Sharkoon SilentStorm 480W Power Supply Review
Power Supplies by jmke @ 2004-12-12
Sharkoon targets the enthusiast with their latest power supply, does the SilentStorm pack enough power to please the demanding high end user? Find out in this review
Review
Introduction and specs
When building a new computer PC or upgrading your old system it is important not to skimp on the Power Supply Unit (PSU), while only a few years ago 350 Watt was enough for almost any system, this is no longer true for today’s high end hardware.
Processors, mainboards and video cards all demand more power to run stable so today we are looking at a PSU unit from Sharkoon to see if their latest model it is up to the task.
The Sharkoon SilentStorm is a feature packed power supply which offers more the end users then your average PSU. The lowest rated model comes in at 370W, followed by 430W, 480W and 535Watt. Each unit has a 3 year warranty and they are ATX v2 compatible.
We received the 480W model (SHA480-9A) for review:
Features:
Dual Fan (80 & 92mm)
Ultra silent (High/Low Fan Speed setting, automatic control)
Active PFC Function
Separate 12 V Rails
Fan monitoring (3-pin rpm)
SATA Connectors
Clever Fan (Fans keep running 2 minutes after shutdown)
Additional power connector
The only difference between the 370W and higher rated models in the additional connector for the graphics card, 370W has one for AGP video cards while the others have an extra 6-pin PCI-E connector.
The SilentStorm offers a wide array of protective functions:
Over Voltage Protection (OVP)
Over Load Protection (OLP)
Short Circuit Protection (SCP)
Over/Under Current Protection (OCP/UCP)
Over Temperature Protection (OTP)
All these functions together with a complete reset after each shutdown ensure that any irregularities in the system power environment will be blocked by the PSU and stopping them from affecting the connected components.
Extra’s in the package:
Power cord
Cable ties
Thumb screws
Case badges
Clear and detailed English/German manual
The included manual is very clear and includes a detailed description of each connector and where to connect it to.
Let’s take a closer look at the unit ->
Manufacturer’ message:
Processors, mainboards and video cards all demand more power to run stable so today we are looking at a PSU unit from Sharkoon to see if their latest model it is up to the task.
The Sharkoon SilentStorm is a feature packed power supply which offers more the end users then your average PSU. The lowest rated model comes in at 370W, followed by 430W, 480W and 535Watt. Each unit has a 3 year warranty and they are ATX v2 compatible.
We received the 480W model (SHA480-9A) for review:
Features:
The only difference between the 370W and higher rated models in the additional connector for the graphics card, 370W has one for AGP video cards while the others have an extra 6-pin PCI-E connector.
The SilentStorm offers a wide array of protective functions:
All these functions together with a complete reset after each shutdown ensure that any irregularities in the system power environment will be blocked by the PSU and stopping them from affecting the connected components.
Extra’s in the package:
The included manual is very clear and includes a detailed description of each connector and where to connect it to.
Let’s take a closer look at the unit ->
Unit: Outside & Inside
Outside
Sharkoon focused on making the SilentStorm a functional power supply, beside the black fan grills and transparent fans there is not much “flashy” about this unit.
The ATX power connector is almost completely sleeved, the other cables are well organized and held together with cable ties.
4-pin (HD/CD/Other) connectors: 5
4-pin floppy connectors: 1
SATA power connectors: 4
PSU rpm fan monitor connector
There are quite a lot of SATA connectors on this PSU, pushing the HDD SATA standard one bit further.
From left to right:
6-pin PCI Express power connector
4-pin 12V power connector
20+4-pin ATX main power connector
The 20+4-pin connector has been designed quite practically, the latest P4 motherboards (Socket LGA775) need a 24-pin power connector to function optimally, while the older boards still use 20-pin power connectors. The Sharkoon engineer made an easy plug system to switch between the two configurations:
Cooling
Two temperature controlled fans cool the unit down when powered up; there is a small rheobus at the backside of the power supply which regulates how fast/slow the fans should increase their speed depending on the system load.
Here’s a graph showing how the fans react with High / Low settings:
However during all my tests I had a hard time to actually hear any speed throttling, even moving the rheobus from max/min with a heavy system load on the PSU did not increase noise in a noticeable way. This PSU is really silent!
An 80mm fan at back expels hot air:
A larger 92mm fan in the bottom sucks in hot air from the CPU area which the 80mm pushes out of the PSU.
Inside and More Specs
The 480W is divided over the different voltage rails like so:
When compared with other popular Power Supplies’ Specs the Silent Storm is right in the middle of the pack:
The inside is well organized with good cable routing to allow maximum airflow over the installed heatsinks
Now let’s hook this PSU up to our test system and see how it fares ->
Manufacturer’ message:
Sharkoon focused on making the SilentStorm a functional power supply, beside the black fan grills and transparent fans there is not much “flashy” about this unit.
The ATX power connector is almost completely sleeved, the other cables are well organized and held together with cable ties.
There are quite a lot of SATA connectors on this PSU, pushing the HDD SATA standard one bit further.
From left to right:
The 20+4-pin connector has been designed quite practically, the latest P4 motherboards (Socket LGA775) need a 24-pin power connector to function optimally, while the older boards still use 20-pin power connectors. The Sharkoon engineer made an easy plug system to switch between the two configurations:
Cooling
Two temperature controlled fans cool the unit down when powered up; there is a small rheobus at the backside of the power supply which regulates how fast/slow the fans should increase their speed depending on the system load.
