Cases & PSUs

Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 720W Review

David Mitchelson
June 12, 2012 9 Min Read
3 0

Silent Pro PSU series is back with the aim to ensure silence as a key principal. Can the M2 Power Supply provide a good backbone for the system?



Product on Review: Silent Pro M2 720W
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Cooler Master
Street Price: £106inc. Vat (At time of review)

The pursuit for silence is on many an enthusiast’s wishlist and it is this pursuit that manufacturers are keen to cater for. Little over 3 years ago, Cooler Master introduced a new PSU series called Silent Pro M. This series tackled the issue of noise whilst delivering a modular interface and was very popular indeed, so much so that Cooler Master have devised a 2nd Generation – namely Silent Pro M2.

Today we will be taking a look at the Silent Pro M2 PSU series. Available in 4 different versions – 620W, 720W 850W and 1000W the Silent Pro M2 hopes to continue delivering silence as a fundamental whilst being efficient and reliable as the backbone of the computer system. So let’s begin our analysis of the 720W version.



Cooler Master’s take on Silent Pro M2
The Silent Pro M2 is the 2nd Generation of Cooler Masters successful Silent Pro M Series. It features a powerful single 12V rail capable of powering a HighEnd PC with 8 Core CPUs and several VGAs running in SLI or X-Fire. Thanks to its skillfully crafted aluminum-copper heatsink combined with a 135mm Super Silent HDB fan it remains cool and virtually silent in typical operation. The modular cable system with flat wires helps you to create a neat and organized build with excellent airflow resulting in a cool and quiet System overall. The M2 series comes with no less than a 5 year warranty!

Technical Specifications

Model RS-720-SPM2
Type Intel Form Factor ATX 12V V2.3
Dimension (W / H / D) 150 x 180 x 86mm (5.9 x 7.1 x 3.4 inch)
Input Voltage 90-264Vac (Auto Range)
Input Current 11 – 5.5A
Input Frequency Range 47 – 63Hz
PFC Active PFC (>0.9)
Power Good Signal 100-500ms
Hold Up Time >17ms
Efficiency 85% Typically
MTBF 100,000 Hours
Protection OVP/UVP/OCP/OPP/OTP/SCP
Output Capacity 720W
Operation Temperature 0-40°C(Nominal Input Voltage)
Regulatory TUV / CE / UL / FCC / BSMI / GOST / C-tick / KC / CCC
Fan 135mm Hydraulic Dynamic Bearings
Connector M/B 24 Pin Connector x 1
CPU 4+4 Pin x 1
PCI-E 6+2 Pin x 4
SATA x 9
4 Pin Peripheral x 5
4 Pin Floppy x 1

Packaging, Bundle & Cables


Cooler Master are keen to inform us that the Silent Pro M2 has a copper-aluminium heatsink, modular cables and a 135mm HDB silent fan. There is very little on the packaging aside from the technical specifications and some performance charts.


Packaging that catches the eye


Inside the box, all of the items and the PSU itself is well padded with polystyrene foam. The PSU also has a protective transparent cover. Removing all of the items from the box we have a small bundle that consists of the following:

• PSU
• Power cable
• Modular cables
• Warranty booklet
• Instructions manual


Silent Pro M2 bundle


The modular cables that come included with Silent Pro M2 do not have braiding but are insulated individually with black plastic. This will look great when used inside a computer case as it will be easy to conceal plus the cables are much more flexible.

Included in the bundle of modular cables are the following:

• PCI-E 6+2 Pin x 4
• SATA x 9
• 4 Pin Peripheral x 5
• 4 Pin Floppy x 1


Modular cables are not braided

Closer Look (External)


The PSU itself has a smooth black exterior with ‘Silent Pro M2 720W’ branding on the sides. This typography has been placed on the PSU in such a way that no matter which orientation you have it – (fan facing up or down) within your computer chassis the text will display correct.


Silent Pro M2 in all its glory


On closer inspection the Silent Pro M2 features a 135mm HDB fan – the protective grille has the Cooler Master branding on it. We will take a closer look at this fan when we open the unit up in the next section.


A 135mm cooling fan


On the alternate side to the fan grill is the specifications label. This details max wattage and total ampage for each rail. The +12v uses a single 58A rail which should provide enough juice for the most demanding of needs including NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossfireX – this really depends on the graphics card used though – always be sure to check. The specifications label also has label of authenticity and standards.


The specifications label


Next is the modular panel. Silent Pro M2 has a variety of slots for attaching modular cables. The grey slots indicate PCI-E whilst the black are for HDD and peripherals only.

