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Power Supply Group Test 2005

Author	Lars-Göran Nilsson
Published	13th Oct 2005
Supplier	Scan
Price	£19.57 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed	£23.00 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price	Click here

Overall

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To us, Silver Power is a brand new brand, so to speak. The SP-400P1B is also the cheapest power supply on test. The 400W rating might seem fairly measly compared to the 600W plus units on test, but this is more than enough if you have a single graphics card.

For once cheap doesn’t mean bad quality or peak rated measurements, the Silver Power is pretty decent considering the money. It’s finished in shiny black paint and it has twin 80mm fans. Oddly enough the 80mm fan is mounted externally, which means that if you have a small case you might have problems with your optical drives hitting the fan and not fitting properly.

The Silver Power supports 20 and 24-pin motherboard connectors and has a +12V connector. Furthermore it has a dedicated Molex connector for older graphics cards and a six-pin PCI Express graphics card power connector. Add to this seven Molex connectors – split between three cables, two of which terminate in floppy connectors – and two SATA power connectors on one cable and you’ve got pretty much everything you would need.

The voltages are all well within spec, with the 12V rail being the most prominent. However, efficiency is not the Silver Powers strong side at higher loads, but again it is well within the specifications. It also passed the 1.5kV Hi-POT test without any problems. The only possible downside is that it is using passive PFC but this is partly what keeps the cost down.

Verdict

An unspectacular power rating but the SP-400P1B tests within spec. Unless you need a high-power PSU the Silver Power SP-400P1B should suffice for your needs and it doesn’t cost a fortune either.

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