My experience with SilenX 400

dANO* · Post by dANO* » Thu Apr 17, 2003 2:03 pm

Basically, I am still working on building my quiet pc for college next fall

anyways i decided to pick up a quiet PSU

after looking around and seeing a few positive info about the SilenX, I decided what the hell and I bought one.

SilenX 400w 14 dBA PSU $109.95

Well, I ordered from www.silenx.com and i never got a comfirmation e-mail, anyways I waited 2 days ( i live in Pennsylvania, and Silenx is in CA ) and I got home and bam there was this box sitting on my front porch. Yay! it had arrived. I got in the door and 2 minutes later after I was sifiting through mail the phone rang and it was Silenx... they wanted to double check I had gotten my order since my mail apparently was bouncing back.. I said I did and i decided to install it.

First i plugged it in set everything up, I COULDN'T HEAR IT. I was stunned. My other psu ( Antec 380 ) was a screamer. I can't even hear this one, from 6 inches away, i can hear a small whirrr when i put my ear up to it.

anyways if you are looking for a quiet psu get the silenx. I have been using it for 2 weeks now and I'm really happy.

sgtpokey · Post by **sgtpokey** » Thu Apr 17, 2003 10:21 pm

thanks for your opinions on silenx and exotic... I'll probably order from SilenX when I get around to replacing my PSU and it's nice to hear your experiences with Peter...

That whole Exotic vs SilenX epsiode just seems way to bizarre...

Post by **MikeC** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 12:01 am

digitalix wrote:I get my silenx power supplies from silenx.com these days. My experience in the past dealing with Peter has been great and along goes him goes my patronage to silenx. Now stop private messaging me about this people, my inbox was almost full for a while there! Anyways, I actually did go ahead and got an exoticpc silenx power supply to see how it was. How does it compare to the silenx power supplies from silenx.com? For one, the silenx one comes with a damn power cord. Why in the world does exotic sell a power supply without a cord? For a 110 dollar product, I think that's simply unacceptable. Noise? The silenx.com product fares better than the exotic, there's even a thermal probe on the fan itself regulating its speed I would imagine. There's signs of amateur soldering work inside the exotic version, which didn't surprise me, I contacted Fortron and they knew nothing about exoticpc whereas they were aware of silenx though they wouldn't comment any further due to some nda in place. My conclusion, if you want a silenx product, get it from silenx, why anywhere else?

Why don't you post some of that info in the long thread where exoticpc makes a strong statement about the silenx PSUs they're currently selling? They say if it is not the same as before, they'll give it to you free.

al bundy · Post by **al bundy** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 12:36 am

digitalix wrote:...Noise? The silenx.com product fares better than the exotic, ...

Hmmm - is there really that much difference between the respective 14dbA versions?

limee · Post by **limee** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 3:27 pm

Do all the 14dbA Silenx PSU's sound the same or do higher voltage ones need better cooling and thus have a louder whir?

Taz · Post by **Taz** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 4:57 pm

digitalix wrote:When running the power supplies at full load, the fan on the exoticpc version speeds up considerably. When speaking full load, I'm talking about maxing out 300 watts on a 300 watt power supply inside the case of a running PC. This is when the noise difference is somewhat more obvious between the two versions. How much of a difference? We're talking the difference between the 300w Nexus and 300w Zalman...not that much. Basically, it's noticeable but it won't kill you. Now you might be wondering about the temperature inside the case. It's almost identical between the power supplies in idle or under full load. The exoticpc one makes similar noise to the Nexus power supply, the silenx one, a notch below the Verax. That's my personal analysis of these two PSUs.

I'm really disappointed to hear this report. As mentioned in the long review thread http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... 5&start=50 I attempted to order from SilenX.com but wound up ordering a 400W <14dBA SilenX PS from ExoticPC. Seems Peter forgot to change the contact phone number when he set up his new site...and ExoticPC didn't exactly clarify the situation on the phone when asked if I was ordering from SilenX (I've explained more fully in the above thread). Seems another forum member had the same experience as I did.

