PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW-SR @ [H]

[C'DaleRider]

I think part of the issue here is that, as brutal as the review is, it doesn't take into account how long you're stuck with a PSU.

Frankly I'm shocked you don't ding companies for modular cables, there are problems with this. Granted you aren't going to see them right away, but wait two years. I'd never use a PSU with modular cables.

So, what exactly is going to be failing in the two years you assume a modularized power supply will suffer a failure from? The cable connection itself? Well, I suppose so....if one is constantly plugging and unplugging in the cable connections at the power supply on a daily basis, but admittedly that is a completely unrealistic way the VAST majority of people use their power supplies. Most, if not all, power supplies are treated as a set and forget piece of hardware...set the wiring up, hardware up, and away they go. From that point, they're rarely touched except for the cleaning that some do......and unfortunately not enough clean out their ps's enough. It's a rare happening to completely unplug everything or anything, except for upgrades to hardware or cases. Otherwise, set and forget.

And if you are so concerned and against plugs on your cables, aren't you equally concerned about the connectors on your motherboard, video card, hard drives, optical drives, etc., also failing in that two year period? They're also a type of modular connection.....just at the other end of the cable. They supply the same voltage and current at that end, esp. the 24-pin main connector, the 4 or 8-pin +12V ATX connector, the PCI-e connectors, etc.

So, in essence, you are worried about one end of a cable's connectors and not another....even though both ends do exactly the same thing......move power from the power supply to the motherboard or other peripherals in the computer.

How can you honestly and with a straight face slam a power supply with a modular connection at the supply end of its cables and not worry about the same sort of connector at the computer end of its cables? Certainly you cannot say because one set of connectors is better designed or doesn't move more than the other set of connectors.....that's just utter nonsense.

What the heck do you think companies like Seasonic are using to build their modular connections....PlayDough, paper clips, and paper mache? Geez, get real.

Instead, I sense a lot of FUD swallowing and little hypocrisy with that belief......

Cheers!

 

[Super Nade]

If you noticed the specs for this unit are relatively relaxed compared to the other Turbocool units, be it with regulation or efficiency. I believe the PCB is the same as the old 850 SSI, which would make this a tweaked unit. That is not such a bad thing after all and it has been done before and is a popular practice with newer designs. Perhaps PCP&C have hit the limits of this design. I'll be getting my hands on one soon, so maybe Spectre and I can compare notes. Somebody mentioned about PCP quality taking a nosedive with OCZ acquiring them but I'm not sure that will happen. The once scarce Evostream platform units are (right up there with the Turbocool's in terms of build quality) are becoming more widely available.

 

[Hurin]

I'd never buy the 1KW-SR. From other reviews, I learned that it was too loud, inefficient, and that there are less expensive, quieter, and more efficient PSUs available (1200W Toughpower is at the top of my list).

So, the conclusion of this review is warranted.

What is not warranted is the verbage surrounding such inconsequential things as:

However, the unit we received completely lacked a user manual of any type which is absolutely unacceptable when a power supply costs $500.

shoddy packaging that included using generic rubber bands and no desiccant. These kinds of issues are just sloppy, unprofessional, and seriously disappointing from a company with such a well regarded reputation peddling such an expensive product.

Emphasis is mine. Some of that comes off as over-the-top hyperbole. Seems like a lot of heat there over something as minor as rubber bands. It's as though [H] is going out of its way to say: "Look at how hard we can be on the big boys!" Such criticizms would probably be taken more seriously if the points were surrounded by a bit more temperate language.

The language used above, especially "shoddy packaging" is especially strange considering just a sentence later, we're told:

That said, the box and packaging was some of the most heavy duty we have ever seen and should protect the unit no matter if you were shipping it around the globe via dog sled.

While not a contradiction. . . it's odd to me that the lack of rubber bands is derided and bemoaned quite a bit more. . . dramatically (?) than the overall packaging is praised. The emphasis seems out of whack. What is more important to the consumer?

This just seems like. . . well. . . grousing. There was enough "wrong" with the aging unit to give it a poor review based on value without resorting to what comes off as just sorta "picking on them" for minor details and essentially making mountains out of mole-hills with over-the-top rhetoric.

