PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 860W: Special AnandTech Edition
by Christoph Katzer on February 4, 2008 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Introduction
A short while ago, PC Power & Cooling (PCP&C) revealed its latest addition to their portfolio: the Turbo Cool 860W. It does not use the same topology as the 1000W and 1200W power supplies from the same series, which we will see later when we open the unit up. Today we will be looking at a special unit we received from PCP&C. The company was nice enough to build a special edition PSU that includes extra cable harnesses and connectors - all according to our specifications. Our unit is ready for Triple-SLI with six 6-pin PEG connectors, three of which also perform double duty as 8-pin PEG connectors. On top of that, we asked for 15 SATA connectors to power up some special tests we will be working on this year.
We met PCP&C founder Doug Dodson at this year's CES in Las Vegas; we had the chance to conduct an interview with him that we will publish soon as well. With the 860W version of the Turbo Cool series, PCP&C again targets the higher-end enthusiast market with the need for long lasting industrial standard power supplies. One special feature is the three small potentiometers that allow the user to tune the voltage regulation of the 3.3, 5, and 12V rails.
The label shows PCP&C's general approach to power supplies. We see a single 12V rail, which according to Doug is the best solution for power supplies. We are still waiting for our 15 hard-drives to arrive, but we have talked with at least one AnandTech reader that successfully powered up 18 hard-drives with a single-rail Silencer 750W where all multi-rail power supplies failed. The 12V rail provides a total of 64A and consumes up to 768W of power. In fact, the peak power is around 840W solely on the 12V rail, and our unit was able to reach 967W peak power during the tests. The 3.3 and 5V rails are rather small with only 22A and 26A, but that shouldn't be a problem.
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HOOfan 1 - Tuesday, February 5, 2008 - link
You mean like thishttp://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.a...">http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.a...
or this
http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.a...">http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.a...
I see a total of 2 Silverstone revies and 2 PC Power and Cooling Reviews.
JEDIYoda - Monday, February 4, 2008 - link
if they are(which they are not) they did a very accurate review as I am sure they would also do with a silverstone PSU!!KaosDrem - Monday, February 4, 2008 - link
I'm actually running 10 internal sata drives on the 750W silencer along with a quad core, and an 8800gts 512, PCPower&Cooling definitely makes the best power supplies and their method of sticking with the single rail i hope isn't something they will change in the future.yonzie - Monday, February 4, 2008 - link
Let me guess as to the purpose of those 15 harddrives and custom-made case & PSU...It's for Anand's media server!
jtleon - Monday, February 4, 2008 - link
Your Page 9 comment:"If you're buying a PCP&C power supply, you should not plan on silent computing - there just isn't any power supply in the lineup that can qualify as silent."
may be misleading, as my 610W Silencer operates silently in my dual Xeon workstation.
You might consider qualifying your statement more thoroughly.
Regards,
jtleon
Zap - Monday, February 4, 2008 - link
"Quiet" means different things to different people. I consider most computers to be noisy, but then again I've been "tainted" by SPCR. As for PCP&C PSUs, no, they're not silent IMO. They're not even particularly quiet. However, that's just IMO, just as you thinking your unit operates silently is in your opinion. The best way to quantify "quiet/silence" may be if the PSU on its own (not being drowned out by other fans) is noisier than ambient sounds in a quiet room.nubie - Monday, February 4, 2008 - link
I have a Silencer 470 and it is indeed quieter than the ambient noise, even when all the other fans are off.I do believe that the sound depends on the heat level and the power you are drawing, the most I ever pulled was a couple hard drives, optical drives and an overclocked x2 65watt and 7900GS @ 700mhz core. My PC's usually have some 120mm fans keeping the interior cool (better some slow-moving large fans then one really fast small one.)
As far as "silencer", I think it is apt, depending on the rest of your rig, even in the dead of night the Silencer fan is better than my fairly quiet hard drive, and it has a pleasing tone quality (not whiny or windy.)
That said, I am fully satisfied with my PCPower and I am thinking that "only" a 470watt was overkill, especially since the 360 silencer is $25 cheaper for 5A less on the 12volt rail ($55 direct!!), I can't recommend another PSU for mainstream overclocking (~3-4 Ghz, 1-2 drives, no SLi, or mainstream SLi, 7600/8600).
I too read SPCR, and I wish I had the money to do my own entirely passive, "heat-tunnel" rig (all the heat passes through one or two vertical pipes, and convection moves the air). Since I can't afford that, I like the PCPower supplies. And it is a proven fact that fanless systems use more electricity, simply due to reduced conductivity as heat levels rise.
Way off topic. This is a "Turbo-Cool" model, so I would expect loud noises, but then again if my system used this PSU I would sequester it in a sound-proof room.
Come to think of it, what do you actually interact with on a PC that requires it to sit next to you? (I personally program microcontrollers and interface directly with home-made circuits, and of course overclocking requires you to make adjustments at times.) I hardly ever even load a CD/DVD anymore, and I could use an external unit on my desk. Video and input are Digital (DVI and USB), so why is the system sitting around the desk? 25' of cable should put the system well away from your sensitive ears. In fact it is only lack of space, or I would do it, we simply don't always have the space to closet the system.
I love that PC Power is getting the attention it deserves, so often people ridicule your PSU if it doesn't have a mirror finish and a glowing fan, and a silly mainstream " 'clockers 'tude ".
Tiamat - Monday, February 4, 2008 - link
I don't think it is misleading. PCP&C does not make any silent power supplies. You have a quiet power supply, but that doesn't make it silent. Even passively cooled PSUs are subject to coil whine and other related noises that make them not silent, however, they are very quiet. Silence is an absolute.jtleon - Monday, February 4, 2008 - link
Hmmmm...You make an interesting argument.
Rather than use the word "silent", the description should be "cannot be heard".
Logic would dictate that if you are using an 860W power supply, those components you are powering would also not be "silent".
However, most likely in such a system, the psu may not be audible (i.e. cannot be heard) above the components summed noise level (HDD's, CPU & VGA cooling fans, case cooling fans, etc.).
That considers that the space in which the system is operating is completely silent - which is almost impossible to have 0dB background noise.
Thus, the term "silent" is often interchangeable with "cannot be heard" over the background/component noise level. For example, in the outback of Australia during winter, the background noise level does not fall below 28-32dBA.
Most offices/dwellings have background noise levels at or above 35dBA thanks to HVAC noise / appliance noise / exterior traffic noise / etc. Therefore the pursuit of true silence is practically impossible in the REAL world. PSU manufacturers should not be held to such unrealistic targets in any event, as we the customer must pay extraordinary prices as a result.
Anandtech has a history of offering practical, realistic test results - my only objective of this posting is to help preserve that legacy.
Regards,
jtleon
DigitalFreak - Monday, February 4, 2008 - link
*yawn*