Silverstone Zeus 1200W: Designed for the Power Hungry
by Christoph Katzer on July 7, 2008 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Introduction
We recently tested the latest Silverstone Decathlon series power supply, but we also wanted to review one of their top-end models from the Zeus series. Silverstone has delivered many new features in the past, and their build quality has always been good. Unfortunately, the major addition for the Zeus family appears to be the bump to 1200W - power very few people will ever need for their system. However, the Zeus 1200W does make some changes to the voltage delivery subsystem that may be useful.
Silverstone is an established name in the market for their cases as well as their power supplies. The latest Decathlon had a superb acoustic noise level as we saw in our recent review. Before that we saw other Decathlon and Olympia models that performed decently. Silverstone also announced a new passively cooled power supply just a few weeks ago that we will test in the near future.
The label shows six 12V rails with an enormous combined power of 95A. However, each rail is rated at 17A, which is not too much as we will find out later during the tests. If you prefer, the 12V rails can be combined into one massive 12V rail that will deliver the 95A alone. On the side is a little white round sticker that hides a switch used for combining the rails, but we do not recommend peeling off this sticker since you still won't be able to reach the switch. To access the switch, you will need to open the PSU casing as we will see later (Update: This problem seems to be only with the first models like the one we have tested. The units in the shops have already access to the switch from outside). The 3.3V rates 28A and the 5V rail 30A, both of which are more than sufficient. The standby rail rates 4A, which is according to the latest EPS12V norm.
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BustedSony - Monday, July 7, 2008 - link
Electrical work is expressed in terms of POWER. DC power uses Watts as the unit. Watts = Voltage times Amps. Thus with perfect efficiency 120 watts can be obtained EITHER with 12 volts at a 10 amp load, or 120 volts at a 1 amp load.Thus 12 volts running 100 amps = 1200 Watts. 120 volts running just 10 amps also equals 1200 watts. The difference in power available versus power drawn from the wall is loss of efficiency, generated mostly as heat.
According to Ohms law current (amps) = voltage divided by resistance. Thus 10 amps would be drawn by 120 volts across 12 Ohms, or 12 volts across 1.2 Ohms.
mattclary - Monday, July 7, 2008 - link
Ahhhhhh, thank you! At one time I knew Ohm's law, but had forgotten the role voltage played!RamarC - Monday, July 7, 2008 - link
will other manufacturers start using the deity naming scheme? are the Corsair Ra and OCZ Shiva next?yacoub - Monday, July 7, 2008 - link
No dude, Zeus is purposeful: He carries a lightning bolt. See the line Samuel L. Jackson delivers in Die Hard 3.Merman - Monday, July 7, 2008 - link
[quote]The quality of each rail is also surprisingly good. Ripple on the lower voltage rails doesn't reach higher than 4mV, and the 12V rails don't reach more than 12mV even with full load. At lower loads, the 12V rails are also around 4 to 8mV which is a very good result.[/quote]Finally talking about power quality again.
Considering the ATX12V specification is a maximum of 120mV peak to peak is this result not outstanding and probably the best available on the market???
Or is there a discrepancy in measurment with ATX specifications???
It would be nice to compare ripple results from this site with the other top power supply review sites.
If for some reason this is not possible please educate us rather than take the position that most don't understand this subject nor care.
C'DaleRider - Monday, July 7, 2008 - link
I still find those ripple/noise generation findings a bit on the fantastic side. If they are what are represented, this means it blows PCP&C's best out of the water for controlling ripple and noise generation at full output.But, while Impervio is good at power supply manufacture, and this was made by Impervio, not Enhance as stated in the article, I sincerely doubt it actually measured only 12mV at full load and only 4-8mV otherwise on the +12V rails. Those figures are just too damned fantastic to be real. And to call them only "good"? They should have been labeled "The best" or "fantasy".
Christoph Katzer - Monday, July 7, 2008 - link
Impervio doesnt have own production facility and produces at Enhance instead.Christoph Katzer - Tuesday, July 8, 2008 - link
This unit is made by IS Quasar. A factory with several robotic assemblers in Taiwan. Almost all of the Silverstone models we reviewed so far came from there.Adamantine - Monday, July 7, 2008 - link
Or could label them as "godly".coolsam2 - Monday, July 7, 2008 - link
first to post a comment.. sry 4 wasting u precious 2 seconds..