Newest passive PSUs: actually silent, actually decent

Devin Coldewey

Devin Coldewey is a Seattle-based writer and photographer. He has written for the TechCrunch network since 2007. Some posts he’d like you to read: The Dangers of Externalizing Knowledge | Generation i | Surveillant Society | Choose Two | Frame Wars | The User’s Manifesto | Our Great Sin His personal website is coldewey.cc. → Learn More

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008


I might have to pick one of these up. A good PSU is essential for a good system; people tend to buy cheap and then are surprised when they’re loud, inefficient, and breaky. Well, here’s a little comparison of two of the newest silent PSUs on the block and it looks like (spoiler warning) the Silverstone Nightjar 450 is the pick of the litter. At 450 watts, it’s not going to run any Quadfire setups, but it is actually totally silent even under heavy load. The Fortron Zen 400 is more efficient at low load, but apparently makes a whining noise when stressed. They’re both a little pricier than, well, loud PSUs, but I know I was happy when I updgraded from the ol’ bargain-bin unit.

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