 

[drlava]

So, what exactly is going to be failing in the two years you assume a modularized power supply will suffer a failure from..... .... I sense a lot of FUD swallowing and little hypocrisy with that belief......
Cheers!

My thoughts exactly. The plug on a modular/molex connector is spec'ed at 1.5 milliohms max. At 20A, this would create a voltage drop of .03V.. which is negligible compared to the regulation characteristics of the PCP&C unit, and pretty much every power supply on the market. Even counting oxidation over time, if the modular connector is designed as well as the old 'molex' (which itself is an outdated plug, so the modular connectors are probably even better) there should be no issue at all. If the plugs are gold plated, there will be NO corrosion/increased resistance over time, but the PCP&C molex plugs aren't gold plated, so they can't be THAT concerned with long term corrosion, can they? The answer is no, it's negligible, but the concept is passable marketing ploy.

The modular argument, IMO, is FUD, and it's ironic that they say manufacturers implemented it to save cost, when it probably costs MORE to implement to gain the increased flexibility. The only argument against modular connectors is that the back of the unit isn't available for airflow vents, but that can be designed around.

Same thing with the 120mm fans statement on their site.. they make a general claim that the fan takes more space and so 'surely' the electronic components in the case are forced to be smaller and as such they can handle less power and radiate less heat. The problem with that argument is that with better quality design or components, the internal components CAN be smaller and more efficient at the same time. The use of three smaller supplies in this particular unit, as the review shows, is inefficient. Not only does the unit have to exhaust 280W at full 1000W load versus 264W of the silverstone olympia, but it has to do it through a much more cramped internal space, restricting airflow.
Despite their 'myths' statement that two cooling fans are useless or a stopgap measure, I'd say that if they had used two slower, higher-bladed fans in their unit, the same pressure drop and air flow could be acheived with much less noise. But two fans are more expensive than one.

Perhaps the next myth that they expose will be one of their own.

Ok, I'm off the horse, semi-technical, misleading marketing claims really get me.

 

[C'DaleRider]

. . . it's odd to me that the lack of rubber bands is derided and bemoaned quite a bit more. . . dramatically (?) than the overall packaging is praised. The emphasis seems out of whack. What is more important to the consumer?

This just seems like. . . well. . . grousing.

Well, he was complaining about the use of rubber bands, not their lack of use. Instead, I think the reviewer was more expecting the plastic locking type of closure that some other upper-end power supply mfgr's use to bundle their cables. Of course, typically, twist-ties are the most frequently used item to bundle cables. And I hate those almost as much as rubber bands.

I think the lack of desiccant in the package is a more serious error on PCP&C's part. At the price point these power supplies are sold, they will tend to sit on shelves longer than more moderately priced units. So who knows how long they will sit on a warehouse shelf, unused, exposed to high humidity (what we see in the South), and no way to keep them dry internally. Not saying anything untoward will happen, but to save a few pennies by not including it is just another sign of unnecessary penny-pinching in a unit that one should expect to have no compromises made.....esp. at the price one pays for it.

 

[Bbq]

Disappointed in th review ? No, I am not!!
You need to consider who is doing the reviewing as well as there past comments and opinions on the PC Power & Cooling line well before they got there hands on one!!

Yes, you do; You can't have someone that's a fan boy, or a hater. The testing methodology used by Paul is the same as with any other power supply. There is little to no bias.

Needless to say we all knew they were not quiet!! so whats new??

False advertising. They SAID it was quiet. It wasn't. It was so loud, Paul had to leave the room during tests. It drowned out the SM8800, and IIRC, that's a 55dba fan.

Most people know that PC Power & Cooling has useds teapo caps forever almost.
Yet if you go to a site like www.badcaps.comyou will need to search but a member of there team put it this way - teapo caps are just fine if they are ventilated properly!! Yet teapo caps on motherboards is a completely different animal.
you will see there stance on teapo caps is very simply put.....there is nothing wrong with teapo caps when used in a PSU that has proper ventilation.

It's not that they're bad in power supplies; it's that for $500, you expect it to use something better.

Sure every company has a few lemons but to criticize the company for using Teapo caps is just plain amateurish!! In fact you could say the review was searching for things that could be listed as wrong with this unit.....

