Introduction

We would like to thank PC Power & Cooling for supplying the review sample.

PC Power & Cooling is a legendary name in the power supplies field with many years of successful presence. The two main features that highly characterize, at least till recently, PC P&C products are the rear 80 mm cooling fan and the non modular design. Although they ditched the 80 mm fan in favor of a top mounted 120 mm one in the Silencer MK II units they never presented a modular PSU before. This is going to change with the new MK III Silencers where PC P&C totally breaks their tradition and finally presents a PSU with both top mounted fan and modular design used.

The Silencer MK III units promise high-performance and professional grade power. They use exclusively Japanese 105°C capacitors, their continuous output is rated at 50°C ambient temperature, 80 PLUS Bronze certified and finally a five year warranty backs them up. They come in three versions with 400W, 500W and 600W capacity and all feature a single +12V rail. In today’s review we will have the chance to test the strongest Silencer MK III unit (MK3S600) so let’s cut to the chase and find out if these new units will bring a fresh air to PC P&C products and boost their sales among regular users, who seek for a reliable PSU but with a modern design.

Specifications

The unit is 80 PLUS Bronze certified and it can deliver its full power even at 50°C, something that ATX spec recommends. The available protections are only the essential ones with OCP (Over Current Protection) missing since in a single railed PSU practically it has no sense. The cooling fan uses ball-bearings so we expect it to have a long lifespan and along with the five year warranty it will grant you with long peace of mind. Finally the dimensions of the unit are the standard ones so it will be easily accommodated in any normal case.


There is a single +12V rail which can deliver about the 90% of the PSU's max rated capacity. The minor rails are also strong enough with 130W max combined power while 5VSB has the minimum allowed power, for today's standards at least.

Cables & Connectors, Power Distribution

Despite its relatively small capacity, since PC P&C PSUs are primarily targeted at server systems, the unit is equipped with two EPS connectors. Unfortunately the second EPS connector dropped the number of PCIe connectors to only two. Also the number of peripheral connectors is somehow low and we would like to see one or two more here. Regarding cable length the 24pin ATX cable would be better with 50 mm more while the PCIe and EPS cables are long enough. The distance between SATA connectors is sufficient but peripheral connectors are a little close to each other; additional 30 mm would do the trick. Finally all connectors use 18AWG gauges, the recommended by ATX spec wire size.

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

Packaging

The unit comes in a small, white box. On its front there is a transparent photo of the PSU along with the series name written in big fonts. In the front bottom corner we find two badges, one for the efficiency rating and one for the five year warranty that accompanies the unit. As usual on the rear side of the packaging we find much more useful info about the PSU's characteristics and features. Finally on one of the two sides there is an illustration which shows the available connectors and all cable lengths. All in all the package looks nice although it doesn't utilize fancy graphics and vivid colors. After all the unit does not focus on gaming systems.