Ahanix SilenX 350W PSU - Articles / Reviews

Reviews: Hardware

Motherboards | Power Supplies | Memory | Systems | Video Cards

Ahanix SilenX 350W PSU

Author:
Editor:
Sponsor:
Published:

Brian Kristensen
Kurtis
ExoticPC
Aug. 13, 2003

Specifications

Introduction

How do you like your noisy computer? Not too much? There are many things you can do to quiet down your computer such as using Panaflo or Papst fans on a rheobus until they are virtually silent. A custom quiet water cooling setup could also remove any noise that a CPU heatsink/fan and a GPU heatsink fan would generate. What's that? Do you still hear noise emitting from your case? Well, there is one thing that was probably overlooked, the power supply. Today we will be looking at the SilenX 350W power supply from Ahanix. Does this PSU live up to its "Silent" name? Let's find out...

Specs

SilenX ATX 350 Watt PSU
Noise Output: 14 dBA
Input: 115V/230V @ 8A/5A
Output: 350W
3.3V: 28.0A
5.0V: 32.0A
12.0V: 15.0A
±5% Load Regulation
±1% Line Regulation
Over Power Protection: 105%~150% of max load

The SilenX 350W PSU has 6 4-pin molex connectors, 2 floppy connectors, an ATX connector, a 12V P4 connector, and an AUX server board connector.

The Ahanix SilenX 350W

The sample SilenX ExoticPC / ColorCase sent us was not shipped in the retail packaging, but we were promptly sent a graphic of what the packaging would look like.

The SilenX 350W PSU looks very bland and doesn't have any unique physical features that jump out at you. It looks like an ordinary, single fan power supply. The amperage supplied by the SilenX on the 3.3V and 12V lines are a little behind many other power supplies we have reviewed, but the 14Db sound output looks to be a major plus (and the main reason you would buy this PSU).

The airflow on the outside of the PSU looks to be quite good for just a single fan. The air intake vents are up to standard and allow a straight through path for air to flow.

Inside the PSU

Of course, what would a power supply review be without voiding the warranty? Take a look at the pictures we took of the inside of the SilenX. The overall quality of the PSU looks to be good. The aluminum heatsinks do have a lot of surface area, but the small size of them, along with the 14dB fan, suggest that the SilenX probably does not get very hot at all.

Test Rig

Pentium 2.4c
Soyo Dragon II
2x 512M Corsair XMS PC3500
GeForce 4 Ti 4200
SB Live!
Maxtor 200GB DiamondMax Plus 9
Seagate 40GB Barracuda 4
LiteOn 16x DVD
2x 120mm fans
2x 80mm fans

Testing

Sure this PSU is silent, but does it provide the power needed by your computer? I used MBM5 and the BIOS to check the voltage on the 12V, 5V, and 3.3V lines during idle conditions.

Core:	1.49V
12V:	11.55V
5V:	5.03V
3.3V:	3.28V

All lines stayed within 5% of the recommended voltages. Under overclocked and loaded conditions, the readings were as follows.

Core:	1.45V
12V:	11.53V
5V:	5.02V
3.3V:	3.26V

All lines stayed within .1V of the idle conditions and still within the 5% of the recommended voltages. During all testing the SilenX didn't produce much heat at all. The exhaust was slightly warm. I believe this is due to the high quality of the components within the PSU.

Conclusion

The SilenX did a damn good job despite its bland looks and lacking features. The SilenX was inaudible during all testing, which is a great thing for those of you looking to build a completely silent case. If you are looking for a quiet solution for your computer, this is THE power supply to look for. Sadly, some of the higher wattage SilenX PSUs are a bit louder due to a faster fan pushing out the increased heat. If you are looking for a PSU with high Wattage (400+) you may want to look at some of the better performing and feature-full PSUs out there.

Pros

DEAD SILENT
Doesn't generate much heat
Stable voltage rails

Cons

Features?
Sub-par Amperage on 12V and 3.3V lines

Subscribe to Power Supplies [more info]

Add Comment

1 User Comment

1 - Posted by Brian on August 14, 2003 - 10:12 pm

I have removed the posts for now.

I will post information later on when everything is a bit more clear.

I do not want to unknowingly have any party defaced. Please do not comment on the situation.

EDIT:

We are no longer dealing with ExoticPC, Ahanix, or ColorCase. We wont deal with SilenX either.

If anyone is contacted by any of these companies, do not feel obligated to converse with them. From our experience and from the experiences of others, all of the above listed companies can be very deceiving. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Kurtis or I.

More to be posted at a later date.

Add Comment

To add a comment without being a member, you may omit the password field, but you must enter your name (or nickname) along with your comment. * Denotes required fields.