Paul has done this with every power supply he's reviewed to date; It's standard procedure. Critisizing a company for using teapo is fair game; The cost of high quality Japanese capacitors would not cut into their margins, at the price they're selling it at.

You guys at ]HardOCP really need to get your act together as far as criticizing the Teapo caps used in most all PC Power & Cooling Units!!

They're hardly top shelf components either, and you will find that information at Badcaps as well. That's the point being made - for $500, there's no reason not to go with the high quality Japanese components in high quality server grade units like this.

It was a well thought out review and I will give you this it is a 2 year old unit and YES there are most likely other brands out there now that could be as good.....but lets sit back and see a few years from now!!

A 2 year old unit? It was purchased recently (like, within a week or two). Blame PCP&C for not replacing it with a more recent product; Paul just reviews.

The manual issue at best is laughable if not pathetic on the reviewers part....
Most people using PC Power & Cooling PSU`s are not your everyday 13yr old looking to get a industrial grade power supply!!
None of my 3 PC Power & Cooling units came with a "manual" and the box was almost as plain as plain could be....except for some red lettering..

A manual (at least one of any worth that is) doesn't just give you instructions for the install of your PSU. It gives you MTBF info, hold up time, overshoot, inrush current, rise time, PG signal characteristics, OVP min and maximums, storage and operation conditions and some will list the OCP limits per rail and other niceties. If I buy something I expect to get a manual with it, period. You don't buy a car and not get a manual with it or buy an appliance and not get a manual and even your vaunted EVGA products come with a manual. Just because you're of the mindset that "real men don't need manuals" it doesn't make it so. I RTFM every time I build a PC and out of at least 300 builds I've yet to have a PC not work upon first boot.

Finally you don`t do a review and then ding the PS PSU maker for what they advertise.....
Reviews are based on the unit itself NOT there advertising!!

They advertise something, and then the tests show that it can't do that, or it doesn't do it as well as it's advertising. That's Misleading advertising.

As was pointed out earlier any PSU company worth there salt will be advertising the way PC Power & Cooling does!!

Name another company that does.

I have a feeling that deep down this was hardly an unbiased review!!

Although if you leave out comments that have nothing to do with the review then perhaps its was over all a fair assesment of a 2 yr old PSU!!
Over a good job guys!!

It was biased: Biased toward the truth, and away from PCP&C's FUD.

After that I went with an Antec 480W NeoPower that died an early heat-induced capacitor death. The replacement Antec sent me for that one is a 500W NeoPower that's working out great in my 2nd computer.

Still, I'm all for industrial style packaging. I despise bling. The spartan, no-frills packaging of EVGA is what originally drew me to them. PCP&C is the same way. And frankly, if you need a fucking manual to install your new psu, just put it down and let someone who knows what they're doing install it for you. Antec puts a nice manual in their psu's and look how many dipshits still hooked the 4x2 pin connector up wrong to their Asus motherboard and said the psu was crap.

The problem with the NeoHE + Asus A8N boards was not a connector; It's a mess up on Antec/Seasonic's end. There is no way to mess up the P4 power connector, since it's keyed to fit. The A2 revision NeoHE added a circuit and it fixed all the problems.

Teapo caps in and of themselves are hardly crap!!
Even the good people at bacaps.com have stated in the past that Teapo caps when peoperly ventilated and used ina PSU are not bad caps!!

When used on a mother board they seem to have issues...

What I find interesting is PC Power & Cooling have been using Teapo caps forever and with proper ventilation they are good caps!!

So I guess your statement withour being specific is merely FUD!!

Now if you qualify your statement and say when usaed un motherboards and when used in poorly ventilated PSU`s you have issues.....see how a statement taken at face value can be construed in several different ways!!

Once again, Teapo is not waht you would want on a $500 PSU. They're not bad capacitors, but not in a $500 psu. In the Silverstone Element I have? Fine by me. But that's a <$100 unit.

 

[Smoken Joe]

I think the lack of desiccant in the package is a more serious error on PCP&C's part. At the price point these power supplies are sold, they will tend to sit on shelves longer than more moderately priced units. So who knows how long they will sit on a warehouse shelf, unused, exposed to high humidity (what we see in the South), and no way to keep them dry internally. Not saying anything untoward will happen, but to save a few pennies by not including it is just another sign of unnecessary penny-pinching in a unit that one should expect to have no compromises made.....esp. at the price one pays for it.