Never-the-less, the order was placed before I realized I'd been just a tiny bit mislead (it was what folks on the phone wouldn't say, more so than what was said). But with later assurances from Mr. Yu of ExoticPC (via his post in the above same thread) that it would be the exact same PS as that sold by Peter at SilenX, I felt that things would be just fine. But now, unless something has changed with the latest units at ExoticPC, it appears this is not the case.

Just as with Digitalix's unit, mine did not come with a power cord either…which for my situation is not really a concern. But Digitalix does raise a good point considering the price of the unit. However, it did come with the Ahnix SilenX fan and, more importantly, it is almost dead silent when running...under no load at least. I haven't yet had a chance to pop it into a working PC, and may not get a chance to do so for another couple of weeks (waiting for other parts and some free time to finish my build).

Actually, the noise differential running under a completely full load as Digitalix described doesn't concern me that much. I seriously doubt that I'll encounter such cases very often in the normal course of running my PC. What does bother me, however, is the description of the sloppy soldering on the ExoticPC units. I haven't (yet) popped the hood on the unit to check, but if true, that does concern me. It tells me the quality build and workmanship I paid top dollar for has not been delivered. Oh, I'm sure it will most likely give me fine quiet service...and will hopefully be free of problems for a long time to come...but it's just the principal of the thing more than anything else.

I don't build PCs for resale like Digitalix does, so in the grand scheme of things, this whole thing is not really all that big of an issue for me (at least not so far). Annoying yes...but not a showstopper.

However, I did think it was important to mention my experience to others. The bottom line is, based on Digitalix's report, if the differences between the two units is important to you, it would be highly advisable to be dead certain you've been connected to Peter's new company before ordering.

-Taz

Taz · Post by **Taz** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 6:30 pm

Maybe I've misunderstood, Digitalix. Doesn't the fan in the PS you got from Peter (i.e., SilenX.com) look the same as the one from ExoticPC? That is...isn't Peter's fan marked as an "Ahanix SilenX" fan?

I'm also not sure I follow you when you say the fans marked in this manner are not made by Ahanix. If the fans are made by Kiamei Electronics, and Kaimei Electonics is, as your excellent detective work shows, actually Ahanix...isn't that the same as saying the fans are made by Ahanix?

Post by **MikeC** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 9:05 pm

It could just be a large building or block of buildings shared by a number of companies, and the proximity would explain why Jamicon's US office & ExoticPC would end up working together.

City of Industry in CA is one of those industrial park cities (near LA).

Ahanix is ExoticPC's parent company, which explains the same address. Kaimei appears to be the original name of Jamicon (www.jamicon.com.tw) which is also represented by this site: www.jamicon.com.

Peter actually told you it is a different fan he is using now?

Why would he do that? The PSU I have (and one sample fan) are from ExoticPC stock going back 6 weeks or longer, and my comments elsewhere about this fan is that at low speed, it is incredibly quiet. There'd be no reason for him to change fans... unless Jamicon decided not to supply him any more?

OK enuf with this.

Just so you all know: The banner ads for ExoticPC were contracted & paid by ExoticPC while Peter Kim still there and he arranged it. It was held in limbo because of uncertainty after he parted company from ExoticPC. Louis Yu contacted me last week to assure me that yes, ExoticPC did want to run the ads, they had been paid for, and they were carrying on business as usual.

Post by **MikeC** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 10:34 pm

Even Mike can't stop this.

That's a funny curve ball. What do you think I am trying to stop?

Here's what am trying to get: clarity for everyone, in the face of confliciting info from various sources, regarding what appears still to be one of the best quiet PC products I've yet seen. Except for the explanation about the ad banner, all of my last post was a direct response to digitalix's.

al bundy · Post by **al bundy** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 12:08 am

WRBWRX wrote:...I have purchased two PSUs from Exotixpc. One when Peter was working for them and another just recently. Both have great solder work and both perform silently as advertised... All I am trying to say is that they are the same...