Hardwired into the unit are just two cables – the 24-pin ATX and dual CPU/EPS power 4-pin x2. Having just these cables means that the choice is down to the user as to what cables they use – meaning the inside of the system will remain tidy and free from cluttered cabling.


The modular panel on the PSU



The hardwired cables found on the PSU

Closer Look (Internal)


Opening a PSU voids the warranty and the user should do so at their own risk. Upon opening the Silent Pro M2 we are met with an internal layout that features a significant heatsink usage The heatsinks cover a vast area and the fins extend out. It’s actually quite difficult to identify most of the components due to this.


An overview of the internal layout of Silent Pro M2


Of the components we can see are two hold up CAPs. These are Panasonic/ Matsushita and are rated at 390μF, 420V, 105°C.


Japanese hold up CAPs


For this unit Cooler Master have used a 135mm fan of their own, namely – DFS132512M which is rated at 12V, 0.2A, 2.4W, 1500RPM, 34.44dBA, 78.13CFM. This fan is positioned in such a way that it will blow air onto the heatsinks – the heat will then dissipate out the back of the PSU.


135mm cooling fan used inside


On the next page we will put the Silent Pro M2 through its paces in a real-world test.

Testing Methodologies & Results


Our testing methodology for testing Power Supply Units is limited to the multi-meter to show each rails performance due to us not having access to an ATE load tester. We are making plans to invest in equipment as we were directed by Cooler Master when Simon visited their test labs in June 2010.

Although this does constrain us slightly we can still monitor fluctuations on the rails and give the unit a good assessment when we feature it in one of our builds. The way the testing will run is simple, voltages will be observed at idle wattage and then a single GPU will be installed within the system and a combination of OCCT and MSI Kombustor will be executed to provide simulation with just 1 GPU. This will be run for 10 minutes. We will also be adding in another GPU and configuring SLI in order to generate as much power consumption as possible. The CPU will also be overclocked to maximise power consumption and strain. This should give us a good indication of how the Silent Pro M2 720W will perform under gaming stresses and beyond.

System Components
CPU Intel Core i7 3570K (with OC 4.5GHz)
Motherboard MSI Z77A-GD65
Graphics NVIDIA GTX 480
Memory 8GB Corsair Vengeance 2133MHz CL10
HDD 1x Kingston HyperX SSD 240GB
PSU Cooler Master Silent Pro 720W


As I mentioned there is no ATE load tester available so generating as much power as possible is key to observing the fluctuations on the rails.

For voltage tolerance levels, ATX specify that a 5% variable fluctuation is acceptable. (Form Factors – ATX Specification PDF – Page 10). So what this means is:

3.3V Rail – 3.135V – 3.465V acceptable
5V Rail – 4.75V – 5.25V acceptable
12V Rail – 11.4V – 12.6V acceptable

Idle test – The system settles in windows without any applications or stressing. 1 GPU (165W)
Single GPU – OCCT/MSI Kombustor run for 10 minutes (382W)
Dual GPU – OCCT/MSI Kombustor run for 10 minutes (683W)

Conclusion


Silent Pro M2 is the 2nd Generation of the popular Silent Pro M Series and as you would expect from this PSU series silence is of utmost importance.

We tested the PSU at over 50% and 90% load and the results were pleasing. Voltage variance presented no issues and the noise levels were likewise of no real concern. Living up to its name – though the Silent Pro M2 is noticeable when at 90% load but it is quiet in comparison to other units we have tested.

We like the fact that Cooler Master have only hardwired essential cables into the unit as this means the user can choose exactly what cables are needed within their computer chassis. This avoids cluttering the inside with unnecessary, unused cabling. The modular cables have been given insulation rather than braiding and I really like this idea. The cables are much more flexible and unobtrusive.



The only improvement Cooler Master could make with Silent Pro M2 is the braiding on the hardwired cables. The yellow cables can still be seen, it would be better for them to use something thicker to conceal the yellow and maintain a stealthy black. Cable management is a top priority for most enthusiasts and these cables are easy to deal with but it makes sense to have their physical appearance a solid colour in order to continue that tidiness inside.

Priced around £100inc. VAT the Silent Pro M2 is going to have tough competition from the likes of other rivals who are hitting out with similar rated units but for cheaper.

The Silent Pro M2 continues to excel where both silence and performance is concerned. Build quality is very good, as is cable management potential. Backed by a 5 year warranty the Silent Pro M2 comes highly recommended by Vortez.

Pros
+ Aesthetically pleasing to the eye
+ Only essential cables hardwired
+ Decent performance
+ Modular cables are very flexible
+ 5 Years warranty

Cons
– Price
– Bronze efficiency



Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.

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David Mitchelson