I finally see why someone would thing this such a grage matter- but these dont sit on the shelves they are sold directly to the user normally.

This might be a concern in the future but is not really any kind of issue unless they start storing them in non climate controlled warehouses.


BTW I will probibily never get a PCP&C simply because of the cost but then that could improve with OCZ.

If it makes people happy sure add them and fancy cable ties but for the people that are in the market for them it is a non issue. Quality first marketing second. If these tings are that fragile perhaps they should not go inside your computer with all that dangerous electricity. /scarcasim
The cost noise and voltage dips are all valid concerns but really the overempisis about rubber bands etc realy distracts from a good review but then good reviews alone are not enough to pay the bills just look at the closing of the [h] system builder reviews. That hyperbole is just part of [H]'s marketing they have to piss someone off.

I am not sure they realize how how the trivial things stand out. I have seen other reviews that condemned the PCP&C but guess what the winner did not end up getting placed in the god box or the winner ended up failing to be replaced by some other more reliable PSU in a later review.

 

[aphexddb]

I will never ever, ever buy another PC Power & Cooling power supply. Three years ago I was building an uber-rig for the Doom3 release and decided to research the best possible parts. (See sig) I ended up purchasing a PC P&C Turbo-Cool 510 for the new system. Everything was fine until one year ago while I was out of town, the power supply CAUGHT FIRE! Luckily my roommate happened to be home and was able to yank the power cord out. There was arcing and smoke everywhere. As for the chances that the local power was bad? The power supply was hooked into a newer APC backup unit and my roommate was playing a game on his PC plugged into the same wall socket.

PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool Summary:
- Cost a ton of money
- Caught fire and nearly destroyed entire computer
- Had issues trying to RMA it, ended up going with a no-name power supply which works perfectly.

Conclusion: Not recommended.

 

[jonnyGURU]

I finally see why someone would thing this such a grage matter- but these dont sit on the shelves they are sold directly to the user normally.

Actually, these quite often sit on the shelves of MicroCenter and Fry's too. In fact, they have a whole PCP&C end cap at the last MicroCenter I went to.

 

[FrgMstr]

uhhhh dude, are you insinuating that Kyle and the gang take bribes from companies to do poor reviews of a competitors product? Because (and Kyle, please don't ban me for flaming Mr. n00bie here............) if you are, you need to take your n00b self up out of here until you can learn to keep your stupid conspiracy theories to yourself. Did you join up JUST to post that? How can you come in here and accuse [H] of anything like that? Dude, please take your 1st-degree asshattery somewhere else........

I was just going to ignore him. Best that you do too.

 

[[Spectre]]

I finally see why someone would thing this such a grage matter- but these dont sit on the shelves they are sold directly to the user normally.

This might be a concern in the future but is not really any kind of issue unless they start storing them in non climate controlled warehouses.


BTW I will probibily never get a PCP&C simply because of the cost but then that could improve with OCZ.

If it makes people happy sure add them and fancy cable ties but for the people that are in the market for them it is a non issue. Quality first marketing second. If these tings are that fragile perhaps they should not go inside your computer with all that dangerous electricity. /scarcasim
The cost noise and voltage dips are all valid concerns but really the overempisis about rubber bands etc realy distracts from a good review but then good reviews alone are not enough to pay the bills just look at the closing of the [h] system builder reviews. That hyperbole is just part of [H]'s marketing they have to piss someone off.

I am not sure they realize how how the trivial things stand out. I have seen other reviews that condemned the PCP&C but guess what the winner did not end up getting placed in the god box or the winner ended up failing to be replaced by some other more reliable PSU in a later review.

The packaging bears no weight on the final assesment those criticisms are provided solely on an informational basis but I can't say that the unit does present itself as being worth the price when it is opened. From a company that prides itself on being absolutely top notch quality and transparent one would expect a literal avalanche of technical data about the unit and decent presentation.

In the end the unit is not recommended because the market has shifted and there are units that outperform the Turbo-Cool in every single aspect save one for less money. Why would a unit that costs ~150-200 more than a better performing unit be recommended? That would have been dishonest, not not recommending it.

