Efficiency
Under full load, the efficiency of 87.3% is the same as the Fortron unit, while at medium and lower loads, it is a mere 1% worse than its competitor.
The direct comparison using our fictional 250 watt system showed marginal differences, with the 87% output of the Silverstone Nightjar is again on a par. The biggest differences could be seen with our low power system. Here, the Silverstone converter performed at 71.5%, almost 5% below the Zen 400 unit.
Even in standby mode, the Silverstone unit couldn’t do any better. Without load, the power supply uses 2.57 watts, probably due to the LEDs and their controller. Even with load on the standby cable, the result is pretty unimpressive. The power supply draws almost 6 watts of power in order to make 2.5 watts of output available. The result is a marginal efficiency of 42.7%.
The Silverstone power supply is a fair bit more expensive, priced online around $200.
- Power ,
- Supply ,
- Efficiency
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Another great article. But again, please UK Toms - is it difficult to insert UK costs when you copy and paste from the US site that only seems to do any work now a days? UK Toms used to be so good...
efficiency at 35 watts?
why would one buy a 400 watt psu for a low power system?
how about testing a 100 or 200 watt unit???
Agree with Josh. If you build a HTPC with the current HDTV IGPs then why would you use one of these as opposed to a 120W picopsu which is $50 - a quater the price, will fit in the tiniest case and is more efficient at very low loads?
Hold on, the Silverstone is more expensive, does a poor job at regulating the supply at high loads (3.15V on a 3.3V line is not good, it's bloody awful), is less efficient and is a gas guzzler in standby compared to the other supply on test and yet the Silverstone wins??????? Is it me or is the only thing going for the Silverstone that it is truly silent (especially when it turns off due to overheating). How the hell does the Silverstone come out on top?
I have zen300 and I must say I wish I never bought it, that high pitch noise it a nightmare, it is times more annoying then average speed 120mm fan in ordinary PSU