Introduction

Most of our readers are probably not familiar with the company Silver Power, which is no surprise considering that this is a new brand name primarily targeting the European market. However, the parent company of Silver Power is anything but new and has been manufacturing a variety of power supplies for many years. MaxPoint is headquartered in Hamburg Germany and they have ties to several other brands of power supplies, the most notable being Tagan.


The Tagan brand was established to focus more on the high-end gamers and enthusiasts, where quality is the primary concern and price isn't necessarily a limiting factor. Silver Power takes a slightly different route, expanding the product portfolio into the more cost-conscious markets. Having diverse product lines that target different market segments is often beneficial for a company, though of course the real question is whether or not Silver Power can deliver good quality for a reduced price.


We were sent their latest model, the SP-600 A2C "Blue Lightning" 600W, power supply for testing. This PSU delivers 24A on the 3.3V rail and 30A on the 5V rail, which is pretty average for a 600W power supply. In keeping with the latest power supply guidelines, the 12V power is delivered on two rails each capable of providing up to 22A. However, that's the maximum power each 12V rail can deliver; the total combined power capable of being delivered on the 3.3V, 5V, and 12V rails is 585W, and it's not clear exactly how much of that can come from the 12V rails which are each theoretically capable of delivering up to 264W each.



Packaging and Appearance


In order to keep costs down, MaxPoint has cut a lot of goodies and extras from the package relative to high-end power supplies. Everything is packed in a colorful box, which provides basic information about the power supply within. The PSU itself has almost no protection within the box and could potentially be damaged during transport - like most users, we've encountered our fair share of DOA power supplies that were very likely damaged during shipping. A small user manual is included that contains very little information, but then again there's not a lot to say.


In terms of the power supply itself, the casing is quite unusual. Small rectangles have been punched out of the back of the unit to serve as an exhaust for the airflow. This type of perforation used to be more common in the past, but most manufacturers these days use hexagonal punch outs. The theory is that the hexagon shapes improve airflow without creating turbulence, compromising structural integrity, or creating unacceptable EMI. The approach that Silver Power has taken might be adequate, but we can see that the top portion of the perforations appear to be of little use as the 120mm fan blocks most of these holes. In fact, much of the space on the rear of the power supply seems like it could be used for ventilation. Of course, whether this is actually necessary is something we'll uncover in the course of this review.


MaxPoint doesn't state the input voltage range on the power supply itself, but this information is indicated on the packaging. The range is listed as 110-240VAC. We tested at our usual 100/115/230VAC however and encountered no problems with a 100VAC input.



The Fan


The Silver Power Blue Lightning has a 120mm fan located in the middle of the power supply's bottom. The fan grille is recessed into the casing to help keep it out of the way. The logo does protrude slightly, but this shouldn't present any problems.



In a rather interesting design decision, the backside of the fan has a plastic cover over the top third that blocks airflow. This is apparently done in order to better direct airflow towards the areas of the power supply that require the most cooling. The plastic guard is located nearest the ventilation grille, so in essence more of the airflow will be directed deeper into the power supply.


Given the "Blue Lightning" name, you might imagine that the fan will have blue LEDs installed, and you would be correct. The power supply emits a constant blue light when operating, a feature which became quite popular several years ago, particularly within the budding mod scene. Some people still like such features, but like many fads the popularity has died down with the passage of time. A switch to turn the light off might have been a nice addition, though that would simply be an extra cost. If they had left the lighting off altogether, we certainly wouldn't have complained.

Cables and Connectors


All of the cables are sleeved from the casing through to the final connector. While this is certainly a nice feature that is often missing even on higher-end power supplies, taking such care and using some of the budget on the sleeving means that they could have potentially dropped the price even further without affecting the performance. Sleeving generally makes the most sense on longer cables, where the individual wires might get tangled in other components. Sleeving the small 10cm sections in between connectors isn't as important, but it can make the wiring look more attractive and some people will certainly appreciate it.


The Silver Power Blue Lightning includes six SATA and six Molex connectors, which should be more than sufficient for entry level systems all the way up to upper-midrange systems. It also includes two 6-pin PEG connectors and should be able to power moderate SLI and CrossFire configurations. The main ATX power connector is a 20+4 pin connector, so it can be used with older motherboards as well as the new 24-pin models. We're a little bit baffled as to why an 8-pin EPS connector is included, as we seriously doubt most users would consider using this budget power supply in any high-end system that would require such a connector, but at least the inclusion doesn't hurt.



