PC Power & Cooling 750W PSUs

Warranty

The "PSU Myths Exposed" page has a comment on warranties as well:

4. MARKETING MYTH vs. WARRANTY REALITY
As with all consumer products, the fine print in the warranty will often contradict a manufacturer's marketing hype. Unfortunately, this is especially true for computer power supplies. Take for example this quote direct from the product box of a leading manufacturer: "we've earned a stellar reputation for producing stable, reliable, industrial-grade PC power supplies". Now compare that statement to what is specifically excluded in the company's "legendary 3-year warranty":

Sample of What is NOT covered -

a. commercial and industrial use
b. wear and tear from moving parts
c. that the product will meet your requirements.

In conclusion, don't be mislead by marketing hype, avoid superficial gimmicks, and read the warranty carefully before purchasing your next power supply.

However the PCPC Warranty on the back of the manual is just as ambiguous in places. You get a limited three year warranty, just like many other companies offer and there are similar broad ranging statements on it:

"This warranty shall not apply to any product which has been subject to connection to a faulty power source, alteration, negligence or accident, or to any product which has been installed other than in accordance with the instructions"

Well, some of them are obvious but what about us modders who use a non standard case that sometimes isn't perhaps metallic? Plenty of cases are made from wood or perspex - is that improper installation? How do you define negligence - not cleaning out your case? Having a particularly fluffy carpet? Not everyone is an expert at installing something but how do you tell a bad PSU pop from a wrongly installed connector pop? It doesn't specify you can use it for industrial applications either, and I suppose "defective" applies to wear and tear as well?

19th Sept 2007 Addendum: PC Power & Cooling has let us know that it has recently upgraded its warranties and has made new manuals with fresh wording and clearer guidelines. In addition, it is also taking into account the concerns brought up here with respect to modders unique use of PSUs.

Value

£102 is a touch on the expensive side, but it is far cheaper than the Enermax Infiniti 720W and about the same as the Tagan Easycon X1 but with 50W more under the belt. I'd only feel confident in really comparing the 750W Silencer to those two in terms of performance of this power envelope, without going up to the 850+W range which is again more expensive. In this respect it is cheaper, despite fewer features like the box, its contents and modular cables. You can get inexpensive 700-750W units down to about £75 before you get silly-cheap but in terms of engineering pedigree and performance there's just no comparative justification.

Conclusions

The PC Power & Cooling 750W Silencer may have just about rolled through with a couple of low values in testing, but it has shown itself to be a very capable unit - where the single 12V rail seems to work well with an exceptionally high efficiency, even if it does drop a bit of umpf on full load.

It's not too loud at full whack but when it comes to most of us who will run these between 50-75 percent it should absolutely suffice - even our most hardcore single CPU machines in the office with a couple of 8800 Ultras or HD 2900XTs only consume ~600W tops. It's a great bit of engineering in efficient heat transfer, but I wonder what two fans at half the speed would do to the loaded noise, even if it means making it just a touch longer.

We'd like to suggest PCPC rein in the said capability of the 5V rail quite a bit, as we found even at just 2/3rds load it couldn't handle it and even though I seriously doubt any PC will require 20A from the 5V rail - but to be absolutely strict its still a "failed claim".

An area that could be explored is obviously modularity, although I suspect we will see the Devil wearing ice skates to go to work before that happens. However, it wouldn't hurt to put a bit more effort into the colour coordination of the connectors and the use of quick release plugs for the Molexes would be nice. Chuck in a few Velcro straps and a glossy manual the says "quality" rather than "photocopy" and you're laughing.

Final Thoughts

PC Power & Cooling products are like a racing cars - it's raw and on the edge - it feels like its been made by proper engineers with pens and metal rulers in their pockets and a calender featuring pictures of power transformers, rather than designers behind Macs with glass desks drinking Grande Starbucks. The attention to detail is on the inside, and the outside is only half way there.

For 99 percent of you reading this it should be virtually silent until you keep it a few years and PCs get more and more power hungry. The only real stress is the lack of modularity which I know will be a sticking point to many people, but to be honest, I can live with a ton of cables because after using it I know I'd have a heavy hitting product with balls the size of watermelons - it's overclockable even more than the box itself says it's capable of!

If you don't care about frills or modular cables and want meat and bones like the man you are, then put the Silencer 750W on your short-list, right near the top. From what we've seen so far in this power range - the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W definitely one of the better ones.

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What do these scores mean?