Introduction

We would like to thank Coolermaster for supplying the review sample.

Coolermaster didn't jump on the Platinum wagon, yet. Instead they preferred to release a new series, based on their Silent Pro Gold model, which they called Silent Pro Hybrid. The name Hybrid most likely refers to the cooling fan which utilizes silent hydraulic bearings and goes fanless at loads below 200W, if the operating temperature is under 25°C. On top of that, thanks to a provided fan speed controller which can be installed in a 5.25" drive bay, you can adjust the PSU's fan speed and also control the speed of three additional fans. Another highly interesting feature of these new PSUs is the fact that they have an extra 7V rail and integrate two 7V fan ports, so you can connect two fans directly to the PSU and operate them at lower speeds.

Today's review sample is the Silent Pro Hybrid 1050W (or SPH-1050). This is the middle member of the Hybrid series, with the other two members having 1300W and 850W capacity. Briefly SPH-1050 features a fully modular cabling design, is 80 PLUS Gold certified, uses Japan made capacitors for extended lifespan and is ErP Lot6 ready, meaning that it consumes less than 1W power in off-mode. Besides the hybrid fan the PSU is also equipped with a hybrid transformer which improves efficiency thanks to its special design.

Specifications

Efficiency is at Gold levels and the maximum operating temperature is low at only 40°C, but thankfully the unit is equipped with the rarely used Over Temperature Protection. The cooling fan is equipped with silent hydraulic bearings, according to CM and the long warranty shows that the manufacturer has confidence in the reliability of this unit. The price is on the high side so performance has to be equally high for a balanced price/performance ratio. Through our tests we will find this out.


Cooler Master granted the members of the Silent Pro Hybrid series with an extra 7V rail which can deliver up to 1.8A, so it can easily handle two fans. This is the first time that we encounter a PSU that has one rail more than the standard ones. Regarding the other, normal, rails: +12V is delivered through a single rail which can output nearly 1000W of power. The minor rails combined have a maximum power of 150W, more than enough for a modern system and 5VSB is restricted to 3A. In a >1000W PSU we would like to see a stronger 5VSB rail, although 3A will do the trick in most cases.

Cables & Connectors, Power Distribution

The unit has a large number of connectors. It supports up to three high-end VGAs with its six PCIe connectors and twelve SATA drives. The old four pin Molex connectors wisely are restricted to five and there is also one floppy connector for vintage lovers. We find it rather strange that both EPS connectors have 4+4 pins and not only one of them, but this is a minor issue after all. All cables have more than sufficient length but the distance between the PCIe, peripheral and SATA connectors is rather small at only 100 mm, while the ATX spec recommends at least 150 mm. We should also note that besides the ATX connector and the fan control cable, which are all sleeved, all other cables (except of course the 3 pin to 4 pin adapters which consist of only two wires) are ribboned. Finally the ATX connector, along with the EPS/PCIe ones uses thicker 16AWG wires for reduced cable resistance while all other connectors use the normal 18AWG.

Since this PSU features a single +12V rail we do not have anything to comment about its power distribution.

Packaging

The package is quite large and features a simple but overall nice design. On the front there is an angled photo of the unit along with the fan controller and the Silent Pro Hybrid series is highlighted in white fonts, while the capacity description uses purple fonts. In the top right corner we find two badges, one for the Gold efficiency and one for the five year warranty that accompanies the unit. On the rear side there is a brief feature description in several languages and two graphs showing the fan and efficiency curves. The most interest information is shown on one of the two sides where the unit's specifications along with the rail descriptions are listed.