The Internals


Credit where credit is due: Silver Power has managed to create the most difficult power supply casing to crack that we have encountered so far. We have no idea who came up with the design or why they would want it, as logically it must be just as difficult to seal up as it was for us to open. We can only feel sorry for the poor soul sitting at the end of the assembly line tasked with the job of closing up the power supplies. The two sides are designed in a "U" shape and slide into each other. The fan and various cables do an excellent job of getting in the way, particularly the cable harness that leads to all of the connectors. Very few people actually try to open up their power supplies anyway, so unless there's some trick to assembly that we can't figure out, the net result is that none of this can be good for productivity and appears to serve no real purpose.


The construction of the casing makes it very difficult to get a clear view of the various components, as something else always seems to be getting in the way. We did manage to get the PCB out of the case in order to take better pictures after testing but the above image gives you an idea of how everything is arranged.



Most of the filtering is done directly behind the AC jack. A couple of capacitors are placed on the right side just before the rectifying bridge. The bridge itself is attached to its own small heatsink, as it can become quite warm during use.



Next to the bridge we find the standard PFC stage and the main capacitor. The main capacitor is made by Teapo and labeled as 450V and 330µF at just 85°C.



Internals, Continued



The heat sinks have been designed for cooling by the 120mm fan that will be located directly below them. The large horizontal area will absorb most of the airflow and dissipate heat quite well. However, there's not much space between the fins which means that very little air will cool the area below the heat sinks. The heatsinks should stay cool, but they end up acting as an umbrella for the rest of the components.



The temperature diode is attached to one end of the secondary heatsink. The temperature sensor can be attached to a variety of locations that all work well, and there's certainly no problem with this location.


All of the secondary capacitors are also manufactured by Teapo.



Test Setup

As usual we are testing with our Chroma programmable loads to fully load each rail to a specific amount. This is important to get truly accurate results and not merely approximate values. The tests are conducted in two different temperature environments. One is normal room temperature of 25-26°C, while the second environment goes from room temperature and increases steadily up to 50°C. Especially during the higher temperatures we will see how good the power supplies are and what they're really made of. Components inside will perform much worse at higher temperatures, but we expect any good quality PSU to deal with such test conditions without failing.

Note: If you would like to know more about our testing methodology, equipment, and environment, please read our PSU testing overview.

DC Outputs
PSU Load	3.3V	5V	12V1	12V2	Wattage (All Rails)
10%	1.42A	1.78A	1.89A	1.89A	61.5W
20%	2.85A	3.56A	3.78A	3.78A	122.5W
50%	7.12A	8.90A	9.44A	9.44A	301.0W
80%	11.39A	14.24A	15.11A	15.11A	472.5W
100%	14.24A	17.79A	18.88A	18.88A	578.0W

3.3V DC Output


The 3.3V rails were stable during testing, as usual showing a constant drop under increasing load. At maximum loads, the 3.3V rail does go out of spec, regardless of temperature. However, the consistency of the rail outputs regardless of temperature and input voltage is surprising, with all four test results paralleling each other.

5.0V DC Output


Results with the 5V rail are similar to the 3.3V rail. All four test cases parallel each other, dropping steadily under increasing load. At about 90% load, the 5V rail falls out of spec. It is unlikely that most users will put anywhere near a 90% load on a 600W power supply, and provided you stay below 80% load on the 3.3V and 5V rails there shouldn't be any problems.

5Vsb Output



12V DC Output



By far the most important rails on any power supply are the 12V rails. Unlike the 3.3 and 5V rails, the Silver Power Blue Lightning delivers a good, stable output on the 12V rails regardless of load. Again, the 12V outputs are very similar regardless of input voltage or temperature, and both rails are also nearly identical.



Standby Efficiency



The standby efficiency results are not particularly noteworthy, other than pointing out that power consumption is very low when there is no load placed on the power supply. We measured just 0.6W with 115VAC and 1.07W with 230VAC, which is a pretty good result.

Efficiency


When it comes to efficiency, the Blue Lightning 600W quite frankly blew our socks off. By all appearances, this is your everyday midrange power supply... we simply could not believe getting efficiency results as high as 85%! In fact, the efficiency is above 80% over almost the entire range which can not only save money on electrical costs but is also generally a good indicator of power supply quality. European users (and the other 230VAC countries) will get above 80% efficiency with loads ranging from 60W all the way up to 600W, while 115VAC users will get above 80% up until about 500W.

PFC


The Power Factor Correction was a bit unusual with this power supply. We're used to seeing nice curves at 100VAC and 115VAC, but the 115VAC doesn't rise as quickly as were used to seeing. It's only at 30% and above that the curve begins to rise, but then it stops again at around 60% load and stays at 0.986. 230VAC even starts to drop slightly at maximum load. This isn't an ideal result, but at the same time PFC isn't necessarily one of the most critical factors in determining power supply quality.



