The Verdict
I like to open the conclusion firstly with a remark, here at Guru3D our PSU reviews can be considered subjective. In order to properly stress test a PSU of this class you need load units and professional gear worth thousands of Euro's. As such, don't 'just believe' our word on it , check out other reviews as well. We however try to stress any PSU in our test as best we can, and that best means (re)creating and emulating a real word situation with the most power consuming devices we can think of, and then add little extras. As such for today's test we used 5 active GPUs and an overclocked QX9770 processor at 3600 MHz. So while we feel our review is very representable, the reality is also this: we are not able to put a 900+ watt load on it and check effects like ripple. I however know and understand hardware, and when I say something is quality ... you can trust me that it is.
So that being said and now with Voltage distribution in mind, PC Power & Cooling have created another little gem with the Silencer 910. It is a remarkably stunning power supply really. Their concept of keeping things basic really works out for them and though that might not be everybody's cup of tea it surely is convincing.
Times are changing though and the world is moving onward to PSU's with cable management and want amazement. People like to only use the cables they really need and in order for PC P&C to keep up with consumer demand and expectancy, I do expect them to have to make a move to modability at one point. Right now with a PC P&C PSU it's spaghetti inside the PC, and with PCs becoming more open (transparent side-panels and such) it is just not something that people want to see, well unless you like simplicity.
Another factor that weighs more heavy with each year that passes are noise levels. As you have been able to observe, with the PSU merely hotwired and activated the noise levels are not at all even irritating, but the PSU can definitely be heard. Our volume level noise measurements results were what I consider to be okay at best, I would not classify the PSU as silent aka "Silencer", though.
There's something else that concerned me, for a 910 Watt SLI ready power supply allowing 1000W peak levels, there is one more remark I'd like to make. Right now there are 4x PCIe graphics connectors (two 6-pin and two 6/8-pin). In this high-end segment and price level consumers will without doubt install say two graphics cards in SLI, using all four connectors. But a trend for two years now already is of course 3-way SLI and/or another graphics adapter for dedicated PhysX as well, much like we demonstrated in today's test. As such I feel that another two 6-pin PCIe connectors really would have been the way to go here.
See, for today's test I in fact hooked up 2x GeForce GTX 295 (Quad SLI) and then had no connectors left for a GeForce GTX 275 dedicated for PhysX. So I had to use up four out of the seven Molex connectors to use 6-pin power converters, and sorry, but that just looks downright silly, not to mention the sheer waste of Molex connectors. It's something that in this price segment and high-quality level should not be a concern really.
The flipside of the coin is of course incredibly positive. The overall look and feel of the PSU was remarkable. It surely is a PSU with balls made out of steel as we weren't ably to stress is to it's max whatsoever. While we were stressing it at best it got a little lukewarm at the fan exhaust but really .. even at 700 Watt of power draw the PSU will laugh at you.
With our PC overclocked and with 5 active GPUs that 700 Watt power draw tells us also something else, it's a really efficient power supply. The 88% rating without doubt is valid. And on the long term that saves you money alright, well that and you are a little bit greener.
The PC Power & Cooling Silencer 910W as such is a product for the true aficionado's, and if you care a lot about cable management then surely this is not a product for you. But if you like a plain, simple and horribly stable power supply, this is probably the best you can get as it is ranking in the highest of high-end.
Pure quality typically comes at a price, the PC power & Cooling Silencer 910 is available in stores now at a $169.99 USD sales price, which we think is really fair.
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