Good "28 Dec" review

This PSU appears to depend upon air movement within the case, hence all the holes.
If the POS was mounted externally, for example on the top of a PC case would it overheat, or would it still be capable of delivering 450/400W ?

Yeah, great review. Same format as always, which is in no way bad thing.

I like the solid design of the Nightjar series. Definitely something to be copied by other PSU makers. Judging by the efficiency charts, the old 300 W Nightjar is less efficient for just about any PC there is (so ST30NF outdated now!).



@efcoins2: If you run it at 450 W for a long time, even external, I think it's going to heat up pretty good. But you'll need to have a really demanding setup for 450 W anyway. The SPCR test bed is thermally not far from out in the open, conditions IMO (for fanless PSUs). At 250-300 W, though, I think you'd be all right.


Only comments (not to be taken serious) is that I didn't quite catch the comparison between a specialized, high performance, soft-top roadster and the PSU, lol. Also, I guess Silverstone could, in theory, have claimed less than 0 dBA had they really wanted to.

Id seriously consider this PSU for my main rig if i had to replace my modu82.
Ok its very expensive for a PSU, but currently its the only thing that i can hear when everything is idling in my rig.
I also have a scythe kama bay fan (intake in 5.25" bays in case anyone doesnt know) so airflow would be directed straight at the PSU, which i expect would help immensely with keeping it cool.

Thanks for the review.

The scenario where the Nightjar would be the ideal solution is in a system set up for positive air-pressure.

Had to find some way to end it, stop writing, no other good comparisons came to mind. I really just mean that it's a fine machine that needs a bit of care and thought to get the most out of it, not something you just slap into a system w/o planning.

The unit is an ideal fit for the Antec cases where it sits in the bottom chamber with a *very* low rpm 120mm fan in front of it; no standard PSU on the market can get that quiet. Couldn't be happier with mine with regard to acoustics and performance.

I tried that with my P180 and 500W Phantom. While clearance in that compartment was a nightmare, it worked fairly well- at least until all the plastic parts on the P180 started disintegrating and I decided I wanted a case that weighed less and took up less space than a refrigerator.

As for Antec's other cases- I had really wanted to put the NightJar in my 2400/Fusion case, but the only airflow the PSU compartment gets is from the PSU itself. I did look at zip-tying a Noctua into place to push over the top of the PSU, but it still doesn't have a source for cool air, it's just recycling the warm air already in the side chamber.

While the cheapola 80mm PSU fan is easily the loudest component in the case, getting rid of the fan noise isn't worth frying the rest of the components when it dies prematurely. When it does get replaced, I think I'm more likely to go with a PSU that sports a quiet fan at low power draws.

Page 4, near the bottom:
"To further complicate the issue, a graph marked "Input AC Current Waveform" shows a AC waveform of 160V swings, not 115V."

This is just as it should be. 115V is the effective value, more often referred to as RMS (Root Mean Square).
For a sine curve the RMS equals the peak value divided by sqr(2).
160V peak thus translates to 113V RMS.

Cheers
Olle

What are you talking about? Do you have some kind of acid sweat that melts plastic when you touch it?

Thanks for the informative review. SPCR is the only place you can get this kind of detailed information on how the PSU performs at different power levels and with regards to low airflow systems.

It's a shame that there are not more PSUs catering to the <150W range. It seems that you can't have a high peek power limit and good efficiency at the low end with any conventional design. Then again, I doubt many systems that peek at 200W+ ever manage to idle much below the 80W mark.

Someone needs to do it though. Seasonic PSUs are hard to get and PicoPSUs are expensive. Yet, you would think there was a huge market for them now that many off-the-shelf CPU/mobo combos never get above 150W.

Even the most frightening lewis acids I can think of wouldn't do much, the problem is oxygen and cross-linked n-vinyl pyrrolidone. The issue was widely noted (even in obsequiously Antec boot licking forums like this) and reported at the time and has since been fixed.

The first run(s) of the P180 had (I'd bet on the injection molding feedtstock) quality problems. This isn't the place for a synthetic organic chemistry seminar, so let it suffice to say that the bonds that hold the strands of the plastic together readily react with oxygen and break if you don't so some additional work to keep that from happening.

As a result of trying to save that extra tenth of a yuan, the plastic side panels and front panels fracture all by themselves after bathing in the atmosphere for a year. It first shows up at stress points in the mold like corners and tab hooks, but eventually thicker flat parts will start becoming brittle as well. (Golly, those P180's are on sale at Fry's again!).

Bitter much? I've had one for years without any of the issues you describe but thanks for sharing.

Both the second generation Zen and Nightjar PSU's have a different design than the previous models.
Now they both have the same total output, same non-standard length of 160 mm, and a similar case with meshed sides and a thick aluminium top.
The internals are different, most notably is the dual 12 V outputs in the Zen.

They're two completely different models, but is there a chance that both are made by FSP?
What does the UL number say?

I guess the number should not be scaled down to two: as far as I know, at least FSP should be still in the business of fanless PC ATX PSU

http://www.fsp-group.com/english/1_product/2_detail.asp?mainid=1&fid=123&proid=137
http://www.fsp-group.com/english/1_product/1_list.asp?mainid=2&fid=143

and along with SilentMaxx even Amacrox sells rebranded version of FSP 450w

http://www.amacrox.com/04english/p-calmer2.htm

and 300w designs

http://www.amacrox.com/04english/p-calmer400.htm

Seasonal wishes,
Luca

I enjoyed the review, it was neato.

I would wish a test of bottom mounted case. I guess slap a 120 fan at 7 volts down there and thatd be it.

My main reason for commenting is to show off my antec 350 phantom. It still is running, it has been for over 3 years. I have 939 dual core, 3870 vid card, 1 drive. I game a lot.

The thing never died or had an issue and of course it is silent. I have been waiting to see the next psu that could take its place. the 500 was not it, i skipped that and now will be buildling a new machine with this one.

i never had an issue cooling the phantom. My next machine will be a tri-core amd when they move to 45nm process, a 4830 vid card. I will want some more beef and more modern connectors. I cant imagine the psu will last another 3 years? I keep it on 24/7 in a very warm room with no ac in the summer.

Just a vote for fanless psu's that cost a lot. in the end it doesnt matter. they rock