PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad CF-Edition

Final thoughts

In total the PCP&C Silencer 750 Quad had an impressive showing in our tests. What we have seen until now still has surprised us. PCP&C has been around a long time, but until now they never made it over the big lake to Europe. They will clearly have a big advantage now with OCZ and their well established sales channels.

The build quality is very good except for the flaking paint-job. That can be avoided by getting the non-CrossFire version, but the red color is very eye-catching and may be one more reason for some users to choose this PSU.


Since this is our second review we only have one power supply to compare with, but the Silverstone OP650 already had a very good efficiency level which has been topped by the Silencer 750 Quad. With more reviews to come we will have to wait and see how this table evolves in the future, but the PCP&C efficiency result is definitely going to be hard to beat. The standby efficiency has been good as well and it used only 0.8W without any load. With increasing load on the 5Vsb rail it showed us excellent results from up to 85% efficiency.

From the performance side the results were also excellent. The 3.3V and 12V rails are stable under any temperature and only the 5V rail has any minor flaws. Even these flaws aren't show stoppers, as the results are all well within the specifications. The 750 Quad is able to deliver its specified output, though with the voltage dropping we had slightly less than 750W. Since all voltages remain within spec and the PSU isn't bursting at the seams, there's clearly room for more.

In the area of naming, the Silencer falls a bit short when we look at the real measured noise levels. It is not a noisy power supply as long as the load remains under about 80% and ambient temperatures are below 30°C. The same holds true for most other power supplies, but then most of those don't put "Silence" in their name. To compare this unit with units that use 12cm fans we definitely see some shortcomings, as in our subjective opinion as well as in test results most power supplies with 12cm fans generate much less noise than the Silencer.

The idea of using a big gap between the fan and the heatsinks in order to reduce turbulence sounds very good initially, but if you look at the acoustic results it doesn't appear all that great. We would even go further and say that the gap doesn't bring much of a difference at all since you hear the fan noise, just like in every other power supply. So what does this small gap bring with it? First the housing needs to be extended, which means that the price for the case increases, the power supply is a bit heavier, and you pay for slightly higher transport costs. For the end-user it might not be a significant difference but if you calculate prices in terms of mass-production it may not be such a great idea. There's also a concern that the extra length may make the PSU less suitable for use in some cases, so users will definitely want to make sure that their intended case can accommodate a large power supply.

High connectivity is given through the various cables that offer differing lengths. Many other manufacturers also do this and it pays off. The user has more flexibility in working with cables and connectors and there are enough connectors that we would be hard pressed to imagine a scenario where an adapter or splitter would be necessary. This is also the first time we have seen a 14AWG power cord delivered with a power supply, which is just one more indication of PCP&C commitment to quality. With increasing power the cables need to be thicker, so now we just have to see how much the power outlet can provide.

With the results we have seen in this review PCP&C lives up to every advertised feature, and even the noise levels turned out to be real - with the above qualifications. The Silencer 750 Quad isn't like most other companies that advertise an incredible 17dB(A) only to deliver 27dB(A) at best. Given the overall quality and performance, the price of around $199 USD in the States and 150 EUR in Europe make this power supply a fair deal, especially for those looking at running a high-end system with multiple graphics cards.

Update: We've got word from OCZ that we've tested one of the first samples of this power supply and thus the paint job was done by covering the normal black paint. The paint job of the final version which is available in the shops will not flake off like our model.