Here’s a graph showing how the fans react with High / Low settings:
However during all my tests I had a hard time to actually hear any speed throttling, even moving the rheobus from max/min with a heavy system load on the PSU did not increase noise in a noticeable way. This PSU is really silent!
An 80mm fan at back expels hot air:
A larger 92mm fan in the bottom sucks in hot air from the CPU area which the 80mm pushes out of the PSU.
Inside and More Specs
The 480W is divided over the different voltage rails like so:
When compared with other popular Power Supplies’ Specs the Silent Storm is right in the middle of the pack:
The inside is well organized with good cable routing to allow maximum airflow over the installed heatsinks
Now let’s hook this PSU up to our test system and see how it fares ->
Testing & Conclusion
Test Setup and Methodology
The power supply was installed in the system below:
A few hours of 3DMark2001SE loops in combination with K7Burn and SuperPI, Prime95 and O&O HD defrag were used for stressing the system. The system ran stable without any hick-ups, so let’s push it a bit further:
Again the system was powered up and ready for a full 12-hour period of system stressing:
Using the latest version of SpeedFan 3.3v / 5v / 12v lines were monitored:
The average results are quite good overall, if you’re wondering what the “tolerance” is for, well, the ATX v2.0 standard specifies a maximum and minimum value for each voltage rail. The % in the table above shows the deviation from the “ideal” value. The table below shows the maximum deviation per voltage rail:
From Planet3dnow ©
So the SilentStorm does hold its rail within the ATX v2.0 specs, and the system was rock stable during all tests, even when overclocked and stuffed with additional hardware!
Conclusion
Sharkoon targets the enthusiast with their latest power supply, the SilentStorm is a decent product which packs enough power to please the demanding user.
The unit tested today is whisper quiet and ready for the latest high end hardware, an easy 20+4-pin connector, separate voltage line for AGP/PCI-e video card, and quite a few extras make it interesting if the price is right.
The 480W model sells in Europe for €89, while it’s no budget price, it is very competitively priced for the amount of Wattage and extra’s you receive.
The main downside is the availability of this unit outside Europe, the lack of an 110V switch pretty much eliminates it from ever becoming popular on the other side of the pond.
For the EU visitors who are building a new system and want a silent and powerful power supply the SilentStorm offers a very interesting choice!
PRO
Stable voltage rails
Very silent
Future proof connectors, dedicated video card voltage rail
Competitively priced
CON
Only for 200-240V
We would like to thank Thorsten at Sharkoon for making this review possible
Question/Comments: Forum thread
Manufacturer’ message:
The power supply was installed in the system below:
JMke's A64 Test Setup | |
| CPU | AMD Athlon 64 3200+ S754 “CG” stepping |
| Mainboard | DFI Lanparty UT NF3 250Gb (Oskar Wu’s 10/15 Beta Bios) |
| Cooling | Stock AMD Heatsink and Fan |
| Memory | 1*512Mb PC3200 |
| Video | nVidia Geforce FX 5900XT |
A few hours of 3DMark2001SE loops in combination with K7Burn and SuperPI, Prime95 and O&O HD defrag were used for stressing the system. The system ran stable without any hick-ups, so let’s push it a bit further:
JMke's A64 Test Extra Large Setup | |
| CPU | AMD Athlon 64 3200+ @ 2400Mhz – 1.65v |
| Mainboard | DFI Lanparty UT NF3 250Gb (Oskar Wu’s 10/15 Beta Bios) |
| Cooling | Stock AMD Heatsink and Fan |
| Memory | 3*512Mb PC3200 |
| Extra | nVidia Geforce FX 5900XT |
| Extra | |
Again the system was powered up and ready for a full 12-hour period of system stressing:
Using the latest version of SpeedFan 3.3v / 5v / 12v lines were monitored:
The average results are quite good overall, if you’re wondering what the “tolerance” is for, well, the ATX v2.0 standard specifies a maximum and minimum value for each voltage rail. The % in the table above shows the deviation from the “ideal” value. The table below shows the maximum deviation per voltage rail:
From Planet3dnow ©
So the SilentStorm does hold its rail within the ATX v2.0 specs, and the system was rock stable during all tests, even when overclocked and stuffed with additional hardware!
Conclusion
Sharkoon targets the enthusiast with their latest power supply, the SilentStorm is a decent product which packs enough power to please the demanding user.
The unit tested today is whisper quiet and ready for the latest high end hardware, an easy 20+4-pin connector, separate voltage line for AGP/PCI-e video card, and quite a few extras make it interesting if the price is right.
The 480W model sells in Europe for €89, while it’s no budget price, it is very competitively priced for the amount of Wattage and extra’s you receive.
The main downside is the availability of this unit outside Europe, the lack of an 110V switch pretty much eliminates it from ever becoming popular on the other side of the pond.
For the EU visitors who are building a new system and want a silent and powerful power supply the SilentStorm offers a very interesting choice!
PRO
Stable voltage rails
Very silent
Future proof connectors, dedicated video card voltage rail
Competitively priced
CON
Only for 200-240V
We would like to thank Thorsten at Sharkoon for making this review possible
Question/Comments: Forum thread