Silverstone Decathlon DA700 Super Silent Power Supply
by Christoph Katzer on April 22, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Package and Appearance
Silverstone's package design and the power supply itself always come in black. We would not expect to get a red power supply soon, similar to those from PC Power & Cooling for example. In the box we found the standard stuff like screws, a manual, power cord, and a high quality bag in which the user can store unused cables.
The power supply is quite long for a 700W unit and after opening it up we will see why this is the case. The fan is located quite close to the back, which is unusual for power supplies as now there is a big part of the power supply inside that will not get as much direct airflow. The installed fan is 120mm, which is also common with Silverstone even though many of the competitors have changed to larger fans. The problem is that there are quite a lot of patents on larger fans and Silverstone might not want to pay royalties, especially when a 120mm fan is doing just fine.
The whole rear is covered with small holes which allows for very good air circulation as the exhausted air has plenty of space to get out of the power supply. On the other side - which will be inside of the PC case once the power supply is installed - we find the modular cable system. It sticks out a bit since Silverstone designed it with a small box there. We will see later that the jacks for the cable management are very long, so Silverstone chose to cover the jacks with this small box. A detailed description of the jacks is visible on the bottom of the power, and it will remain visible after installation. This makes sense of course; nobody would be able to see the sticker if it were on top of the casing (except for in cases with a bottom-mounted PSU).
The harnesses are partly sleeved with a black mesh that keeps the mess of cables tidy. All of the cables are detachable, but we have to mention a flaw we noticed at the connection between PSU and cables. The jacks feel quite loose and move around when you attempt to detach cables. You will need to press down on the little lever at the connector, which is not always easily accessible, and this makes it difficult to unplug a harness. Silverstone should try to improve this area in the next version.
There are sufficient connectors on the harnesses, but there could have been maybe one more on each. There are currently three connectors on each SATA and Molex. The distance between the connectors might work in some cases, but normal systems have their hard drives much closer than 10" apart. We cannot see a benefit in having such a large gap between the connectors. There are four 6-pin PEG connectors for a decent SLI/CF setup and an additional 8-pin PEG connector. Only a 3-way 8800 Ultra setup would require additional PEG connectors at present.
The Fan
The installed fan responsible for cooling this unit is a 120mm so called rifle bearing fan from Protechnic with the part number MGA12012HF-025. The fan control keeps this fan at a nice maximum of 1600RPM during operation. Even at maximum speed, the noise from this PSU will be quite low.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
20 Comments
View All Comments
Stefan555 - Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - link
Yes Chris, the physical layout of the PCB show there are four rails. It doesnt mean each rail has a limiter. Whitout limiters = SINGLE rail unit.Kanchenjunga - Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - link
You'd think that somebody who just reviewed the single 12V rail Impervio made EliteXStreams with 5 rails printed on the PCB and color coded wires would have this figured out by now. How come you guys don't do the OCP test that your testing method article talks about?Christoph Katzer - Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - link
I guess that sentence where I mention the four rails has been just misleading as I didnt mean to say it's a four 12V rail PSU. I will change that for the sake of a good sleep tonight :)MrOblivious - Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - link
What was the OCP set at for each of the 4 12v rails?Stefan555 - Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - link
"The rail specification is rather obfuscated, requiring several perusals and the use of a calculator before you actually understand what you're reading."It's simple, what we are reading is the label, the label tells you it has an capability to put out 58A on one single rail on +12V (no matter the reality one or four rails). It also tells you the psu has the capability to put out 180W or combined on +3.3 and +5V. I can't see what is so obfuscated?
"The DA700 comes with a single 12V rail rated for up to 58A which is almost 700W already. Obviously, that load is not possible with the combined power of all three main rails; doing the necessary math, if you put a load of 180W on the 3.3V and 5V rails, that leaves 520W for the 12V rail, or 43A."
On which psu can you take the maximum combined output on +3.3V and +5V and add it with the maximum capability on +12V and get anywhere near the total specified wattage on the psu? None.
There is no psu where you can draw the maximum output on +3.3V and +5V combined and +12V at the same time.
This unit is not the only psu where the combined output on +12V is so high its more a theoretical maximum output. Other units has even less left for +3.3V and +5V. But that is pure theory.
If now the unit has four rails on +12V, well that is a bit of lame of Silvertone not to tell it. I agree. But still, it has nothing to do with the readability of the label. Besides it is mentioned later in the review.
Calin - Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - link
"The problem is that there are quite a lot of patents on larger fans"How the hell could a larger fan be patented? What kind of backward country is that?
Christoph Katzer - Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - link
The patent is a power supply cooled by a 140mm fan. That's why other manufacturers (other than CWT the patent owner) need to make use of 135mm or 120mm fans. In the U.S you get patents for all kinds of stuff...masher2 - Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - link
Sounds like an urban myth to me..MrOblivious - Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - link
SuperFlower has been using 140mm fan's for years, indeed IIRC before CWT.strikeback03 - Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - link
Time for someone to make a 141mm fan