There's an old saying, "money is the root of all evil."  When it comes to computers, I think the saying should be, "power supplies are the root of all evil."  There are so many problems that can result from a weak, inefficient or just plain cheap power supply.  I'm sure most of us at one point or another has blamed a component for errors only to find out that the power supply was going bad.  Motherboards, CPUs, RAM, Video cards every component you have suffers when you build your system with an inferior power supply.  A lot of people are under that misconception that you can just throw more wattage at the problem and be fine.  Not all 1200w power supplies are built to the same standards.  That's where the certifications come into play.

Today we are looking at a power supply that is 80plus gold certified.  The Gold certification means that the power supply is 90% efficient at 50% load and 87% efficient at 100% load.  Standard 80 Plus is 80% efficient at all loads.  Let's check out the Silent Pro Gold 1200w power supply from CoolerMaster and see what it's made of.

Features

• MPatent Technologies
  • Heat Transfer Technology^TM:
    A unique "L-shaped" heat-sink to remove heat from PSU.
  • Hybrid Transformer^TM:
    Unique design that combines heat-sink with transformer.
  • Hyper Path^TM:
    Places IC close to transformers leading to huge efficiency ratings.
• Flat modularized cables provide easy cable management leads to better airflow.
• Compliance with the latest Intel Standard ATX 12V v2.3.
• Operation with intelligent fan speed control.
• High reliability (MTBF> 100,000 hours).
• Double Layer EMI Filter retains noise and to avoid affect to users.
• Integrating Active PFC with PWN combo controller while increase efficiency
• Multiple protection design (OVP/UVP/OPP/OTP/SCP/OCP).
• Japanese-made capacitors
• Single +12V rail up to 98A
• Five-year warranty

Heat Transfer Technology
Patent L-shaped heat sink layout helps to guide the air flow along the heat sink to improve the air circulation for maximum performance.

Hybrid Transformer
Unique Hybrid Transformer combining heat-sink with transformer reduces the size by up to 25% than the traditional transformer, providing lesser energy consumption while conducting the heat for better overall efficiency.

Hyper Path
Patent Hyper Path places IC close to transformers so the signal can be transferred directly from the transformer to components without any energy loss. This feature leads to huge efficiency ratings.