INTRODUCTION

   Professionals, enthusiasts and even gamers who spend much for a new PC (or even to upgrade an older one) know all too well the benefits of using a top-tier power supply units. Not everyone however belongs in those 3 consumer categories and so regular users have neither the need or will to spend as much on that specific hardware component and so most of the time they decide based on price alone. Still even though it's clear to everyone that price matters a lot a good price/performance ratio is the best outcome and, in a market, flooded with power supply units finding the right one might not be the easiest thing. Well, it just so happens that Sharkoon seems to have just the answer in their inventory so today I’ll be testing their Silent Storm Cool Zero 850W power supply unit.

   Since 2003, Sharkoon has been developing “Designed in Germany” gaming products, which are popular in the worldwide gaming community due to an exceptional combination of high-performance and affordability. Stylish PC cases, precision keyboards or mice and comfortable gaming chairs – all these represent an elegant blend of high-quality design and modern technology. Numerous awards from the international trade press underscore the performance and quality of the Sharkoon brand.

   The Silent Storm Cool Zero line of power supply units has been around since 2019 (i imagine some tiny improvements have been made since) and is currently available in 650/750/850W outputs all of which feature fully modular designs (future-proof since you can always change the cables if needed) and the 80 Plus Gold certification (over 90% electrical efficiency). The Silent Storm Cool Zero line is based on a DC-DC design/topology (with LLC resonant converter technology) which aside its 80 Plus Gold efficiency also gives the unit a strong +12V rail (70.A) capable of delivering 100% of the units total power output (850W) and a peak power output of no less than 988W. Of course, Sharkoon equips the Silent Storm Cool Zero line with sleeved and slim cables, 135mm fluid-dynamic bearing fan, long-lasting Japanese capacitors certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius, zero fan and fan delay modes (rear switches) and a full array of electrical protections including over-current (OCP), over-voltage (OVP), under-voltage (UVP), short-circuit (SCP), over-temperature (OTP) and over-power (OPP). In terms of warranty Sharkoon covers their entire Silent Storm Cool Zero line with a 3-year limited one.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Two product pictures are located at the front of the box along with the company logo, the main product features and the 80 Plus Gold logo.

The product features are printed on both sides of the box in 10 languages (another product picture is located on the right side).

Five more product pictures can be found at the rear of the box along with the product specifications, RPM/Heat graph and the electrical table.

The unit is placed in a synthetic cover and sandwiched between two foam spacers (the modular cables are inside their own storage pouch).

Along with the Silent Storm Cool Zero and its power and modular cables inside the box we also find 4 mounting screws and the user manual.

THE SILENT STORM COOL ZERO 850W EXTERIOR

Even though all secondary modular cables are slim ones the primary one (motherboard 24pin) is still a thick braided one.

The chassis of the Silent Storm Cool Zero 850W measures 160mm in length, 150mm in width and 86mm in height.

A nice grill with the company logo at its center is placed just over the 135mm fan.

The company logo is engraved on one side of the chassis and the electrical table is on the other printed on a sticker.

All 9 modular cable connectors are tagged.

Turning the chassis around we see the usual honeycomb perforation, power port and the on/off, zero RPM and fan delay switches.

THE SILENT STORM COOL ZERO 850W INTERIOR

The fluid-dynamic bearing 135mm intake fan used here is from GLOBE FAN and can reach speeds of up to 1700RPM.

Judging by both the layout and the OEM code the manufacturer behind this PSU should be High Power.

The primary capacitor here is manufactured by the Japanese Nippon Chemi-Con and is certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius.

Secondary capacitors are manufactured by the also Japanese Nichicon and are again certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

     Using a dedicated measurement instrument such as a Chroma or a SunMoon to test power supply units is without doubt the most ideal and accurate way (not to mention the fastest) to do that currently. However, it's certainly not the only way there is and so pretty much anyone can test a power supply unit just by using a test rig. Certainly, limitations do apply and so you can't really push a 1000W power supply to its limits if your system only uses 500W at peak loads and that's why over the years we saved certain hardware components for the purpose of building a dedicated PSU test rig. True it may not be as accurate as the above mentioned solutions but it comes really close and is in fact much closer to real world usage. So as always, we ran several games with maximum graphic options enabled at a resolution of 2560x1600 in order to stress every hardware component and increase the overall power demands of the system. The Passmark BurnIn Test was also used to overstress the components in an effort to provide the most accurate results possible. As a final test we also used the latest OCCT 4.4 software and its dedicated PSU testing suite since it can really bring a power supply to its knees after inside a few minutes.

   Rail stability was checked/measured with the CPUID Hardware monitor and a Metex multimeter which also recorded the system load in idle and in load. As always try to remember that the power consumption numbers listed in the graph are the highest (Peak) ones recorded during the entire duration of the tests and not the average ones. Noise levels coming from the fan were recorded using the high precision HD600 ExTech Sound dBA Meter from the rear of the unit and at a range of no more than 5-10cm. Readings under load are recorded the exact moment we manually switch the fans of all graphics cards from full speed to almost zero, that way the fan of the power supply does not have enough time to slow its RPM and so by doing this we get very accurate noise level readings. Needless to say, in order to get 100% accurate readings, you need to have a noise isolated room for that exact purpose, something which is quite impossible unless you are working inside a real lab (some people use very small noise insulated boxes but due to their size both heat and noise exceed normal levels and so the results can't really be considered to be 100% accurate, nor realistic for that matter). Also do take into account that since all noise measurements take place from just 5-10cm away the final noise levels to reach your ears will be considerably less.

* After well over 10 years of testing PSUs the Intel Core i7-920 CPU of this rig failed and so we replaced it with a Xeon X5660 (we also swapped the GA-X58A-UD7 for the G1. Assassin).

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   The Silent Storm Cool Zero 850W is the very first power supply unit I’ve received by Sharkoon and I have to admit I liked it. Build quality is very good (as we’ve come to expect by High- Power, especially recently), the 80 Plus Gold efficiency is the most popular right now, rail stability is quite solid (not the best I’ve seen but very good for this type of PSU) and noise levels are very low making this model almost inaudible even at load. My sole concern with the Silent Storm Cool Zero line of power supply units by Sharkoon is the warranty which at 3 years might not be just enough for some potential buyers. Of course, models with 5+ years of warranty cost substantially more but this is certainly something that will stand out for some people.

   So just how much must one spend to get his hands on a Silent Storm Cool Zero 850W power supply unit? Well currently with a price tag set at 109.44Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the Silent Storm Cool Zero 850W is priced extremely well and is ideal for consumers on a rather tight budget. Overall, the Silent Storm Cool Zero 850W is a great choice for people who are not willing (or don’t need) to spend much on a power supply unit and for that it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Very Good Rail Stability
- Up To 850W Continuous Output
- Low Noise Levels
- 80 Plus Gold Certified
- Japanese Capacitors
- Fully Modular

CONS

- Availability (Outside The EU)
- Warranty Period (For Some)