PC Power and Cooling will get back on the horse no doubt with their new product line.

 

[AlderaaN]

Hi!

A big Thank You goes to author Paul Johnson & editor Kyle Bennett for the time taken to complete this outstandingly thorough review.

I am always impressed by the amount of technical information presented to the [H]ardOCP readers in each of those PSU reviews.

As for my 2cents - Following another one of your great PSU reviews here, my next system will be using a Thermaltake 1200W/1000W PSU.

Samuel.

 

[Manny Calavera]

I'd never buy the 1KW-SR. From other reviews, I learned that it was too loud, inefficient, and that there are less expensive, quieter, and more efficient PSUs available (1200W Toughpower is at the top of my list).

So, the conclusion of this review is warranted.

What is not warranted is the verbage surrounding such inconsequential things as:





Emphasis is mine. Some of that comes off as over-the-top hyperbole. Seems like a lot of heat there over something as minor as rubber bands. It's as though [H] is going out of its way to say: "Look at how hard we can be on the big boys!" Such criticizms would probably be taken more seriously if the points were surrounded by a bit more temperate language.

The language used above, especially "shoddy packaging" is especially strange considering just a sentence later, we're told:



While not a contradiction. . . it's odd to me that the lack of rubber bands is derided and bemoaned quite a bit more. . . dramatically (?) than the overall packaging is praised. The emphasis seems out of whack. What is more important to the consumer?

This just seems like. . . well. . . grousing. There was enough "wrong" with the aging unit to give it a poor review based on value without resorting to what comes off as just sorta "picking on them" for minor details and essentially making mountains out of mole-hills with over-the-top rhetoric.

I agree,this is one of the first [H] reviews I have read that was,well,not a shining moment.

There are NO sacred cows on [H] Not that there should be ! No one should get a pass on todays test,because of past achievments.

First ATI,now PC P&C.Out of all the top of the line ps's reveiwed,I wonder in 5 years which ones will still be running flawlessly ? and which will have gone through an RMA or three ? I cannot argue that there are better ps's on the market currently for the money
but the review did seem a touch nit picky.I own two ps's from PC P&C that have been tortured for years near 24/7,and still run perfectly.

 

[OCC_Yoda]

Originally Posted by Hurin
I'd never buy the 1KW-SR. From other reviews, I learned that it was too loud, inefficient, and that there are less expensive, quieter, and more efficient PSUs available (1200W Toughpower is at the top of my list).

So, the conclusion of this review is warranted.

What is not warranted is the verbage surrounding such inconsequential things as:





Emphasis is mine. Some of that comes off as over-the-top hyperbole. Seems like a lot of heat there over something as minor as rubber bands. It's as though [H] is going out of its way to say: "Look at how hard we can be on the big boys!" Such criticizms would probably be taken more seriously if the points were surrounded by a bit more temperate language.

The language used above, especially "shoddy packaging" is especially strange considering just a sentence later, we're told:



While not a contradiction. . . it's odd to me that the lack of rubber bands is derided and bemoaned quite a bit more. . . dramatically (?) than the overall packaging is praised. The emphasis seems out of whack. What is more important to the consumer?

This just seems like. . . well. . . grousing. There was enough "wrong" with the aging unit to give it a poor review based on value without resorting to what comes off as just sorta "picking on them" for minor details and essentially making mountains out of mole-hills with over-the-top rhetoric.

I agree,this is one of the first [H] reviews I have read that was,well,not a shining moment.

There are NO sacred cows on [H] Not that there should be ! No one should get a pass on todays test,because of past achievments.

First ATI,now PC P&C.Out of all the top of the line ps's reveiwed,I wonder in 5 years which ones will still be running flawlessly ? and which will have gone through an RMA or three ? I cannot argue that there are better ps's on the market currently for the money
but the review did seem a touch nit picky.I own two ps's from PC P&C that have been tortured for years near 24/7,and still run perfectly.

I totally agree!!

The review was a good solid review!!

It has always been the hyperbole that was not warranted!!

Peace!! -- Good Day and Happy 4th!!

 

[Hurin]

Well, he was complaining about the use of rubber bands, not their lack of use.

