Closer look
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As you can see this is partially modular PSU. Meaning it has detachable cables. This allows for a lot less clutter and very flexible management. You can choose which cables to use and how many of them. “Partially” means that motherboard and CPU cables are still permanently attached. This is usually a good idea because it provides better stability and less resistance to the CPU and motherboard. Some may argue that these plugs may have tendency to dust up or even have wear and tear depending on how often it’s used (plug in and out) but these things are so insignificant that it should not pose any problems.
Installation and Testing
With easy cable management it wasn’t hard to install. I do wish that the wires were rounded instead of flat so it would be easier to move around but that’s not a big issue. The provided rubber pads are a little awkward to put on. They have a tendency to pop off from the lock points and the actually rubber is not very tight fitting. It was nearly impossible to put in the PSU into the case without those rubbers popping off. I guess if you do manage to keep them on and have the PSU locked in they can be of help. Fortunately, I had never had a problem with PSU rattle. I think these additional rubbers are in theory a good idea but are more trouble than they’re worth. They need to be replaced with something much tighter fit around the perimeter of the PSU.
I’ve tested the PSU to see how much wattage it draws while in stand-by and it draws 3 watts. This means if you keep it in 24/7 it will only amount to 3 dollars per year on your electricity bill. This is straying away from the ultimate goal of 1 watt but still very good. As expected all rail’s did not fluctuate in voltage much when tested with the multimeter. One thing to note here is that it will not fluctuate because it is the switching mode power supply’s job to uphold correct voltage. Unless the PSU is completely broken it will have pretty steady voltage across the board at all times.
Conclusion
The Silent Pro M lives up to it’s name, it is as silent as they come. With my ear right beside the fan all I heard was the crickets outside my window. This PSU is quite and doesn’t produce a lot of heat. Being partially modular it’s easy to avoided extra wires hanging everywhere. Don’t expect this to support flagship video cards but it has enough wattage to support a lot of high end computer systems and do it efficiently and reliably.
Ilya is THE MAN!!