Rosewill SilentNight 500 W Power Supply Review

Conclusions

We were really impressed with the Rosewill SilentNight 500 W. It is one of the best power supplies that  we’ve ever reviewed.

Efficiency was always above 90%, surpassing the requirements of the 80 Plus Platinum certification by a good margin. Most power supplies we test can’t deliver the promised efficiency at high temperatures, since the tests for the 80 Plus certification are conducted at 23° C, and efficiency drops as temperature increases.

The efficiency numbers are more incredible when you take into consideration that this is a fanless power supply. Power supplies without a fan may work internally at higher temperatures, meaning lower efficiency.

Voltage regulation was superb, with all outputs within 3% of their nominal values. Noise and ripple levels were extremely low, making this unit a flawless product.

The Rosewill SilentNight 500 W competes directly with the Seasonic Platinum Fanless 520 W. This model from Seasonic has a few advantages, which include a fully modular cabling system, seven-year warranty, a depth of 6.3”/160 mm (the Rosewill model, which is 6.7”/170 mm deep, won’t fit cases that only support power supplies up to 6.3”/160 mm deep), and costs USD 10 less. The model from Seasonic also presented, on our tests, maximum efficiency that was one percentage point above Rosewill’s. The Rosewill SilentNight 500 W, however, has four six/eight-pin connectors for video cards, while the model from Seasonic has two.

While we are inclined to recommend the Seasonic Platinum Fanless 520 W over the Rosewill SilentNight 500 W because of its slight overall advantage, the model from Rosewill is an excellent product as well and will please the user who is building a silent computer and wants “the best.” Other fanless power supplies, such as the SilverStone Nightjar 500 W (80 Plus Bronze certification, USD 185), pale in comparison