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When a power supply becomes sufficiently efficient, it loses less energy from the input as heat.&nbsp; Given the right conditions, a very efficient and low rated power supply can be built without a fan, giving a quieter experience.&nbsp; The limit is always a balancing act between efficiency and seeing how highly rated the PSU can be &ndash; there is a certain segment of the market that will always prefer the quiet systems where possible.&nbsp; Up until this point, the peak rating I have used for a fanless PSU was 500W, from the Rosewill Silentnight range that were 80 PLUS Platinum rated.&nbsp; Even though Titanium rating has become <em>a thing</em> which might help push the limits even further in the interim, more fanless Platinum models are coming to market. SilverStone showcased a 520W Nightjar model and Enermax showed off a prototype 550W digital fanless version.</p>
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SilverStone 520W Nightjar</p>
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Despite the word &lsquo;night&rsquo;, this all-white PSU will come in&nbsp;<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: transparent;">400W and 520W variants and will be fully modular.&nbsp; It seems like it will have at least four PCIe 6-pin connectors, and I assume some or all of which will also be 6+2.&nbsp;</span></p>
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Due to the fanless design, it must be oriented in a specific way to maximise the airflow.&nbsp; All the power is on a single 12V rail, with the unit rated up to 516W and 43A, which should satisfy all single GPU devices out in the market at stock speeds.</p>
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I might have to take issue with the &lsquo;zero dB&rsquo; claim, given that electrical noise is around 15 dB.&nbsp; In the past I have also seen silent power supplies with significant bulk to help radiate temperature away, whereas this unit seems fairly empty.</p>
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From previous experience 500W fanless Platinum power supplies are not entirely cheap, and the Nightjar has recently gone on sale for $160.</p>
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Enermax 550W Digifanless</p>
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Digital-monitoring power supplies have had a rough entry into the market.&nbsp; They add a good amount of cost to a unit, but few users interact with their power supply on such a scale to monitor and adjust the unit for best efficiency and performance.&nbsp; With all that being said, I have not yet come across a fanless digital-monitoring power supply, and Enermax believes there is a market for one.</p>
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Unfortunately they did not have an individual unit on show that was not in use, but the design is fully modular and the system is rated at 550W.&nbsp; I did ask about the rating, and it turns out that 550W is a peak value, whereas the average value is more around 500W.&nbsp; Perhaps I am na&iuml;ve in power supply marketing, but I had assumed that the wattage listed was the average due to issues in the previous decade.</p>
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At this point I believe the Digifanless is still in the prototype stage and will be coming to various markets later in the year.</p>
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<div>Gallery: Computex 2014: Fanless PSUs from Silverstone and Enermax<div></div></div></p>
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Source: AnandTech
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