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Power Supply Summary 2007 - The Best of the Best

 by Christoph Katzer on December 20, 2007 1:00 AM EST
38 Comments | Add A Comment
38 Comments

Power Supplies of the Year

We've tested about 60 power supplies this year (not all of which were included in published reviews), giving us insight on the manufacturers behind the products. Along the way, we saw some good and not-so-good power supplies. Thankfully, although we saw some quality issues at times, we did not encounter any of the flashes or explosions we have seen in prior years, and we hope that trend will continue! AnandTech's Power Supplies of the Year awards recognize our top picks from today's market for well-built, high-performance power supplies.

Seasonic S12II
The AnandTech Bronze Editor's Choice award goes to the Seasonic S12II. After testing the Seasonic S12II, the Energy Plus and the X900, we came away impressed with Seasonic in general; they stand out as one of the last manufacturers to build a top-quality power supply at modest wattage ratings. The latest version of the S12II is available from 330 watts on up, and remains one of the only units we can wholeheartedly endorse at these output levels. Besides excellent connectivity and a solid warranty, you can expect Seasonic's trademark near-silent operation, typically below 25 db(A) even under higher loads, or possibly a little more for the 500 watts unit at full load, making the S12II particularly attractive for office / general-purpose computers and HTPCs. Overall, Seasonic produces a very good product, even at the lower end of the output scale.

 

Antec TruePower Quattro 850 and OCZ ProXStream 1000
We award the AnandTech Silver Editor's Choice jointly to two power supplies, the Antec TruePower Quattro 850 and the OCZ ProXStream 1000.

 

AnandTech recently reviewed the Antec TruePower Quattro in both 850-watt and 1000-watt variants. The Quattro delivered very good performance in our testing, with efficiency exceeding 80% under normal loads all the way to full output, and peaking at 87%. We primarily recommend the 850-watt model, since the 1000-watt unit has the same specs except for an additional 72 watts on the combined-12V rating. At a savings of about $30 over the 1000-watt version, the 850-watt unit is still ample for almost any high-end system.

The OCZ ProXStream also earns AnandTech's Silver Editor's Choice award, based on its very clean, stable DC outputs and its 80%+ efficiency at all normal loads up to its full output, peaking at 86%. Silence isn't the ProXStream's strong suit, with noise levels starting at 35dB(A), but at only 150mm deep, it's the shortest-depth 1000-watt unit on the market, allowing it to fit where no other high-end unit can be used.

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 QUAD
The AnandTech Gold Editor's Choice award goes to the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 QUAD. It was one of the first units we reviewed in 2007, and remains the best overall power supply we've tested. In addition to top-notch performance, the Silencer 750 QUAD is equipped with a full range of connectivity options (including four PEG connectors, two of which convert to the 8-pin standard), and ample wattage for nearly any high-end system, including SLI or Crossfire configurations. As a nitpick, we found that the Silencer 750 QUAD's fan speeds may ramp up more aggressively than necessary; under worst-case conditions (50°C intake temperature), the fan did hit 4200rpm, resulting in noise levels of 45dB(A). At normal room temperatures, however, the Silencer 750 QUAD did not exceed 30dB(A) at normal loads.

 

In the final analysis, if you want the best power supply available for your new SLI or Crossfire rig, AnandTech's top recommendation goes to the Silencer 750 QUAD. Incidentally, the retail packaging for the Silencer series is getting a facelift, replacing the traditional no-nonsense white PC Power & Cooling box with a more attractive one. The Silencer 750 QUAD is available in black and bright red, the latter of which is the Crossfire-certified model we reviewed.



Conclusion

Looking back on our 2007 power-supply tests, we think it's unfortunate that more companies aren't following Seasonic's lead in developing top-notch aftermarket power supplies in the 300-400W range. Our 1000-watt power-supply roundup illustrated that there are many decent high-end power supplies, but we have not seen the same widespread quality or performance among lower-output aftermarket units. We feel that the users of 750W+ units aren't the only ones who can benefit from a high-quality power supply. Perhaps next year's Power Supplies of the Year article will tell a different tale.

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  • JimK - Thursday, December 20, 2007 - link

    Not saying its recommended, and I'm sure I'm on the ragged edge, but I'm running a 350w ps. My hardware is:

    Asus P5N-E SLI (Nvidia 650i)
    Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 3.2ghz
    2 gig GSkill DDR8-800 4-4-3-5
    XFX 8800GT AlphaDog
    2 x 320gig Seagate 7200.10
    Samsung H-S203B
    Rosewill RCR-102 Card Reader

    I've been playing the demo of UT 3 at 1600x1200 all the visual details turned up without any problems. I usually play 20 minutes at a crack but have played stretches over an hour.

  • Inkjammer - Thursday, December 20, 2007 - link

    Y'know, what's sad... the first thought I had looking at the pic of power supplies stacked one upon another: "Yep, and it's going to take that much juice to power the nextgen GeForce card, too."

    But in all seriousness, these articles on power supplies have really helped me build better, more energy efficient computers. Even with my GTX cards.

  • Hypernova - Thursday, December 20, 2007 - link

    I got an Antech P182 case and I'm looking for some XFire PSU for it. PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 QUAD looked hopeful but after some measuring around my case it seems its 8 pin EPS cable isn't long enough. Is there any PSU with long cables and has 2 8 pin PCI-E connectors?

  • blackcurtain - Thursday, January 17, 2008 - link

    pcpower used to custom build connectors. they would build you a PSU with whatever connectors and length you want for an extra fee.
    however I don't know if they still offer this since merging with OCZ.

  • richensw - Thursday, December 20, 2007 - link

    I have the Antec P182 and I use the Seasonic M12 700w.

    All the motherboard (EVGA 680i) power cables go around the back (behind the mobo) of the case and through the holes at the top and plug in fine.

    It also has 2 modular PCI-E outputs, and each cable splits into two PCI-E connectors, so that's 4 in total.

  • n0nsense - Thursday, December 20, 2007 - link

    "The Corsair TX750W has the following connectors: 20+4-pin motherboard, 4+4-pin ATX/EPS, four 6+2-pin PCI Express, eight 4-pin molex, two 4-pin floppy, and eight Serial ATA interfaces. The four 8-pin PCI Express connectors (that are also compatible with 6-pin PCI-E connectors) is enough for four graphics cards or running two ATI Radeon HD 2900XT graphics cards. These power cables are long enough for even the largest of ATX cases, such as the SilverStone Temjin TJ10. All of these power supply cables are also sleeved."

    http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&...">http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&...

  • Hypernova - Thursday, December 20, 2007 - link

    That looks interesting but the 8pin appears to be a convert from the 6pin not a native 8 pin. Isn't that going to affect the output a bit?

  • HOOfan 1 - Thursday, December 20, 2007 - link

    Look into the Corsair TX750. I don't know about it specifically, but I know a bunch of people complain about the other Corsairs having cables that are TOO long.

  • gaakf - Thursday, December 20, 2007 - link

    I think it should be mentioned that Seasonic makes power supplies for Antec and Corsair as well. Corsair's line of power supplies is excellent and Antec's 380W Earthwatts power supply offers an unbeatable price/quiet performance ratio at $30 on newegg. (promo EMC1213CASE01)

  • JEDIYoda - Monday, December 24, 2007 - link

    Don`t make too much out of that...
    Some of these companyes hasd there own engineers and solely choose Seasonic based on qualilty of workmanship!!

    Just because Seasonic is the OEM does not make that a Seasonic PSU!!

    Peace~!
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