I build custom PC's professionally and only very recently learned about ExoticPC. Having very recently begun to order from ExoticPC (and now SilenX too), I can actually compare them - but only the 400W 14dbA models though. [I have lost my warranty now from breaking the seals on several units from each company.

]

I have also especially looked for any evidence of "sloppy solder work" or any other such similar thing, and I have been fortunate to have several of my professional colleagues inspect these ExoticPC and SilenX PSU units as well. I have also recently been putting the two PSU's head-to-head under heavier stressloads to see if there is any difference between the fan speed controllers, or the fan noise levels, or any other noticeable parameter.

In my opinion and that of my colleagues, and after quite a few hours of careful work and side-by-side comparison, I now believe that these particular two PSU types (the 400W 14dbA versions from 'ExoticPC' and from 'SilenX') are in fact indistinguishable. There is no evidence of any "sloppy solder" workmanship or any other concern inside either of them. I am also thinking that these 80mm fans inside them are truly equivalent, if not even rebadged identical items. I've not noticed any difference in the fan speed controller operations, heat, output performance, or anything else either.

Hopefully this info will be helpful to consider alongside some of the other info posted here on the subject of ExoticPC vs SilenX, etc...

MiSS KiTTY · Post by **MiSS KiTTY** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 12:57 am

Al bundy-

Hey you kick @ss. Thanks for giving a truly unbiased and credible testimony on this whole episode. The fact you and your collegues took the time and effort to distinguish the two and share your thoughts on it with the rest of us is very much appreciated.

Hopefully this drama will all die down instead of being this drawn out cat fight.

al bundy · Post by **al bundy** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 3:27 am

digitalix wrote:Al, ...Perhaps you bought the silenx power supply from exoticpc before the ownership change?...

Hi digitalix,

No, this was a true before-and-after ownership change product comparison. In fact, it was only because of the several open questions expressed on this forum that we decided to do this comparison work in the first place, in order to protect the customer from any possible hardware product differences.

No noticeable or measurable differences between the 400W 14dbA product from ExoticPC.com (before ownership change), and the 400W 14dbA products from both ExoticPC.com and SilenX.com (after ownership change) were found. I was worried that the 400W 14dbA product from today's ExoticPC might be different from the previous ExoticPC model, or perhaps from today's SilenX model - but they appear to all be the same to us. So it appears that you can order this particular 400W 14dbA product from either company today, and you will get the same PSU unit either way.

Whew - careful comparison of PSU's ended up being harder than we thought it would be, and took some real patience and time! Wouldn't want to have to do this again anytime soon...

wussboy · Post by **wussboy** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 9:19 am

MikeC wrote:
Even Mike can't stop this.
That's a funny curve ball. What do you think I am trying to stop?

Here's what am trying to get: clarity for everyone, in the face of confliciting info from various sources, regarding what appears still to be one of the best quiet PC products I've yet seen. Except for the explanation about the ad banner, all of my last post was a direct response to digitalix's.

That struck me as weird too. In my opinion, you have been completely neutral, Mike. As always, we appreciate your efforts to clarify these matters. Keep up the good work.

P.S. I would like a Vapochill review and a pony for Christmas.

limee · Post by **limee** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 5:30 pm

digitalix wrote:High voltage? You mean higher wattage?

err...terrible blunder...

Yes, so are the higher wattage PSU's by any chance slightly louder than the 300W version from Silenx?

al bundy · Post by **al bundy** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 8:50 pm

digitalix wrote:...I didn't get the 400 watt version from them so I guess my experience couldn't be the same ... it just seems like they've just screwed a college boy, ...

That could probably explain why you are having such a non-matching experience, as you are likely "comparing apples to oranges" so to speak.

And about the split between ExoticPC and SilenX, we the consumers will of course never know the truth behind it all. That is just fine too, as long as we don't start making speculative assumptions or taking sides on these behind-the-scenes matters that we have no direct knowledge about. Doing so just creates bad faith and starts rumors, etc... and we shouldn't want to do or participate in that! At least we can feel assured that the 400W 14dbA parts are the same from each company, which is good news...

My experience with SilenX 400

My experience with SilenX 400

Whoa!