Silver Power SP-S850 PSU

Results

One thing is for certain, the power outputs at all voltages are excellent and all are solidly green. We double checked the voltages with a multimeter like always and found they rarely dip more than a fraction beyond the rated values. This was even the case when we loaded the rails to 100 percent to test if the Silver Power can in fact do what it says on the tin.

The PFC was also excellent and the efficiency is consistently above 85 percent, apart from the 100 percent load with 3.3V and 5V weighting test, which is just over 84 percent. Although not exceptional by some of today's standards, it's still very good and the 12V weighted results indicate upwards of 86 percent efficiency.

When considering the audible side of things aren’t quite so rosy. It's certainly not silent in the truest sense of the word; in fact, it was audible at 50 percent load but not intrusive to the environment. At 75 percent load the fan again was clear to hear with air rush and some bearing noise, but again it wasn't overly intrusive. At 100 percent load the fan speed increased significantly and became quite noisy - it was certainly noticeable and shifted a lot of air.

Throughout the testing though the sides and base remained cool - mostly because the size of the case is much larger than PCB and heatsinks it contains - and the air out the back got warm to touch (as you'd hope to expect with proper heat transfer).

It’s evident that Silver Power compensates for the lack of very large heatsinks simply with fan speed to keep things running smoothly and to keep the cost down. The heatsinks are still certainly adequate; they are meatier than very cheap (and often poorly made) unbranded PSUs - you know the type that offers an impossible 800W for £20 - but at the same time the surface area is also certainly not quite as large as other, more expensive power supplies out there. We expect most people won't run this at full power as it can appeal to those who want a big number PSU for very little money, and you do get what you pay for.