Performance (40% of the final score) - on to the scoring, and this is not going to be very hard. Why? Because PC Power and Cooling knows just how to pick a good OEM, that's why. This unit is extremely powerful, very stable, and an absolute boss when it comes to ripple suppression. It's how it should be, for a top notch unit from this brand. Voltage regulation is the only area where it's lacking, and it only missed the mark there by a 0.6% average in the hot box. As such, there's only half a point here that can be pulled. The rest is just outstanding. Ripple suppression was nothing less than excellent, it passed for 80 Plus Platinum, and there were no problems, major or minor. 9.5.
Functionality (20% of the final score) - being semi modular is an automatic half point deduction. I like my units fully modular, and I don't care who knows it. In addition to this, I think I'll remove another half point for the extra CPU connector in the hardwired cables. Yeah, there's only so much room on the modular side for an extra connector there, but I don't believe it's impossible. But, I'm stopping there because there's nothing else to whine about. There are lots of peripheral connectors, and not too many of them are for old legacy devices. There are enough PCI-E connectors to power three video cards. And finally, you gotta love the ability to kick the fan into semi-fanless mode as needed. 9.
Value (20% of the final score) - Newegg's selling this model right now for $349.99. Unfortunately, it's up against some strong competition at lower prices. If you don't need the platinum efficiency, the Rosewill 1300W Lightning unit, also based on a monster 80 Plus Gold Superflower platform, is a full hundred bucks cheaper. Going up to the Platinum level, the Enermax Platimax 1200W is also cheaper, at $309.99. But the real competition comes, if you can believe it, from Thermaltake in the TPX-1375M. That is a unit that regulates almost as well as this one, pulled down Platinum numbers itself, and gives you even more power than this unit does. That said, it is not the ripple suppression beast that the Silencer Mk III is, so that needs to be considered as well. So how am I going to score this? I gave the Thermaltake a 7, but that was before the price came down some on it. I think the bottom line here is this... 80 Plus Platinum units right now don't offer the best value at this power level. There are not enough of them out there. There are quite a few Gold rated units for much cheaper that do as well or better in performance than even this unit does. So, I'm going to do an 8 here today. I don't want to be too hard on these Platinum units, because the prices will go down, but at the same time I don't want to let them off easy, either.
NOTE: It seems we have a little bit of a time difference issue here. I normally check prices on reviews prior to kicking them live on the site. Today when I checked the price at 7AM EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) it was $349.99 as OW had listed. Well it seems that NewEgg must be doing their updating from the PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) zone. After having been shown that the price was $299.99 just a little while ago. I feel that we need to make an adjustment to be fair. The $299.99 price makes the Silencer MK III the cheapest Platinum rated 1200W unit, and even puts it in the price range with some of the Gold units available. With that being said, I'm going to bump the score to a 10. - Tazz
Build Quality (20% of the final score) - as always, the build quality out of the Superflower factories is almost at the top of the food chain. It's not quite there, but real close. I do like those modular connectors, long as they may be. They have a nice, solid feel to them. Half a point off for general soldering. 9.5.
Performance
9.5
Functionality
9
Value
10
Build Quality
9.5
Total Score
9.5
Summary
It's been a while since I last reviewed a PC Power and Cooling Silencer unit, and I'd have to say it's been a pleasure to have a look at this one. No longer are these units cursed by a loud 80mm screamer of a fan... instead they now use big, powerful, and more importantly quiet 140mm fans. And what's even better is, you can put this unit into semi-fanless mode and shut it off at low loads altogether. PC Power and Cooling has a winner, here.
The Good:
outstanding ripple suppression
very good voltage regulation
nice, sturdy modular connectors
seven year warranty
selectable semi-fanless mode
14 gauge power cord
da price came down
The Bad:
nice, sturdy, long modular connectors - could be an issue for some cases
The Mediocre:
Wolf's out of Cheetos.
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