Packaging

The packaging is white and we find a faded picture of the unit on the front, along with the series description and the capacity. In the bottom right corner resides the Platinum efficiency badge, along with the badge for a seven year long warranty.


On one of its sides sits a photo of the unit. A cable-configuration table can be found on the other side of the package.


The rear side of the package reveals interesting info about the PSU. You will find technical specifications, a table that describes the power specifications, and a brief description of the unit's most notable characteristics here. There are also two schemes detailing the fan's speed depending on whether you select silent or normal mode operation. A second scheme explains the operation of the fan-mode switch.

Contents

Once we opened the top flap, the user's manual, along with a card containing some basic info, like the customer service and RMA team contact details, greeted us. Under them resides the PSU, fully protected by two pieces of packing foam. On the right, the space is taken up by a bag holding all modular cables.


The PSU is wrapped in a nice white bag for some extra protection. A nice touch especially if we take into account its high price. The bundle looks poor but includes, besides some Velcro straps, everything that is necessary including several zip ties, a set of thumb screws along with a thick AC power cord (14AWG), and, of course, the user's manual.

Exterior

Like all MK3 units, this PSU is painted white, something that makes it unique since very few PSUs use this color (the only ones that come to mind right now are the NZXT HALE90 units). We are pretty sure that many users out there will fancy a white PSU, especially a high-end one. On the front side, the honeycomb exhaust grill is utilized, and above the AC receptacle we find a small switch that allows the user to toggle between normal and silent operation (fan-less mode at low loads). The unit comes from the factory with the switch set for silent operation. Here we should stress that we would highly appreciate a plain label to explain the operation of the switch. As it is, the user has to read the manual, or the look at the rear side of the packaging to understand the operation of the switch without operating the PSU to check if the fan is spinning.

We meet two nice decals on the sides of the PSU while at the rear side the modular sockets are protected by silicone caps. All native cables are fully sleeved back into the housing, and around the cable exit-hole is a grommet to protect cabling from sharp edges. Finally, the label is installed on the bottom, while we find a classic octagonal fan grill with a Silencer MK3 badge in its center, on top.


The manufacturer chose to install the male connectors on the modular PCB, and the female ones on the main cables. They should be installed the other way around because leaving any unused connectors uncapped, while messing with your system's internals, could cause a short. Nevertheless, it is unlikely anything will happen since the Short Circuit Protection trigger will shut the PSU down. Another problem with the male connectors, installed on the modular PCB, is that they can be damaged easier than the female ones. The repair will, if this happens, be harder than changing/repairing a modular cable. On the other hand, how many times do you plan to plug/unplug the modular cables? Most users usually do this once and don't mess with the PSU again.