That was a typo on my part. Somehow lack of desiccant and rubber-bands got lumped together incorrectly. I don't get an editor!

 

[Top Nurse]

I would like to point out that most people who buy PCP&C supplies don't care a bit about the fluff. What their interested in is the PSU and how well it performs, the technical support in English, and getting special looms made up. BTW, they do custom looms on all their PSU's but it may set you back about $60.

Personally I wouldn't buy the 1Kw unit because it's just too god damn big! However, I also have a 510 SLI that is everything I could want in a PSU except for one minor detail. It's that boat prop they put in their PSU's.

Another issue to me is the non-modular unit. I have had an amateur radio license for many years and I see nothing wrong with modular wiring so perhaps we may soon see one from PCP&C. The reason we haven't yet is that the connector blocks take up room and as you can see the PSU case is filled to the brim.

Also being an amateur radio enthusiast makes me really leery of multiple 12v rails. I got big beefy Astron PSU's that powers some very powerful equipment and you only need one rail. Rubber bands are great because it only takes a snip of a scissors to get rid of them.

So it looks like a Silencer 850 is in the bag for me.

 

[fentzinator]

Bought my PCP&C 1K-SR in December 06 because my TT 850 died so out of frustration I bought the PCP&C. Amazing how things change in a few months. Back in Dec, there were not as many 1k choices that had 1 rail. Wish the TT 1000/1200 was available back then, although it has multiple rails. Great review,although after spending $500.00 I would of expected better performance. Keep up the great reviews.

 

[James54321]

About freaken time! Seriously though, thanks for doing a review on PCP&C unit. But on another note: OCZ huh? Man I'm so sorry to hear that. PC Power & Cooling supplies have always been rock solid in the rigs I built. In fact, I have a Silencer 750 Quad running in my main rig now (the one with a single 60A rail on 12v). Oh well, if ever the time comes to upgrade, I suppose I'll be looking for another company.

As for the packaging comments; I have to both agree and disagree. You have to consider that PC Power & Cooling started out as a no frills, no nonsense kinda company. They were providing you with a product you knew was going to be high quality (mainly because the builder's original target audience was high-end OEM). While I feel that providing the customer with a high-end PSU hasn't changed, the marketing and PR definitely has over the years. So in that regard, I can't help but agree with your assessment, given that their target market has changed from system builders to mainstream enthusiasts.

So I will say this: PC Power & Cooling has always shipped in a no frills box and never included a manual in any of the 10+ packages I've ordered since &#8216;98 and as a systems integrator I'm fine with this. We know what a PSU is and what it does. If we need detailed information, we'll go to the website. If we need to route unused cables, we have the means to do so on our own. However out of those 10+ packages, not one PSU has failed, where others by companies such as Enermax and ThermalTake... ones might I add that had shiny boxes with graphics and really nice packaging, have left us disappointed from time to time in their performance (one Enermax unit fried two cards after being in operation for about a year due to major ripple issues).

So yes, I agree that PCP&C should take the small step of revamping their packaging to match their PR; however, I also disagree that it's unforgivable, given that PCP&C has almost always been about no frills performance.

All that said, I'd love to see the 750 Quad added to your review roster as a PSU under 1KW (and at a much more affordable price). From my experience, the 80mm cooling solution with these units have been very adequate and surprisingly quiet; though to be honest, I would love to see them go to a 120mm cooling solution, if for nothing else to add air-flow to the case. Regardless, Turbo-Cool series has always been less-than-quiet, no matter what their PR may claim these days. Silencers however have faired better in noise output. Granted, I haven't put them through an SM-8800; however, that's why I'm asking you to give their Silencer 750 a run for its money.

Thanks again for the review - I'm very glad to hear that the playing field is becoming more competitive for PCP&C, as it gives the consumer choices within high-end the high-end. It almost reminds me of the early days between Intel and "the others." One of the others eventually caught enough of a foothold to give Intel a run for its money. However, I'm VERY sorry to hear that OCZ has taken control... potentially sad news indeed.

- James

Edit: after reading more than a few replies I have to unfortunately agree overall. PCP&C still provides what they first provided when the company was created: solid power supplies. Fortunately for the consumer, times have indeed changed and more high-quality PSU&#8217;s are available from different companies. Unfortunately for PCP&C, the pricing and design for their solid units has not changed. So who knows, maybe OCZ can reform PCP&C and meld the best of two worlds - I however am not holding my breath for this to happen.

