rail, 100W on the +5V rail and 100W combined for both, 516W on the +12V rail, and 520W combined between the +12V and +3.3/+5V rails. It does sound a bit confusing to understand how this works at first, but generally speaking, this configuration allows fairly flexible power demands and should be sufficient to accommodate most users in the intended market. The overall distribution is quite reasonable for a 520W power supply.
The SilverStone Nightjar NJ520 520W is 80 PLUS Platinum certified, which means that it is certified to be at least 90%, 92%, 89% efficient at 20%, 50%, and 100% load, respectively. Higher certifications available for power supplies of this type include 80 PLUS Titanium at press time.
A total of eight modular cables are included out of the box. Other than the sleeved ATX 24-pin motherboard cable, everything else are flat and easy to bend, making them extremely easy to work with. Surprisingly, all wires are 18 AWG, including high current PCI Express and ATX/EPS connectors. Usually, manufacturers will fatten them up to 16 AWG, but SilverStone opted out on that.
The following modular cables are included out of the box:
- 1x ATX 20+4 pin, 60.0cm
- 1x ATX/EPS 4+4 pin, 65.0cm
- 2x PCIe 6+2 pin, 2 connectors each, 55.0cm to first connector, 10.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x SATA, 4 connectors, 40.0cm to first connector, 12.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x SATA, 2 connectors, 30.0cm to first connector, 12.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x Molex, 3 connectors, 40.0cm to first connector, 12.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x Molex, 2 connectors, 30.0cm to first connector, 12.0cm spacing thereafter
These are just specified measurements from the manufacturer. Most users should have no problems reading their motherboard with SilverStone Nightjar NJ520 520W, even if your case has a bottom power supply mount. 50cm is the general standard, and this power supply met or exceeded this recommendation with those cables. That said, the SATA and Molex cables are pretty short. I think SilverStone does not expect users to install the NJ520 in larger cases, which is a reasonable assumption in my opinion.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
