- Low Noise Operation
- Power Output Equal to Specification
- Above Average Price
- +3.3v and +5v Lines Share Rail
- Total Power Output of 480W
- Dimensions: 5.9" x 3.39" x 5.51"
- 120mm Dual Ball Bearing Cooling Fan
- Seven 4-pin Molex, Two Floppy, ATX, ATX12V, 6-pin Auxiliary and Two Serial ATA Power Connectors
- ATX 2.03, ATX12V and Serial ATA v1.0 Compliant
- Short Circuit, Over Power, Over Voltage and No Load Protection
- 100,000 Hours @ 25 Degrees Celsuis MTBF
- Two Year Warranty
3/8/04 - Noise has become a fairly major problem with today's computers. As systems reach the limit of what air cooling can accomplish, a great number of high speed fans are needed to keep them cool, but they also bring noise. The StarTech.com Silent 480W ATX power supply is designed to help reduce the noise generated by the computers power supply.
The ATXPOW480HS Silent 480W power supply reduces noise by the use of a single internal 120mm dual berring cooling fan. This is different from the traditional two fan design. In addition to this, the 120mm fan runs at speeds ranging from 750 to 1000 rpms to help reduce the amount of vibration transmitted through the case. While this doesn't truly achieve Silent operation as the name implies, the noise is lower than that of the components inside the computer to give it effective silence.
Overall power output of the +3.3v, +5v and +12v lines provides a very generous 473 watts. With the -5v, -12V and +5VSB lines, the actual output is slightly higher than the rated 480W. One disappointing aspect is that the +3.3v and +5v lines share a common rail inside the power supply. This tends to cause a bit more fluctuation in the output along these lines which was noted in testing. Output voltages tended to range around 4-5% lower than the rated output which is good but not as tight as some other manufacturers.