 

[Astral Abyss]

Edit: after reading more than a few replies I have to unfortunately agree overall. PCP&C still provides what they first provided when the company was created: solid power supplies. Fortunately for the consumer, times have indeed changed and more high-quality PSU’s are available from different companies. Unfortunately for PCP&C, the pricing and design for their solid units has not changed. So who knows, maybe OCZ can reform PCP&C and meld the best of two worlds - I however am not holding my breath for this to happen.

OCZ is all about the bling, so I'm sure they'll "update" PCP&C.

 

[jchahn]

OCZ is all about the bling, so I'm sure they'll "update" PCP&C.

It could actually go the other way. OCZ might keep making their own PSUs for the bling, window cased, neon light people, and they might stop marketing the PCP&C PSUs to enthusiast building and instead offer them as an "industrial" or "professional" line of plain-jain, no-frills, rock solid PSUs aimed more for workstations and servers. That might actually make more sense because if they try to bling out the PCP&C PSUs they will be competing with themselves. It makes more sense to market them differently and try to appeal to different audiences, thus increasing their overall customer base.

Who knows how it will go.

 

[madmat]

It could actually go the other way. OCZ might keep making their own PSUs for the bling, window cased, neon light people, and they might stop marketing the PCP&C PSUs to enthusiast building and instead offer them as an "industrial" or "professional" line of plain-jain, no-frills, rock solid PSUs aimed more for workstations and servers. That might actually make more sense because if they try to bling out the PCP&C PSUs they will be competing with themselves. It makes more sense to market them differently and try to appeal to different audiences, thus increasing their overall customer base.

Who knows how it will go.

If that was the case they wouldn't have bothered with the red 750W Silencer they just released. It's obviously aimed at enthusiasts running crossfire rigs with the typical red ATI cards.

 

[conghelach]

I build alot of computers and PC POWER and COOLING are among the best if not the best power supplies you can get.

I dont know where you guys get that these power supplies are noisy? I have never used a kilowatt unit but all of the others are very quiet, very efficient and very high quality units that last for years.

PCPC has a well deserved reputation.

 

[[Spectre]]

I dont know where you guys get that these power supplies are noisy?

It came from the unit over powering a piece of test equipment rated at over 50dBa in addition to the background noise of the testing location that made it uncomfortable to sit next to the unit with my timer.

I have never used a kilowatt unit but all of the others are very quiet, very efficient and very high quality units that last for years.

The Turbo-Cools have never really been very quiet, very efficient units. That simply isn't what they are designed for even if the marketing claims it. The Silencers have been quieter than the Turbo-Cools but still not what one call quiet like a Seasonic branded unit or other quiet units.

 

[FrgMstr]

If that was the case they wouldn't have bothered with the red 750W Silencer they just released. It's obviously aimed at enthusiasts running crossfire rigs with the typical red ATI cards.

I think those were specially painted for reviewers. We discussed this with OCZ and wanted to make sure we did not misrepresent the product so we made sure you will see a fully retail PSU in our evaluation.

 

[FrgMstr]

I dont know where you guys get that these power supplies are noisy? I have never used a kilowatt unit but all of the others are very quiet, very efficient and very high quality units that last for years.

You have never used one but you are questioning our experiences with the unit directly?

I have a 1KW PCPC here on my own test bench and under load the thing sounds like it could fly...

 

[[Spectre]]

No. They're not. They were actually available prior to the OCZ aquisition and are still available today.

The early run units (first ~100) which some/many/most reviewers got are specifically hand painted Red ontop of black as opposed to the current ones which are straight Red on metal.

 

[FrgMstr]

The early run units (first ~100) which some/many/most reviewers got are specifically hand painted Red ontop of black as opposed to the current ones which are straight Red on metal.

Yes, this is my bad! I misunderstood what Paul explained to me.

 

[OCC_Yoda]

If that was the case they wouldn't have bothered with the red 750W Silencer they just released. It's obviously aimed at enthusiasts running crossfire rigs with the typical red ATI cards.

obviously...