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Net SilentMax/Alphacool PSU

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Net SilentMax/Alphacool PSU
 
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By Craig Simms
Jan 10, 2007
Tags: Net | SilentMax | Alphacool | PSU | watercooled

"High current mains, meet liquid cooling. I'm sensitive electronics, and I'd like to welcome you both to the power supply."

Well now we’ve seen it all. Although we’re usually nervous enough about putting water-cooling close to the power supply, now we’re plugging it into it.

The PSU was supplied without tubes or G1/4" locking nuts (despite the picture on the box, which has a completely different mounting block), expecting a custom system to already be installed.

Nicking the appropriate parts from our Cool-Trek Vostok, we set up a circuit, topped up the reservoir, hooked into a PC and flicked the switch.

Pure silence – almost. The Alphacool emits an electronic buzz akin to that of Silverstone PSUs, although once in a case you won’t hear a thing – in fact even from a metre away it’s not discernible from ordinary background noise.

The real problem lies in the vast lack of power connectors, with only two SATA, five molex and one PCI-E. This is completely inappropriate for today’s systems. We’d love to put more stuff in the specs box, but that’s honestly all it has. The 12V EPS cable is also too short, forcing some interesting PSU cabling acrobatics.

At idle the 3.3V, 5V and 12V rails gave 3.35V, 5.02V and 12.00V respectively, while under load this became 3.35V, 5.01V and 11.98V. Pretty uneventful, although it’s the first time in a long time we’ve seen a PSU drop below the 12.00V mark. This is still acceptable, it’s just interesting.

As a final death knell, check out that RRP. A just as quiet fanned Seasonic will set you back at least $200 less.

Unless you absolutely have to have everything in your PC water-cooled, you’d do well to steer clear of the Alphacool PSU. Just understand you’re buying it for looks, and not anything else.

 
Product Info
Specs:
500W; 24 pin; 2x SATA; 1x PCI-E; 5x molex; 1x floppy.
Supplier:
Price when reviewed:
AUD$450
price check*
$5.20 Alphacool Thermal Paste Silver. The syringe suffic
iiBuy (NSW)
$5.45 Alphacool Thermal Paste Silver. The syringe suffices for 3-5 applications. ...
StoneBridge Computing (NSW)
$5.50 Alphacool Thermal Paste Silver. The syringe suffices for 3-5 applications. ...
Computer City (NSW)
$5.83 Alphacool AC-TP Thermal Paste Silver. The syringe suffices for 3-5 applicat...
Online Technology Australia (NSW)
$6.00 Alphacool Thermal Paste / Compund / grease - Silver
UPGRADEit (NSW)
$6.00 AT-AC-TP Alphacool Thermal Paste Silver. The syringe suffices for 3-5 appli...
HB Outlet (NSW)
*Products and prices sourced from staticICE and are in no way associated with Atomic MPC Powered by
 
This article appeared in the January, 2007 issue of Atomic.

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Atomic Magazine

Issue: 107 | December, 2009

Atomic is a magazine aimed squarely at computer enthusiasts, gamers, and serious PC upgraders.

Every month we bring you the latest reviews of new technology and PC components, in depth features on everything from overclocking to console hacking, and gaming previews and interviews.
 
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