Temperatures




Our testing confirms our initial impression of the heatsinks. They dissipate heat quite well and manage to cool all of the components attached to them. Exhaust temperatures of only 50°C at 26° room temperature, even at maximum load, mean that users will have a relatively cool system. With a 50°C test environment, exhaust temperatures rise 15°C up to 65°C, while the heatsinks are only 10°C warmer than the ambient temperatures. These are fairly good results, but in a stress test environment temperatures are rising quite rapidly and we definitely would be cautious about using this power of supply in such an environment for an extended period of time. At normal room temperatures, the results are much better.

Fan Speed and Acoustics



In our stress testing "heat chamber", fan speed is constantly rising up to the maximum speed of around 2400 RPM as the load and temperatures increase. At room temperatures, the fan holds a steady 1250 RPM up until about a 45% load. While the fan speed is definitely increasing, it's a bit unusual - and actually impressive - that the noise levels continue to stay relatively low, reaching a maximum of 37 dB at full load. Subjectively, the noise levels also agree with what we see on the charts: at maximum load the power supply isn't much louder it than at minimum load. Unfortunately, you can still hear the fan regardless of load, but once placed within a typical computer case the result should be a good, reasonably quiet system.



Conclusion

We have to admit that we really didn't expect the blue lightning to perform very well in our labs, even though Silver Power/MaxPoint told us otherwise. We were pleasantly surprised, and despite the somewhat unconventional looks and difficult to open casing, it's the engine under the hood that counts.

The ventilation in the back proved to be sufficient for allowing air to get out of the PSU. We didn't expect this, as the fan seems to block much of the perforations and there's a large area around the AC jack that could have also been perforated. Obviously, none of that was necessary. The shiny finish is a good quality and is resistant to scratches, so there was nothing to detract from the appearance.

The cables on the power supply are not particularly long and will certainly cause trouble in many larger cases. Midsize towers should not have any difficulties, though, as cable lengths of up to 70cm should be sufficient. All of the connections are of good quality and the Molex connectors also have an easy release mechanism that will help users remove the connections without tugging on the wires. The cable sleeving is also a nice addition and actually goes beyond what we would consider necessary by sleeving even small sections. This isn't a modular power supply, so all of the cables are permanently attached, but we certainly don't consider that a flaw.

In terms of performance, the DC outputs are all very stable but the lower voltage rails do fall out of spec at higher loads. While that might be considered a drawback, it's important to remember that putting such high loads on the lower voltage rails is quite difficult and we seriously doubt most users will come anywhere near drawing enough power to cause the 3.3V and 5V rails to drop out of spec. The 12V rails on the other hand remain firmly within specs and will cause no problems whatsoever, regardless of load or environment temperatures. OCP testing was conducted and also worked properly, ensuring that any attached hardware will not be damaged should something unexpected occur.

Efficiency Comparison


Delivering up to 85% efficiency, the Silver Power Blue Lightning 600W clearly reaches the highest ranks in our steadily increasing list of power supplies. Even at lower input voltages we see efficiency levels above 80% at most loads. This power supply manages to hang out with its more expensive brothers like the Gigabyte Odin and PC Power & Cooling Silencer without having to hang its head in shame. Granted, both those power supplies offer more stable DC outputs than the Blue Lightning, not to mention higher maximum power, so they're not true competitors; but for the midrange market this is definitely a power supply worth considering.

Heat dissipation is also very good, in part due to the large size of the two heatsinks. We measured temperatures of just 15°C higher than the ambient temperature, which is also caused in part by the high efficiency of the Blue Lightning. Higher efficiency means less heat generated, which results in cooler running components. That means the heatsinks don't have to do as much work. Of course, the plastic guard that helps to redirect airflow also appears to be helping.

Our one complaint is that MaxPoint could do a better job at selecting a fan for this power supply. While the noise levels weren't particularly loud, neither were they especially silent. A better fan - perhaps one that skips out on the blue LED lights - would certainly make sense in our opinion. Some users might be attracted by the shiny exterior and blue lighting, but we think a lot more would prefer a simple black paint job and a dark fan and thus increase the potential customer base.

Unfortunately, finding this power supply in stock may be the most difficult task. There appear to be a variety of resellers in France that carry the power supply, but it's not as widely available in the rest of Europe. Pricing appears to be around €80, excluding shipping. Looking at the US market, it is currently almost impossible to find this power supply, although MaxPoint and Tagan are hopefully working to address this issue. Our personal opinion is that the Blue Lightning is not particularly beautiful and perhaps even looks a little cheap/garish, but in terms of performance we were pleasantly surprised and can recommend this power supply for people looking to build a decent midrange system.

Update: The Apex SL8600EPS looks to be the same power supply offered in the US, available at Newegg for around $89 shipped at present. Thanks to our readers for pointing this out!